Five Frugal Things
by Katy on October 1, 2017 · 89 comments
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My mother and I drove a couple hours to attend my cousin’s housewarming party, and unsurprisingly we were unable to resist a spot of thrifting. I spent $1.99 to replace the exact travel mug that went missing from work a few years ago. I then bought a new looking pair of Allegria shoes which already have a number of interested buyers. (I expect to sell them through the NextDoor app by the end of the day.) My mother offered to fill my dangerously empty gas tank as a thank you for driving, which only set her back $14, as I’d earned a 70¢-per-gallon discount through Safeway. Thanks, mom! Thanks, Safeway!
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I sold a vintage telephone through Craigslist and a set of curtains through eBay. I also worked on Friday and I re-upped all my Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace listings.
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I’m transforming leftover pot roast broth into French onion soup, I ate leftovers for last night’s dinner, I put out a free box of drinking glasses and clothing, I watched an episode of Bargain Hunt on youtube and I’m wearing my thrifted $5 Ibex hoodie.
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The weather has taken a turn towards chilly autumn weather, which is attempting to seep into my summer warmed body. However, I’m simply adding layers instead of turning on the furnace in our 114-year-old house. Old houses are so wonderful with their craftsman details and unique character. However, they weren’t exactly constructed to modern day standards. What is this thing you call “insulation?” Tea, layers and lap throws will take the edge off a house with a high of 63°. Right?
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I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or 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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My FFT:
1. We are getting ready to leave for a short vacation. We are co-sharing a two bedroom/two bath condo with friends. Frugal vacation for all. There is a full size kitchen and we will take turns making some of our meals. Another frugal win.
2. Last night I had friends for dinner and everything was from our own pantry, garden, refrigerator or freezer. I got to use up several items that were not going on the trip. I will continue to use up the last of our leftovers for dinner tonight.
3. For last nights dinner party, I gathered branches of colorful crabapples from our tree to decorate the dining table and also made an arrangement for the kitchen island.
4. I haven’t purchased anything new for our trip. I will put together outfits from my closet, most of which have been thrifted.
5. We are taking our little dog with us which means a small fee ($50.00), but putting him in the kennel is almost that much per day….so still frugal.
A new post yay!
1. Sold an umgee shirt I found thrifting and listed an anthropologie sweater and 2 J Crew belts I found thrifting as well as an ebay purchase that didn’t work out.
2. Continuing to use my student car at school because if you add dollars to your account, purchases on campus including starbucks are tax free. Its not a lot but every little bit adds up and during midterms I am indulging because of my 14 hour days
3. Found a Num Nom freezie maker truck my daughter wanted at the .99 cent store. It was a little more than 99 cents but that plus some shopkins(I don’t love them but she does) I bought used on ebay will make up most of her Christmas.
4. Will do my FAFSA for 2018-2019. It came out today and that is my last year of school! YESSS!!
5. Yesterday my goodwill had $1 tag day and I scored a new black and white target dress! The cahsier wanted my purchase and lamented it was so hard to watch all the cool finds go!
6. I keep bringing my lunch and using the school gym between work and class
7. Having been using the Smith Free Fridays to build up my stocking stash. So far I have gummy bears, trident gum, airheads etc. Also, lots of booths at school lately and I scored a Starbucks travel cup for taking a survey
8. A local burger place had a grand opening so my family and I waited in line. We were on the facebook live and got to enjoy a fun night out with dinner!
I keep on going! Looking forward to when I am done with school and will have my weekends for baking, thrifting, DIYing again.
Great job/much luck for mid terms!
1. I went to IKEA and purchased colourful pots for the plants I am propogating for Christmas gifts. I’m recycling pots to grow the plants in the first place but at Christmas I will transfer them into some more attractive pots for gifts. IKEA has lovely brights pots at a low price. These will be low cost gifts.
2. My husband, daughter and I spent yesterday clearing our yard and she’d of junk and debris and into a skip. I’m so tired, but we have another day of it today. Our house was owned by a guy whose wife was ill and then passed away, and he just left heaps of junk around. This is the second skip we have filled. We have thought about hiring someone but doing this labour ourselves is saving thousands.
3. We were so tired we considered ordering in but made ourselves get up and make dinner.
4. We cooked dinner with delicious fresh cauliflower and peas from our garden and some chicken I bought yesterday. It was so good.
5. I picked rhubarb and cooked it with some strawberries that were past their prime. So yummy.
I have a friend at work who bought a piece of land several years ago, and she & her husband had their current house built on it. There are several barns of various sizes on their land, full of junk left by the previous owner….one smallish one is full of old tires. She knows they’ll clean them out, eventually….
I couldn’t stand it. I have to get his junk outta my space.
I’m not a person that can cope with clutter.
I’m returning from a holiday so I have some holiday related frugal wins:
1) I price matched my flights and then the airline beat the price by an additional 10%,
2) stayed at a friends house on the trip instead of booking accommodation,
3) used public transport to and from the airport instead of taking a taxi,
4) I lost a poster I bought at check out, went to the gate, then rushed back and luckily it had been handed in to the counter!
5) didn’t buy any clothes or shop during the entire holiday!
1. Harvested dill and cherry tomatoes, planted lettuce.
2. Cat sitting still paying off, got a text that some leftovers were in her fridge and to please eat them. We did, happily, they are great cooks!
3. Received a beautiful mum as a gift, put it on the porch with a Fall flag and white pumpkin (fake) I already had. Fall decorating done!
4. Combining errands when DH goes into the city for his dr. appts. Getting things from Sam’s and a wine discount place by ordering online ahead of time, with coupons. All he has to do is pick it up while he’s there.
5. Finding ways to give my time instead of things as gifts for bdays and hopefully for Christmas. So far, cleaning a garage, writing down bdays for a year long calendar, cooking a dinner when needed, and weeding.
#5 – One of my favorite gifts several years ago was a calendar with all the family birthdays and anniversaries from my aunt who is THE BEST at remembering people with a card. Great gift! Go You!
Great idea, thanks!
Etsy has some nice perpetual calendars, the ones that list the month and the days but not the days of the week, so it can be used every year. 🙂
1. I’ve been doing yard work for free exercise. The county will pick it up and turn it into compost next week.
2. This week a friend and I will go hiking in our local state parks. She always wants to drive (a control thing) so I let her.
3. I went to Safeway and bought sale stuff, using several coupons as well. Among the purchases was three free tubes of toothpaste. Also a friend gave me tomatoes and peepers that were overabundant in his garden.
4. I’m reading World Without End on my Kindle, a library loan. I am on the waiting list for the sequel.
5. We watched Wonder Woman for free, using a Red Box reward.
1. Fall is in the air here too, so I made a pot of “clean out the fridge” soup. Lentils, potatoes, carrots, zucchini, onions and garlic cooked in veggie broth. So good, cheap and nutritious, and cleaned a few limp veggies out of the fridge. I’ll take some tomorrow to my dad and stepmom.
2. Picked all my green tomatoes, and trying to ripen them in my kitchen window. I suck at growing veggies, this is my last attempt, as I think my deck doesn’t get hot enough. I’ll stick to flowers next year.
3. Re-listed a few clothing items for sale online.
4. Put a few more worn out clothing items in the bag for textile recycling.
That’s all.
Fried Green Tomatoes are delicious!
That soup sounds tasty! Do you cook the lentils ahead of time, or just throw everything in the pot at the same time? (new to cooking with lentils here…) Thanks!
Lentils cook about the same as potato chunks. I just chuck it all in together.
Jen is right, red lentils cook in about 20 minutes, so I threw everything in the pot except for the zucchini, (I did sautée the onions and garlic for a bit first) as I didn’t want that to get too soft, and that cooked for only 10. Don’t forget to always rinse your dry lentils!
Awesome! Thanks to you both for the info. I think I know what I’m making for dinner tonight. 🙂
FFT, My Leg Is Killing Me Edition: Have been in pretty severe pain from hamstring tendonitis in my left leg for a week. Planning to call DH’s chiropractor and set up an appointment if there’s still no improvement by tomorrow a.m. However:
(1) Realized after coming home from the Regional Market yesterday morning that I needed to put myself under house arrest–so, except for a couple of essential errands where I’ve let DH do most of the legwork, I’ve gone nowhere and spent nothing this weekend. Frugal in spite of myself.
(2) DH actually seems to be doing a little better (both mind-wise and mood-wise) the last few days because he can actively help me.
(3) Am very thankful that I decided not to attend my Literary Society’s Annual General Meeting (i.e., North American conference) in California next weekend, for non-orthopedic reasons–since I might have had to call it off for orthopedic reasons. That would have been big buckaroonies down the tube.
(4) Have been cooking up a storm yesterday and today (since at least I can do food prep sitting down!).
(5) Unrelated to the leg pain issue, DH and I had a long-postponed meeting with our financial advisor on Thursday–and we discovered that thanks to various frugal decisions we’ve made over the years, we’re actually in better shape than either of us realized. This has been a great comfort during sessions with my icebag.
Ouch! Hope you are feeling better soon. Very frustrating to want to do, but be unable to, due to pain. Please listen to your body, and rest as long as it wants.
1. Had two gifts to give so used a coupon to get ridiculously low priced baskets. Filled each with four different kinds of jam and two different kinds of pickles, all canned from my garden this summer. Baked a loaf of artisan bred for each basket and delivered them. I like giving consumables as gifts, so I am not cluttering up someone’s home.
2. It is going to be a very busy week so today I made a big pot of chicken stew that we will eat for the next four nights, with one of the multiple loaves of bread I made for us last week.
3. Yesterday we ate meatball sandwiches made from some elderly hamburger unearthed from the freezer. I was able to spice up the meat enough so that if it was a tad freezer burned on the edges, no one noticed.
4. Someone gave me Vera Bradley placemats. I don’t like and don’t use placemats so handy sewing husband turned four placemats into eight thick pot holders that I will use and be thankful for.
5. Accepted a bag of dried cherries a friend received as a gift but didn’t like. Yum.
Frugal fail: Made a healthy breakfast of yogurt and a few of the dried cherries and rushed out to the car to make it to a meeting on time. Today, three days later, I went back into the cupboard and found the cherries AND the almost full quart jar of homemade yogurt sitting there. In the rush, I crammed everything back into the cupboard, including the yogurt!!
3.
Dried cherries are delicious added to a green salad, especially when tomato season is over where I live.
Being a fermented product, the yogurt is probably unharmed by sitting out 3 days instead of 12 hours. It will be a lot more tart, though. I actually leave my store-bought yogurt out of the fridge for 24 hours when I bring it home. It makes it more firm and easier to eat on the go, plus the yogurt pulls away from the carton cleanly so there’s no waste and the carton can be recycled without having to be washed. Quick rinse and into the recycling bin.
I had put it in the fridge because I could not stand to throw it away. After reading your note this morning, I ate some for lunch and am still here to tell the tale. Now that I think about it, yogurt is carried in camel pouches in the desert and they probably don’t have refrigerated pouches! Thanks for the suggestion that I eat it anyway. Save me a lot of waste and money!
You’re very welcome! Glad I could help. Good point on the camel pouches. 😀
1. Taking a page from Katy’s #4, I will be taking out our lap robes, and warm clothing in anticipation of another winter in an old cold house and lowering outside temperatures.
2. Last year scored some good quality sweatshirts which will come in handy this fall. The themes were all Holiday, but not over the top stuff! They were found at a clearance center for as low as $2 which was an incredible bargain.
3. Along with about 25% of the population, I am fighting a cold so no spending this weekend.
4. Husband bought me dinner out last night because I didn’t feel well – portions so huge they served for lunch today as well.
5. Early monthly habit of putting together a general budget and meal plan for October. I don’t believe in planning in too much detail because unforeseen circumstances inevitably pop up as we go along. I do like to have a general idea of upcoming expenses and supplies on hand.
1. We started the annual “thinning of our woods” today. A win on several fronts: the woods were overcrowded and needed to be thinned, we have a start on next year’s firewood supply, and we both got lots of free exercise.
2. I was getting bored and annoyed with my house, which usually means I start rearranging furniture like mad. And that’s fine, it’s a free fix. But then I thought about what was really annoying me, and realized it was the dirty kitchen windows. The massive dust buildup from living in a rural area was out of control. So I washed the windows (except for the spot with my two year old granddaughter’s lip prints from where she kissed her reflection – that’s priceless and precious). Sometimes a cleaning is all the house really needs for me to be content. I love my house again!
3. Took one for the team and ate the three corn dogs left from the grandchildren’s last visit before the dreaded freezer burn could make them even worse than they are to begin with (can you tell I’m not a fan of corn dogs?) I should add, the three corn dogs were eaten over the course of three days. There’s no way I could eat three corn dogs in one sitting – nor should I.
4. Took advantage of the amazing autumn weather to hang laundry outside again today.
5. Did a food trade with my neighbor – I gave her pesto made from this summer’s out of control basil; she gave me delicious apples (the apples from my tree are good for applesauce but not for eating plain). We both think we got the best of the trade.
I’m also in the “clean up the woods mode” here. After a long, dry summer, there is a lot of dry wood under the trees that needs picked up and turned into firewood before it gets rained on enough to make it soggy again. After reading your post, I looked at my windows….oh, my! I need to take a page from your book and wash them. Sigh, so many tasks, so little time. On the bright side, it’s all great exercise!
1. Checked out the movie Bad Moms for free from the library while I was working my Sunday part-time job. One of the perks of checking books in is being able to snag a new movie coming back. 😉
2. Sensibly used up $92 which was going to expire today at the grocery store buying things we needed/or would need.
3. Co-worker was telling me about a great Mexican restaurant and how fab their fish tacos are, went home and heatedly up leftovers. We will go eventually.
4. Used water from the hot water bottle to water plants, did Swagbucks all weekend long, running space heaters only where we are located not turning on the heat, watching Netflix and Amazon Prime, listening to Hoopla and reading books from the library.
Your #3 is the pillar of a frugal life.
Thank you for reminding me about Hoopla. I forgot all about it, and they have Hunt for the Wilderpeople, which is on my list!
1) Status symbol trigger warning- drove the Prius today for a longer trip instead of our equally sexy 2004 Dodge Durango, which is a paid-off gas guzzler.
2) Ate leftovers for lunch.
3) Making spaghetti and playing board games tonight with the family.
4) Reading library books for entertainment and socialization. I host neighborhood book club this week and we choose a book from our library’s diverse assortment of book club kits. Each tote comes with ten copies of the book plus a discussion guide. I love our library!
5) Reading Five Frugal Things and getting motivated by this amazing community.
1. Haven’t turned the heat on — instead pulled out the microwavable heating pads.
2. Been listening to free book on CD from the library.
3. Used a rebate Visa for groceries today. I had to buy new tires and Continental had a $70 rebate which was promptly turned in. I did splurge and buy some quilting material after a trip to my local quilt store. But that’s entertainment, Christmas gifts, and warmth while I work on them! 🙂
4. Watched free movies on PBS and Amazon this weekend.
My Love Don’t Cross That River: http://www.pbs.org/pov/mylovedontcrossthatriver/video/my-love-dont-cross-that-river/ Prepare to cry. Truly delightful movie about an elderly Korean couple. Trust me on this one…check it out.
The other is Living on One http://livingonone.org/
It’s about families in Guatemala living on one dollar a day. Amazing.
Both movies give you food for thought, but for different reasons.
5. Made breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the week. If I spend a couple of hours cooking on Sunday the rest of the week is easy. If not, I pay for it later with money and frustration.
Sandy, thanks for the movie recommendations.
I recently watched My Love Don’t Cross That River and was so impressed with the couple’s quiet courage through difficult life experiences.
I sobbed. Seriously. What was it, 76 years together? I love the story of their arranged marriage and how kind he was.
1) I made some long overdue changes to our home phone, cable TV and internet plans. This took over 6 hours of time, consisting of multiple fruitless phone calls, two trips to the Xfinity store, and several in-home technician visits. Totally irritating to accomplish, but these changes may save us between $150-200 per month.
2) I got my hair cut this weekend. I go to a nice salon in my town, but skip the wash and blow dry to bring the cost down. I also don’t color my hair any more – primarily for health reasons, but cost savings are an added benefit. (And no, I do not think I personally look good with graying hair, but I try not to dwell on it.)
3) I sold a leather wallet and a faux fur throw on Ebay, both unused in new condition. I bought these last year, thinking I would need them. I had absolutely no need for them.
4) I’m having fun reading through the Complete Tightwad Gazette book again. Long ago I gave my copy to a friend. Instead of checking it out at the library, I re-purchased a second-hand copy because I’d like to keep the book in my personal collection.
5) My one fall fleece jacket feels tight and uncomfortable. Hopping online to look for a replacement briefly crossed my mind, but I decided to make do with the current jacket, or try to find something else already in my closet to wear instead.
I’m so impressed with your #1! Glad to see that persistence pays off in a lucrative way.
I too cannot color my grey hair because of health reasons. I am allergic, tried all types. Anyway this works out for me because there is no decision to be made whether I should color my hair or not. And I am very contented with this. Health always trumps vanity.
1. Meal planned today. Found 8 meals I can make with what I have on hand.
2. Wanted to go see a movie, but rented a Redbox as it’s a lazy Sunday and at least 50 miles round trip to theater.
3. Organized my greeting cards. Have been buying too many at last minute because couldn’t find the one I needed.
4. Made my sister “49 reasons I love you” for her 49th Bday. I hand wrote them on lined scrapbook paper, put them on 4×6 scrapbook papers, then tucked them in a little photo album. She loved it. So many funny memories!
5. Paid off a hospital bill today. Woo hoo! Only $300 left to have all of our medical bills paid.
#4. What a wonderful, thoughtful gift!
Thanks. My parents enjoyed it, too. We all read them together.
I am totally stealing your number 4 for my sister’s upcoming birthday. What a wonderful idea!
Steal away! I get so many good ideas from here!
1). I enjoyed wearing a new to me necklace 3 times this week. I got it at a yard sale for $1.00 but receive multiple compliments each time I put it on!
2) Stopped at another yard sale on the way to the grocery store where for $5 I was able to buy 10 freezer containers with lids, a Tupperwear spice set from the 1970s (very popular on eBay), a book I have wanted to own, and some vintage recipe booklets that are focused on saving $$. So much more I wanted to buy – the sellers were reducing prices and said in 30 minutes it would all be free! I like to go at the end because they just want to get rid of it all and I really don’t need anything. Will sell the tupperwear to cover the cost of my purchases.
3)Made a covered dish with things I had at home and enjoyed a huge spread at our church luncheon today.
4) Made reservations for an overnight trip tomorrow to Asheville, NC through a discount booking site. This is my birthday gift from my husband and son (an experience, not things). Will enjoy the sunset from our rooftop bar overlooking the Blue Ridge mountains while waiting on my son to get off work and join us for dinner. Also have a massage the next day and will probably drive the parkway to see the fall leaves or hike to see nature up close. I am more excited about my brief middle of the week escape than any gift I have received in awhile.
5) I usually receive clothes for my fall birthday but I haven’t even swapped my summer ones out yet. My “old” clothes will feel new and I will have more time to plan my purchases to match needs not wants. Trying to streamline to a capsule wardrobe.
1. I also woke up to a chill in the house. Made coffee, opened the drapes and refused to turn on the heat. Also made chicken orzo soup for dinner. Yummy and warm.
2. Sold an new audio book on Amazon for $29.
3. Stopped in the dollar store for the weekend paper and generic magic erasers.They had 2 packs and bonus packs with 3. I bought two 3 packs so it was like I got a free 2 pack.
4. Used a coupon for free 12 pack of Coke that I’d gotten from old Coke Rewards program. It expired on 9/30 and used it with a sale so I got 3 12 packs for $5. Also picked up this week’s digital freebies- Cake for One mix and TicTacs. I’ll save them for a care package for DS#2 at college.
5. Used Staples Rewards to get a small binder, Post it tabs and 2 plastic envelopes for an organizing project and 3 cases of seltzer. Also recycled a toner cartridge.
1. I took my daughter out for pizza for lunch using a free coupon she got last year.
2. My mum brought over a serving of seeet and sour sausages for tea. Yum!
3. We organised a play date for tomorrowvara local park – $0.
4. Free lunch and coffee tomorrow at work!
5. Arranged another play date for the weekend- a free event set up by our local council.
I love those shoes…mega jealous
1. Picked my homesick daughter up at school. I drove there in our hybrid filled with cheaper Costco gas. We returned her on Sunday in the same hybrid and also had dinner with her in the fancy dining hall using her free guest passes that come with her meal plan.
2.Took my daughter to a movie at the discount theater. We bought her a soda but we skipped the treats.
3. We stopped at the Thrift Store across the street after the movie. My daughter found a really cute little Sake set to give her sister for Christmas.
4. My daughter loved the coat I picked up at a garage sale for $5. It still had it’s tags so she now has a nice new coat for winter.
5. I did several loads of laundry over the weekend, taking advantage of the
cheaper electric rates.
6. We invited our other daughter over for breakfast instead of going out to see her little sister before returning her to school. We made eggs, waffles and smokie links that we had in the pantry, fridge, freezer.
1. I needed one thing from the drug store, so walked the one mile to Rite Aid on Sunday morning. Found a working Bic lighter on the sidewalk on the way there, and the walk helped my back feel better.
2. My favorite church rummage sale was Friday morning. I didn’t find a lot, but did buy two Misto olive oil sprayers for $1, which I have been wanting. Also picked up two pairs of earrings for myself, five items to sell, and a set of measuring cups that has cups for 2/3 and 3/4. My mismatched set is going in the free box. I spent $8 total and have someone buying one item today for $5.
3. Picked up 8 folding closet doors for free that are in good shape. There were also interior doors, but I didn’t have enough room to take them all.
4. Sold a coffee mug on ebay for $10 that I had bought at a garage sale for 75 cents. Got a handful of new listings up and relisted my duds.
5. I have original wood floors in my 1940 house, but a dirty looking gap between the floor and baseboards. I bought enough shoe molding to do one room to see if it was worth the trouble. Time consuming to cut and paint, but a low cost improvement that makes a world of difference! Very happy with how it looks clean and finished.
Misto sprayers are wonderful. I bought a new one at an estate sale last year.
I had read some negative reviews online that they can become clogged and stop working, even with cleaning. Because of that, I can’t decide if I should give the second one to my sister or keep it as a backup.
I have had mine for 7 or 8 years with no problems. Use it for olive oil.
1. Made a huge pot of tortilla soup this weekend to eat this week, mostly from food on hand except for 1 pound of turkey. Used up some needed-to-be-used leftover cut up veggies in the process.
2. Went in with three friends to order flowers for a dear friend whose mom passed away instead of going solo.
3. Did a minimal grocery shop and will use up food on hand this week.
4. Went to library yesterday and got 4 great books to read.
5. Didn’t spend any money on entertainment or shopping (except aforesaid groceries ) this weekend.
I too watched an episode or two of Bargain Hunt this weekend. It is addictive!
Here are my FFT —
1) I had free tickets for the Home & Patio Show. My hubby and I went on a rainy afternoon. It was disappointing, but at least we didn’t pay for the tickets. We didn’t by food from the snack bar or food trucks. We came home to eat.
2) I ran indoors at the YMCA yesterday using my membership. A Nor’easter is bringing rains and winds to our area, and I couldn’t run outdoors. However, I had to work off the M&Ms that my hubby bought and I ate. I brought my own towel and refillable water bottle to the gym, so no extra money spent. Besides good health is frugal.
3) Great prices on meat and chicken this week at the grocery store. I stocked up. I lost most of my food in Hurricane Irma, so I had a nearly empty freezer. There was an scanning error at checkout. I stopped at the service desk and had the $9.31 returned to me.
4) I again sold two more things on Saturday — one on eBay and one using NextDoor. I also worked my little side hustle on Saturday. Extra money. Yippee!
5) I continue to do all the usual things. Cooking from scratch, eating at home, drinking water, wearing thrifted clothes, watching nearly free TV, using the library, and buying second hand.
I so hate that you lost most of your food from the hurricane but I am glad to see folks in Florida recovering from that awful storm.
Thank you, Cindy. It does add up to a bit of money. However, I am so thankful that our losses were minor. It could have so much worse. I have begun dreaming of a summer house in the mountains — away from the heat and away from the storms. Maybe if I am super frugal and give up eating. 🙂
Hi Bee! did your son make it past Mount Washington yet? I know they had snow at the top yesterday (the rest of the area was fine. just checking to see if he was past the whites yet.
My son had an absolutely perfect day to hike Mt. Washington. The sun was shining and temperatures were in the high 60s. He called me from the top to let me know that he had a great climb. He is well into Maine now and has a little under 200 miles left. He should be finished around the 10th of October. He is tired and ready to be done. He has lost a lot of weight. He said he is dreaming of pot roast and mashed potatoes.
glad he’s past the Whites! He’s the first one i thought of when i saw the weather report. 🙂
I bet you can’t wait to have him back home (and he can’t wait to sleep every day on a mattress and soft pillow!)
It’s been so interesting to hear of his adventures. Thank you so much for sharing!
1. I took my leftover chicken (originally purchased for 79 cents a lb), added potatoes, carrots, spices, rice, 42 cent can of tomato paste, with chicken broth and water, to make a soup to eat all week for supper.
2. I made fig cobbler with my free figs from my fig tree. I tossed them in the freezer last summer.
3. I took the rest of the leftover chicken, and using a variation of the chicken enchilada recipe The Prudent Homemaker blog has in her recipe list, I made enchiladas and brought them to work today for lunch! Yay!
4. I made homemade tea the old fashioned way to bring to work.
5. I dyed my hair. The dye cost me $3.00.
1) Dog and I took each other for a walk this morning. Picked up one bag of cans/bottles for .05 return each – $1.30 total. Also one big bag of garbage. I haven’t done this in a long time so it is good to restart this habit.
2) Ate some cinnamon bread from the back of the fridge and yesterday’s coffee for breakfast. A yummy way to take one for the team.
3) Put one load of laundry out to dry on the porch rack this am and will do another – mostly towels.
4) Put the Mitford series which Bee and Mary W. mentioned on my list for the library. Watched Poldark season premier yesterday!
5) The news from Las Vegas has me heartsick, so today I will try to do some local kindnesses and will use my free cell phone long distance to call members of Congress. Sending peace to all who are impacted – which is, indeed, all of us.
I love Poldark, but I did not see it last night. 🙁 I had such a busy weekend that I feel asleep on the couch. I will stream it tonight. Was it wonderful?
I saw 3/4’s of it and thought it was great. Villains perpetrating nefarious deeds, a little romance, a few new characters and some fantastic costumes. And the sea! The sea feels like a character in and of itself. I will finish tonight on PBS Passport. 🙂
I am really feeling sorry for Elizabeth, which means she is playing her part well.
I love your pot roast hack! I actually have some French onion soup mix in my pantry and I’ll need to do that. I’ve come down with bronchitis so soup has been a staple in my diet for the last few days.
This week:
1. I turned one container of homemade roasted pumpkin into pumpkin puree.
2. With the pumpkin puree I baked cinnamon rolls and pumpkin cookies. I froze these so we can have sweets later on the cheap.
3. I baked a batch of bacon that was about to go bad. We bake ours in the oven to render all of the fat. I roll the bacon in a paper towel and store it in a Ziploc in the freezer. This way, we always have cooked bacon on hand, so we don’t have to fry bacon every time we need some.
4. I’m prepping for a blogger conference this month and used a Vistaprint 20% off coupon to order promotional materials.
5. I landed a rush freelance writing gig that paid $75 for very little work.
Your food always sounds so delicious Mrs. Picky Pincher!
Good idea on the bacon. Mine is in the freezer, uncooked, and it seems like too much trouble to get it out most days, since I really need to take it out a day ahead and let it thaw. I suppose I do save $$ and calories by not eating it, lol. 😉
1. picked up my free things this weekend at the store: tic tacs (for DS), 13oz hummus, agave syrup and the mug cake that came out. the mug cake was better than i expected – DS made 2 more over the weekend. I wouldn’t buy the box since i have a mug cake recipe, but it was good for free!
2. made vegan cabbage roll soup for lunch yesterday. modified the recipe to use what i had. funniest part of that: DS got out of bed, ran down the stairs and into the kitchen and said “i don’t know what that is, but i need to eat it! it smells amazing!”. I said “It’s vegan cabbage roll soup”. He said “never mind”.
3. worked in my front yard planting bulbs and spreading some mulch. almost done with the work out there!
4. made apple coffee cake quickbread last night (to warm the house and because i felt like cooking something and using a dented apple). i brought it into work today. lasted less than 18 minutes.
5. large meeting at work today so i will have lunch and snacks for free. 🙂
1 – I resisted a trip to Trader Joe’s to pick up Butternut Squash Parmigiana, because I would have walked out of there with many other things $$$$$ – found a recipe for same online & will make it this week.
2 – First Tuesday of each month those over 60 save 6% on groceries at a local chain – I just barely qualify 🙂 so will meal plan today & shop tomorrow,
3 – Vacationing in Orlando at the end of the month – transferred Disney Rewards from the credit card we pay off each month to the reward card, will get us several meals.
4 – The granddaughters stayed over Saturday – we had a movie night, rented Wonder Woman with free Amazon credit I’d earned & made popcorn.
5 – Task today is renting a car for Orlando vacation – comparing price through Costco, Delta or using a SaveAround coupon
Let’s see what I can come up with from this past week.
1. Filled up the 9yo Nox with the cheapest around Costco gas.
2. Stuck to the list during the Costco trip and made sure to leave DH at home.
3. Cleaned out small appliances and cookware cabinets. Freed up mucho space.
4. Dropped two boxes full of stuff off at the thrift store. Spent .99 on something we really needed for our camper.
Frugal fail:
Too much take out this week. No real reason. That makes it a worse failure.
1. Went grocery shopping on Saturday and made enough dinner to last a few nights and to get us through a few lunches.
2. Brought food to work today.
3. Put some throw pillows in my car to return. I don’t need them.
4. Purchased nothing this weekend, other than food.
5. Brought LO to the park for free entertainment, and decluttered my clothes for my own (also free) entertainment.
I love Autumn – the leaves, the chilly mornings and the mild afternoons. Time for soup, chili and stew!
1) I picked up 4 small eye of round steak on sale yesterday and a bag of 99 cent mixed salad. I grilled the steaks and made salad and veggies for dinner last night. We had two small steaks leftover, I think I’ll cut the steaks up and make steak fajitas for dinner tonight.
2) The weather was so nice yesterday, it was about 79F, so I opened the windows, turned on the ceiling fan and enjoyed the breeze and not using the AC. It’s still warm enough at night I’m not having to turn on the heat. I love Autumn weather.
3) Atwoods has Blue Buffalo dog food on sale this week, so I’m heading over to buy a 30 lb bag today, which will last the month of October.
4) I plan to restock my food stash here at work, since I was paid on Friday. That always saves me money, since I can get snacks at the Dollar Tree so cheap.
5) Hubby didn’t bring up the trip to Florida (that would be the end of this week) over the weekend, since I told him I didn’t want to go last week. I’m thankful. I do not want to spend anymore money on vacations this year. I’d rather save it for next year.
No spending on yachts or gold-plated apartments in the sky. That’s a win!
Three FT and two frugal frustrations:
FTs
1) Pulling things out of the freezer to eat for dinner, even when it sometimes means not eating until 8 because I forgot in the morning. We’re getting close to fitting everything into one upright and the freezer attached to the fridge, which will allow me to unplug the second upright.
2) Cleaned up about half the garden this weekend, bringing in two big boxes of summer squash, green tomatoes, and green beans before it gets too cold. Also two big volunteer kabocha squash that grew out of the compost pile. I knew about one, but the other was a surprise, buried under miles of vines.
3) Packing and cleaning the house we’re trying to sell with the help of one adult daughter, rather than hiring it done. Slow, dirty (shocking how much dust we’re finding behind books and under furniture!) and a LOT of work, but frugal.
FFs:
1) The peaches on my volunteer tree disappeared one day last week. This isn’t unusual – if I’m not careful, they go overnight the instant they’re ripe because of a couple of fat happy neighborhood raccoons and porcupines. This is the first year the peaches showed over a fence, and, unlike previous years, there are no pits or half-eaten peaches on the ground. Since a dozen ripe tomatoes walked off the same day, I’m pretty sure it was people. Infuriating!
2) After careful forecasting out about 10 years, hubs and I made the decision NOT to buy the perfect house in the new city unless we can sell our current home – and chances are very slim that PH will still be there by then. Thanks to the encouragement from this group last week we did insist our realtor pull more reasonable comps for the rental, but even at that higher amount, it doesn’t make sense to lose that income stream. Sigh. There are lots of ways that being frugal isn’t all that hard (what on earth would I do with a gold-plated apartment? Or a Lear jet?), but this is a tough one.
Years ago I had a garden with beautiful corn. Every.single. ear. was stolen…not half eaten. It was perfectly picked off….five rows of it. I have not had a garden since.
Katy, your lack of good insulation made me think of a similar issue. When I bought my house 9 years ago, I was awestruck at the whole wall of windows on one side of the house. It has a beautiful view of the lake through all those windows. The flip side is, all of those gorgeous windows are single paned. It gets super cold in that room the winter. The cost to replace them would be astronomical due to that fact that they are also pretty large. Anyway, for anyone thinking of buying a home, make sure to make a list of little things like this to check out before you buy. I still love my home with all its quirky little problems and drafty feel. We just have to use blankets in there in the winter.
Have you ever tried putting up the insulating window plastic in the winter? We used to live in a house built in 1886. Think single pane, with “bubbles” windows. We found that 3M made the best product. It adheres with double-stick tape and you (gently) use a blow dryer to shrink it to the window until it’s taut. Clear enough to still see out of pretty well, kept us warmer AND kept the heating bill down.
We actually put in double paned windows soon after buying the house.
I am prolonging nr. 4 on your list each and ever year.
We do heat up our apartment, but I don’t mind wearing a warm hoodie around the house instead of turning the heat up until we become toast 🙂
I saw a few posts from friends that they put their heat on this morning in Massachusetts. I normally do not put my heat on until November 1st.
My goal for turning it on is also November 1, but here on Canada’s damp west coast, we usually don’t make it. Plus DH isn’t of like mind with this, and will turn on the furnace earlier.
Cute shoes!
* Got 2 Halloween costumes for the kids at the thrift store. 5$ for both.
* Saved about 500$ on pest control services (?). We have mice in the attic. A family member came to fix it (he works in the field, so we got “the real deal”). Gave him homemade salsa, apple sauce and a (regifted) bottle of wine as a thank you.
* Meeting up with a girlfriend tommorow. Will go for a walk and talk. Free+exercice= win-win!
* I think I dodged a bullet… I had teeth repairs a month ago and was still in pain after 3 weeks. The dentist suspected I might need a root canal because of the pain. After 3 1/2 weeks the pain finally subsided, so I’m pretty sure I am all right. Yay!!
* Decided to keep track of all personnal expenses and really evaluate what can be avoided. I sometime shop because I am bored. It’s never big expenses, but it still adds up.
Have a great frugal day!
1. We had an almost no-cost dinner this evening. Baked potatoes made with leftover veggies from last night and toppings left over from a recent gathering. Easy and tasty!
2. Grocery Outlet had crazy-good bargains today! Examples.: $1.99 for 11 oz can of Folger’s Classic Roast Coffee (I bought 6 — it tastes good!) and 1 lb. of Persian Cukes for 99 cents, and many more great bargains. I had a $10 off $30 coupon from earlier this week so I really saved a lot. My splurge: a GIGANTIC pumpkin for $3.99. 🙂 I didn’t really need the pumpkin, but I do like getting into the holiday spirit.
3. Dyed my own beginning-to-gray hair using Wella Demi hair color purchased at the beauty supply store. I mix it to a shade I like and probably save $130 over the salon price. Hair-dyeing is a new thing for me, but at 60 I am looking for a job again and have been advised that I need to cover my grays (can you believe it?? 🙁 )
4. Sat with a friends daughter on Saturday night. I will be paid, but the big plus is that I love the girl and the time we spent together was fun.
5. Still have not gotten the used-clothing-selling/buying/wearing thing going. Will try again this week…. starting small. So much to do lately!
1. I, like Susanna D, was feeling discontented with my home. DH and i deep cleaned the extra bedroom (walls too!) and I like it again. De-cluttering and deep cleaning makes everything more likeable. I watch HGTV when on the elliptical at the gym. I have become very aware that I am influenced by the message of “rip it out and buy everything new”. I don’t believe that and find that it breeds discontent. I am doing more weights and less time on cardio machines so less exposure. I let my amazon audible subscription die and I miss it. Need to find a replacement so not brainwashed by these shows.
2. Cooked up leftover potatoes cubes in bacon fat with onions. Final few minutes added half a tomato. Topped all with a green onion and parsley from garden. Along with sausages and eggs, an excellent breakfast and cleaned out the fridge a bit to boo!
3. We’ve been watching a lot of Netflix lately. Decided last night to keep tv off. DH did 90 minutes of driving for Uber. I worked on building a blog. So much to learn! We both ate leftovers out of the fridge.
4. Have made a commitment to not grocery shop until Oct 15 (decided on Oct 1). We have a lot of extra food as we stocked up during hurricanes. We have more than enough food. Need to work through older inventory. we’ve been good at keeping freezer down to a dull roar in the event we get another storm and lose power. Filling it up with water bottles instad of food.
5. Planning a vacation with grandkids in November. Visiting family and friends. I have some free hotel rooms due to travel rewards from work travel. Will stay one night in hotel. Kids get very excited about hotels!
Alexandra, Have you tried borrowing audiobooks through overdrive from your library system? The librarian can help you set it up if you need and you’ll have free, ad-free listening!
Thanks Shannon. I have considered it but need to get on board!
It’s great! I get through so many books while commuting and cleaning my house. 🙂 They have thousands of titles!
If you’re keeping a running total of what you’ve made on re-sales, I’d love to know the year-end total.