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I was on my way to a work meeting, when I came to the realization that traffic was peak crappy and I should just turn my car back around. (There’s a repeat of this meeting on Monday.) I took this as an opportunity to make a Costco run to gas up the car, return a $45 item and pick up coffee, honey and the dog food that I buy for my father’s dog. I then dropped off the dog food and popped in one of my favorite Goodwills. I bought a couple of mugs to resell on eBay and nothing else.
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I worked yesterday and brought some leftover split pea soup that needed to get eaten up. I somehow avoided all the candy and cookies that populate break rooms this time of year, which should earn me some kind of medal. Nothing frugal about eating a gut-ton of unhealthy food, even when it’s free.
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I’m arranging to sell three items through Craigslist, NextDoor.com and Facebook Marketplace tomorrow. I sold some Discovery toys marble roll pieces through eBay and I’m thisclose to being ready to put a finish on my Broyhill
credenzabuffetsideboardcupboardthingy, which should bring in a couple hundred dollars. I also have two new paid writing assignments. I know it’s a ridiculous goal, but I’d like to bring in an extra $1000 per week with all my side hustles. -
My husband brought me a big box of free bubble wrap from his work.
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I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.
Five Frugal Things
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Instead of leaving them to fend for themselves with takeout when I abandon them for FinCon, I’ve premade a meatloaf for husband and child, along with a supply of pasta as well. And for their kiddie play date, I’ve gathered a box of craft materials harvested from my old scrapbooking supplies so they can make a mural, paper hats or masks, puppets, and Pom Pom animals. That should be enough to keep a couple of toddlers busy for a few hours!
1. Had a pedicure at the beauty school. The students are very thorough and it is much cheaper than at a salon.
2. Went to an estate sale and purchased a stainless steel cookie sheet for $2. It is a bigger version of one I already have which I refer to as “the best cookie sheet in the world.” My husband gave me the first one as a present and he says “it was not cheap.”
3. Making meals from what we have in the house and avoiding the grocery store for a little longer.
4. Altered a cheap Halloween card to make an appropriate birthday card for my son in law. Specialty cards for people born on Halloween are not cheap, when you can find them.
5. Saved .30 a gallon on gas with grocery gas points.
6. It appears we got a free cat. (Ha. Free indeed.) One appeared on the porch and asked to stay. We are looking for the owner but due to her severe case of ear mites and her unspayed state, I suspect there is not one who will come forward. We had her treated for the mites today so the outlay of funds has already started.
My daughter has had a cat for several years that when we took him to the vet for “the worst ear mites they had ever seen” the tech said “nothing more expensive than a free cat”. He came from a hoarder situation and to this day, they struggle to feed him with the other two cats – he is so needy and yet so charming…..
Yes, this one is quite charming also. I doubt the other cats will be charmed when they finally meet her, though.
My free cat that my husband and our friend rescued straight from the street back in 2007 when she was barely 5 weeks old and she is now 10 years old has cost us almost 8,000 dollars just in vet bills and she has insurance that does not include her special food and her daily allergy medicine and litter each month. But I would not change anything for the world she is our daughter since we could not have children and we love her and spoil her and her grandma spoils her rotten lol. Smokey is great at detecting when I’m having an episode and I’m about to faint.
I love both these cat stories! Being a cat person myself, I’ve had many “free” cats in the last 20 years. I’ve found that, vet bills or not, when those special cats find their way to our house, they become beloved pets that are essential to our family.
1. Sold a book on Amazon.
2. Picked up my free Halloween donut at Krispy Kreme. Not healthy but it was tasty!
3. Planted the Shasta daisy plants I picked up from a fellow freecycler. Four plants that will be great in my side garden I am slowly redoing with free or markdown plants.
4. DH couldn’t decide what he wanted for dinner. I made myself a BLT with one of the 2 small tomatoes that were on a volunteer plant in my window box. Delicious! Also ate 2 yummy pears that were really ripe.
5. Bought a huge pumpkin for $2.50 at Aldi’s.
Be careful where you plant the daisy’s. I planted two plants and they took over my perennial bed. By the end of the season that’s all you could see were daisy’s.
I wish my Shasta daisies would do that. I really like them. I have four plants and yes, they are perennials, but they have hardly spread at all. They are only a little larger now than when I planted them 5 years ago.
Thanks Katrina! I’m actually planning a cottage garden so I’ll be glad if they spread!
1. Got a free lunch at work today, which was perfect since I left mine sitting in the fridge at home.
2. Husband replaced our two light switches himself (dimmers need to be specifically for LEDs or they make the lights flicker apparently).
3. Ran the 6 miles to work on Wednesday when I really just wanted to hop on the bus (saved myself the $2.75 fare).
4. Bought my son a pair of winter boots at Goodwill for $2.39 because preschool wants a pair left there for the rainy season.
5. Made breakfast sandwiches for dinner instead of ordering take out on a night we’re too tired to make real food.
1. Got a free lunch at work today, which was perfect since I left mine sitting in the fridge at home.
2. Husband replaced our two light switches himself (dimmers need to be specifically for LEDs or they make the lights flicker apparently).
3. Ran the 6 miles to work on Wednesday when I really just wanted to hop on the bus (saved myself the $2.75 fare).
4. Bought my son a pair of winter boots at Goodwill for $2.39 because preschool wants a pair left there for the rainy season.
5. Made breakfast sandwiches for dinner instead of ordering take out on a night we’re too tired to make real food.
Re#: Hey, that’s real food.
Oh number 1: many’s the time that I have done that! Only slightly less annoying than going out to buy a sandwich, eating it and then remembering that I brought my lunch and it’s sitting in the fridge at work. And it’s Friday, so I need to lug it back home with me.
I Feel your pain.
Your monthly goal for side hustles is impressive, but makes sense with two boys in college. How much longer until one graduates?
1. Asked my mom to order things for the shop through amazon prime, rather than pay for shipping myself or wait for free delivery.
2. We watched Ichabod Crane and The Great Pumpkin on old VHS tapes we’ve had for years, after my daughter made us dinner from scratch! The videos should last until the kids go to college.
3. Visited the library for new reading material — scored a new Janet Evanovich and a new Louise Penny/Chief Inspector Gamache book. The librarian and I are discussing having an un-college fair, for those students who don’t have the inclination to go to college. Highlight career options like plumber, electrician, mechanic and ways to get that training.
4. Playing Spider Man Operation with the kids before I take it to the shop. They have no recollection playing it, but they’ve sort of outgrown it, so we’ll have the opportunity to try it and pass it along immediately, for free.
5. Frugal thrill: I am all caught up on all my laundry. This is a big deal with laundry for the shop. I will enjoy it for the weekend, because my sister-in-law will accompany me to the bins Monday and we will probably bring home twice as much laundry as ususal!
2. We watched the Great Pumpkin tonight, I love it as much as the kids do.
My older son should be done by the end of winter term.
That must be a relief, financially. I’ll send him good wishes!
Wow, Katy – that’s great!!
RE #3: every year the high school in my town has a ‘non-college night’. (can’t remember what they actually call it). they have armed services, police, fire, local businesses, etc set up in the gym and the kids can go around and talk to people about their options. they get a good turn out every year even though i believe the majority of the students go on to college.
I love the idea of a un-college job fair. There are many jobs out there that pay well and do NOT require a traditional 4 year degree. Some have talents that lay elsewhere.
I wholeheartedly agree with the concept of an “uncollege” fair! Unfortunately I don’t see that EVER happening in the town I live in! They are hyper focused on college….and seem to forget to help those who may not be so inclined to attend. It’s really sad when you think about it….
It saddens me that schools work under the “every kid will go to college” assumption down here, and a lot of kids struggle with chemistry and other college-prep classes. A lot of kids eventually go into construction out here, and a percentage end up as mechanics, plumbers, electricians… at least I hope so, because I really enjoy utilizing those professionals!
All kids under 21 are eligible for Vocational-Technical school and fully paid for by our State tax funds. We, also, have several two-year colleges that offer degrees in Mechanical/Technical areas. The son of a friend went to Okmulgee Tech and once he graduated had a great job waiting for him.
I agree, there is no need to push all students towards a University degree. Many aren’t ready for college, plus, they and the citizens of their state would benefit from their vocational skills. Many times a learned vocation pays more than job with a degree. I hope you convince your Library to have a vocational fair, that’s an awesome way to bring attention things like this!!
1. Wore Goodwill thrifted dress and shoes to work, got compliments. 🙂
2. Have been craving a stress reduction shopping trip, stopped at Goodwill yesterday and bought a silk blouse (Talbots), a cotton top (Banana Republic) and an awesome linen dress (J.Crew for next summer) for $20 total (got extra 10% off for being over 55 and one item was half off).
3. Washed new silk blouse and one other silk thrift store blouse (both labeled “dry clean only”) in cold water and hung to dry, came out fine — didn’t want to pay more for dry cleaning than the blouses cost! Still need to give them a light press…
4. Brought breakfast to work all week. Ate clam chowder (made a pot on Sunday) for dinner all week.
5. Didn’t buy the Starbucks vanilla latte I really wanted this a.m.!
I wanted to comment on the dry cleaning issue. I dislike dry cleaning for the expense and the hassle of taking and picking up from the dry cleaners–it’s just another errand! I have had excellent luck hand washing or even using the washing machine on gentle or delicate for items that say “Dry Clean Only.” You can’t do this with a wool suit, but blouses and sweaters have come out great. I have often purchased cashmere sweaters (J. Crew, Ann Taylor, other fancy brands) at thrift stores and washed them on delicate and blocked them. I also heartily recommend using a sweater shaver and a steamer. It’s easier and faster to steam the wrinkles out of a garment than to iron it. I got mine on Amazon (free shipping) but you can probably find one in the bins!
1. Returned 2 shirts to Macy’s
2. Picked up a couple of ceramic thingies to repot some succulent clippings.
3. Used my rewards coupon for free appetizer at lazy dog for lunch
4. Sold an item on Amazon and got that in the mail
5. Found a package of merci chocolates in the pantry which will satisfy my cravings for a week or so
Please post a picture of the Broyhill thingy when done. I have secretly been in love with it, even though nothing I have is mid century. It’s just a cool peice.
1. This morning my kids ate leftovers from last night for breakfast and they loved it much more than breakfast type food I usually fix. Whoever came up with eating certain foods at a certain time of day anyway?
2. I got two thick cuts pork chops in the reduced section for $2.31. I sliced those in half and fed my family of four.
3. I was gifted 5 big bags of avocados. They are so expensive here so this was a treat, especially since they aren’t even ripe yet. I shared some of the bags with my mom and oldest daughter.
4. My husband cleaned up my car for me which was was so nice! He also changed my oil and filled it up with gas. He even took it one step further and re dyed my leather seats! My car has very light colored seats. Over the years they had become dingy blue from the constantly getting in and out with blue jeans rubbing against them. I found this strange considering I rarely buy new pants. I guess old pants still have dye fading out. Anyway, my seats look brand new in my 7 year old car.
5. I took my kids to the library to pick up a few library books and some Halloween DVDs for the weekend. I was shocked to find out I had a fine of $9! I put my books in the Dropbox outside on time, or so I thought. Oh well, moving along. I noticed my library has Chip Gaines new book but it was checked out already. This is on my to-read list. It’s amazing how brand new books/movies make it to the library so fast.
***I had so many frugal things in my mind earlier to post but now I’m completely blank. Happens to me every time! I’m going to have to start putting FFT in the notepad on my phone as they happen since I’m obviously losing my memory.
Oh heck, even my FFT was a bit light today.
Re# 1 – We do that all the time. When I married my husband he told me that he always eats breakfast, but it doesn’t have to eggs or cereal. He’ll eat soup, leftover casserole, or sandwiches, as well as the more traditional bisquits and gravy, eggs, waffles, pancakes, and French toast. I’ve even given him leftover taco salad. Pretty versatile and very frugal…nothing goes to waste.
Did you know you can freeze avocados? I have, and use the half size, lemon juice. Skin off!I freeze them first on a tray, and then put in bags! I graduated from college in 1976.. and avocados were not as common as they are today, in the Midwest, Great Lakes region! My good friend who was in grad school, lived in CA, came back from holiday breaks with her suitcase filled with avocados! From her parents yard.. of course we did not freeze them in those days, and I do not think our apartment fridge had much of a freezer. I do now often freeze if cheap or buy too many .. as back to single and love to cook!
I have heard that but haven’t tried it. I wanted to give some to my family because they love them . I may try to freeze a few this time.
I’ve done it. I probably wouldn’t eat them whole afterwards, but they’re great for guacamole!
1. Used up some pathetic potatoes and a sad head of cauliflower to make two nights worth of soup. Had half a roll of sausage and half a caramelized onion, so tossed those in, too. YUM. Happy to eat it for two nights running.
2. Husband has been wanting a sausage egg McMuffin, so I made those for dinner one night, using free moose sausage given to us for jars of jam and home made rolls instead of English muffins.
3. Used a new brand of powdered milk to make bread and the results were awful–you could taste the milk. So I sliced it up, tossed the cubes with olive oil, garlic powder and onion powder, and the resulting croutons were quite good. No powdered milk smell or taste detected. I am going back to my old brand of powdered milk for cooking.
4. Took a box of stuff to Goodwill and remembered to ask for a tax receipt.
5. Our table was much too big for our kitchen. It was handmade of oak. Husband, who does woodworking, asked what I wanted for my birthday and I said that I wanted him to cut down the table to a more manageable and friendly size. (Really, when you have guests, they are so far away that you feel like you should hand out those old style ear trumpets so we can hear each other.) He did as I asked and used the extra wood to put up another shelf in my spice cabinet. Both items thrilled me (when I was 20, if I thought that in the future I would be thrilled with a smaller table and a spice shelf for birthday gifts, I would have been in despair) for their usefulness and frugality. Oak is lovely.
Frugal and health fail: I love diet coke and one day I gave in a bought one of those $1.39 gigantic corner store monstrosities. There is a reason we don’t keep pop in our house.
Lindsey, I love reading your posts. We have such different opportunities for frugality, don’t we? Moose sausage is one I don’t imagine I’ll run into!
Yep, moose sausage is a new one on me too!
Although I used to travel to Finland regularly and they often served Reindeer Tongue as the appetiser on the evening flight (FinnAir). A member of the cabin crew reassured me one evening that there was lots of food, no one seemed hungry and I could have two dinner trays if I wanted. Menu? Reindeer Tongue appetiser, carp entree. (We throw carp back into the water after catching, as it’s a stinking horror to eat – just fished for sport in England!). The smell made me retch and when I explained why the mainly British passengers weren’t eating, she was thunderstruck.
But really? Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer having his tongue cut out! Urghhhh.
Moose, caribou, and especially bear meat can be very gamy, so turning them into spicy sausage is a safe way to cover up the gamy flavor. If we are having them in roast form, I soak it in vinegar for several hours to help neutralize the flavor. Depends on time of year and what they have been eating; sometimes you’d swear that you can taste the salmon the bear has eaten. I used to hunt but never enjoyed it so these days we trade with a hunter who always gets more than he can use.
#5 – Lindsey on your joy about the table and spice rack, I said something similar this week about perennial beds for which I am longing. I know I am a grown up now…
PS – the ear trumpet comment is hilarious. Great visual! Also timely because I have been obsessively watching Poldark on PBS and some of the dining tables featured are as long as bowling alleys.
My fft
1) recieved free produce today: 2 sweet potatoes, 1 crooked neck squash, two tomatoes, head of broccoli, baby carrots, and a green bell pepper. I plan to oven roast the sweet potatoes and broccoli tomorrow with our supper.
2) we had a free soup/chili supper at our apartment community tonight so for the “cost” of a dish brought to share, this was date night 🙂
3) cleared out clutter and I have a check for $6.99 coming to me from the consignment shop I take items to.
4) Made $7.50 from taking in books and a few dvd’s to the local book store yesterday
5) Have meal prep done for Saturday since I’m hosting my first ever Vendor Fair and I’ll be too tired to cook saturday.
Mrs. S
Do you coat the dish or the veg with oil or seasoning when you roast it? How long and at what temperature do you cook them for?
Denise
coat the vegetables with 2 tbsp olive oil and your favorite seasonings for vegetables roast at 425 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes stirring the vegetables around on the pan half way thru baking to ensure even roasting
Thanks- will try that.
1) Made the entire 6+ hour drive from Old City to New City today without a single stop for snacks, coffee, or anything but gas. Ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I made at home. Drank water I’d left in the car yesterday by accident. This is, I believe, the only time I’ve made this drive (New City is actually Previous City) in the past 15 years without buying a snack or drink. I shudder to think what I could have saved.
2) College kids are each having a rough time, for separate reasons. One called just to chat instead of going shopping, even though the change in weather has made her chilly; the other shared that in one of his classes they learned to salsa dance, which cheered him up. Frugal mood lifters, and a mama happy to hear they’re okay.
3) Managed to take five work-related calls on today’s ghastly long, rainy drive (speakerphones have their advantages), which means I get to count it as half a workday and save vacation for the move.
4) Packed food from the fridge, pantry and freezer for this “vacation” weekend. Will need to shop for only a few fruits and veggies.
5) No lear jet today either.
I don’t see a Lear jet in my future either. Nowhere to park the damn thing.
Although, on reflection, perhaps with his attitude towards women, your Glorious Leader should fly around in a Leer jet…
I’m sure you meant this pun to be received in good humor. But sexual harassment is NEVER a subject to joke about. Too many of us are suffering, and joking about it does not lessen our pain. #metoo
It was indeed meant with good intentions, and I’m sorry if it has hurt or offended you or any other readers. It may be another example of “two nations divided by a common language”, but in labelling his jet this way, I was ridiculing a vile and dishonourable human being.
Imf, I’m sorry for your pain. Speaking as a sexual abuse survivor myself, I got a good hearty chuckle out of the pun. Perhaps my glee was at seeing this horrible abuser denounced? The joke was in no way meant to wound others. Humor can often even help with our healing. I hope your pain soon diminishes and you are able to enjoy the healing benefits humor can offer. #metoo
Denise, I snort-laughed coffee out my nose at this.
Not at you, Imf! Yikes, I don’t know how the reply lined up like this.
Question for Susie’s Daughter
I saw reference to your nana’s “Apple impromptu” recipe on an earlier chain: please may I have the recipe? Sounds amazing!
Thanks
Denise
Susie’s daughter posted this recipe for me a few posts ago. I actually researched Apple impromptu after that and it was interesting. Here is the recipe she gave me and it was so good. I added pecans and raisins to mine. Seems like it’s a very versatile dessert.
Susie’s Daughter on October 13, 2017 at 4:52 am
Sure Jennifer! My Nana would be thrilled. I think this recipe is from the 1950’s. There are some fun links on the web about the fact that it is a “vintage recipe” – I guess many of my favorites are . My slightly modified version of Nana’s is below:
1) Place 4 cups peeled, sliced apple in a 9″ glass pie pan. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar and microwave until apples are softening (1-3 minutes depending on microwave). If you don’t use a microwave, bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
2) Cream together 1 TB soft butter with 1/2 C sugar. Add 1t vanilla, 1 egg, 2/3 c flour and 1/2t baking powder. Mix until blended and spread on apples. It will be sticky, but spread as much as possible.
3) Bake 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees until apples are soft and top is golden brown.
This is often dessert and then breakfast or snack the next day in our house. I have also made it with a variety of fruit – peaches and blueberries most often after apple. Enjoy!
Jennifer – thank you for reposting. And Denise I hope you enjoy it!
My Nana was the most frugal person I have known – a product of being an orphan at 14 (along with her siblings) and being a single mother in the early 1940’s. I could go on at great length, but I will end by sharing that at her memorial service luncheon, we left a basket of rolls out so that people could put one in their pocket or purse, as my Nana did each time she ate out at a restaurant. 🙂
I love that! I think I would have liked your nana.
And she you!
What a beautiful expression of love with the rolls. I’m so touched by this. Just the thought of friends/family symbolicly placing rolls in their pockets in honor of what they could all relate to about your Nana is so intimate and special. Thanks for sharing. My frugal heart teared up a little.
Mine too – a wonderful way to honour her. And now her recipe will be made in England this coming weekend in her memory.
Your item 4 is just a pure expression of solid love!
1) My college son needed new boots after his fell apart at the end of last season. He wanted Sorel duck boots and I wanted to get him boots that would last. Except in his size they were $130 or so. After a month of watching prices and searching I found a pair of barely worn ones (though an older style) on Ebay for $38 + shipping. And they shipped them to him at school. yay!
2) Grapes are $0.99 per pound this week. I am sending my dh to the store to buy grapes only today. (he sticks to the list) I will go again next week before the sale ends.
3) Went to Costco and stuck to my list and did NOT buy any clothing (a weakness of mine)
4) Made french toast for dinner after 2 people brought up loaves of bread to thaw and I didn’t realize it for a few days and we needed to use it up quickly.
5) Cashed in my Ibotta credits for a Starbucks gift card. We love Starbucks and go every week as our date – but we never pay for it out of our pocket but only with gift cards earned through Ibotta and Swagbucks.
Wow, Katy! A $1000 a week side hustle goal is huge. I hope you will keep up updated that is inspiring.
My FFT include —
1) I picked up my son at the airport this week after he finished his hike on the Appalachian Trail. He took a direct flight from Bangor, Maine to Sanford, Florida on Allegiant Air. Sanford is a 2-hour drive from our home, but the savings on the ticket was significant. The flight was approximately 60% less than other commercial carriers who flew into the airport in our city. Best of all, I had his undivided attention on the ride home. 🙂
2) DS spent the night in Bangor the night before. We used some of our hotel loyalty points to pay for a free night stay. The next morning his breakfast was free and the hotel provided free shuttle service to the airport.
3) DS needed “town clothes” for the flight home. He went to the Goodwill in Bangor and bought a pair of Levi’s and a nice shirt for $7. He washed them at the hotel and was set for his journey home.
4) One of my friends is having a garage sale next week and has invited me to participate along with others. I will take care of the advertising since she is providing the space. I have been gathering up things that are best to sell at this venue and pricing them.
5) Aside from the a celebration dinner that we had on DS’s return, all other meals have been cooked at home. I have been reading a thrift store find, cleaning my own house, and washing my own dog. DH and I have been walking the dog, going to the beach, and doing projects around the house. I worked my side hustle and listed some items on eBay. Nothing terribly exciting, but boring can be good.
Congratulations on completing! He must be so proud, and so must you! I’m sure he has a lot of interesting stories.
Echo the congratulations to your son – and to you for your encouragement and practical help as the weeks rolled along. Enjoyed following your and his adventures.
He must (and you must) be so happy to be home!! Glad we were able to hear his progress over the past few months.
There’s been a big fire in NH that shut down part of the AT last week. They still haven’t reopened the trail.
Thank you! It was a great adventure. I think it will take him a least a week to get used to being home. I may not have set foot on the Trail, but I feel like I hiked every mile with him.
Congratulations to your son. My daughter did the hike when she was 18 and it took her two summers. It’s something they’ll never forget.
Bee, congrats to your son for achieving a great accomplishment! I know, as a mom, how happy your heart must be to have your boy under your roof!
Bangor resident here. Glad he finished his hike, love seeing those folks come rolling in all trail weary! Bangor Goodwill rocks, I go EVERY single day, child #3 off to college next year and I’ve go to pay that tuition! Wish I had known he could have stayed with us for free! Allegient gets us to Florida often, great deals.
Congrats!
Wow! $1000 a week…please let us know how to do this. That is just about my total income for the month. I sure would like to know how to increase it without spending a cent.
One thing I have learned living the ultra frugal lifestyle is how to stretch every dollar to an inch of its life. But, sure would like to find a way to get more of those dollars. I am a former teacher living on 2/3s of a retirement benefit and no social security.
Diane, your quilts and other projects are so, so sprightly and lovely! Do you have an Etsy shop?
Do I have FFT?
1. Got a cold and stayed home 4 days. Husb bought store brand decongestant and it’s worked and is still working.
2. Husb also bought an on-sale chicken and made enough soup for me and whatever army invades. Will put some in the freezer.
3. Put credit freezes on our credit reports, boring but not hard. http://www.marybethdanielson.com/content/credit-freezing This after 3rd fraud attempt in 3 yrs.
4. A year ago we bought a poster (online) of a painting that hangs in the Art Institute in Chicago. Then we put it in a very nice frame from Goodwill – total cost $20. We haven’t insisted to anyone that it’s original.
5. Spent hours and hours this week writing which is the thing I love to do. So I win at Being Rich.
Thank for your compliment!
Long ago I had an Etsy shop, but it is so commercial and gigantic now that I gave it up as sales stalled. Mostly, I make baby quilts for charity organizations.
If you go to my website, you can contact me (I have to OK all responses, I will catch anything you write and thus not post it). I have a couple ideas about selling a few more of your products. I’m not selling anything, just wondering. Your quilts are really pretty.
Diane,
I wonder if you would be able to set up your own website for selling?
1. Used the latest $25 Amazon gift card from Swagbucks to load up on coffee. I then took $25 out of the household budget and set it aside in a special savings that I’ve started. If I don’t do this, I lose track of the “extra” money, as the coffee money I saved would get absorbed in some other expense in a mini lifestyle creep upward. It’ll be fun to put the swagbucks savings toward something bigger.
2. Took our annual family water park vacation last week. The lodging costs at the area that bills itself “the waterpark capital of the world” are so much lower in the off season (October being part of the off season, of course!) And the rates are even lower weekdays over weekends. While still pricey, the cost was nowhere close to what it would have been for a summer weekend. With all the indoor water parks, it’s no big deal that the outside water parks are closed.
3. We rented a condo with a full kitchen – including a dishwasher, which I don’t have at home and which makes even doing dishes seem like a vacation for me. We brought all our breakfast, lunch and snack foods. Dinners we did “out”, but we paid for one, our son paid for one, and we ordered in pizza one night (with a coupon, of course).
4. Spent no money on souvenirs. The grandchildren had fun collecting rocks on some of the walks we took (we didn’t want to spend the whole trip indoors) and rocks seem to be their favorite souvenirs anyway. Although one of the restaurants served children’s meals on frisbees that the kids could keep, so I guess that counts as a souvenir, too.
5. Our birthday gift to our granddaughter was the life jacket (pink! With fishies!) that she fell in love with when we stopped at a marina while they were visiting this past September. It’s something she’ll use for several years, she was thrilled with it- and because she loves it she loves wearing it. She wore it happily to all the water parks (usually she’d fuss about having to wear a life jacket) and since we live on a lake, a life jacket is a huge “must have” up here so it’s better if she likes it. She’ll get a lot more use out of this gift than a toy that she’d probably forget about in a short amount of time.
Besides eating all meals at home, shopping from a list and not shopping for recreation, we fixed something ourselves!
The floor on the driver’s side of my vehicle was getting wet after a rain. We investigated and determined the problem. Solved it by taking some interior pieces off, cleaned out the clogged part, and reassembled everything. While we had it apart, we also reglued the headliner that was hanging down. So rewarding to take care of our vehicle ourselves! No idea what these repairs would cost if done by the dealer! The vehicle is 13 years old, and runs and rides like new!
Meanwhile, I signed up for a challenge at my quilting guild meeting. We have to make a quilt of any size and design using only black and white fabric and one other color! This other color was determined by drawing of a paint chip from a bag. Luckily, I drew purple for my accent color! As an additional challenge for myself, I’m not buying anything to make this quilt! The deadline is next June!
I am impressed with the $1,000/month side gig goal! You seem to have this figured out.
1. Decided to wait on starting yoga classes until I have established a regular routine of free exercise and then revisit whether or not they will add value.
2. We have been trying to find something to do for my elderly FIL and Hubby’s great-aunt that will make them happy with their limited ability to go anywhere. Having settled on bringing take out dinner to provide variety from their facility’s regular fare, we were able to do so for just $21 for 4 people. They eat so early that we just got a few ala carte items for ourselves and ate more after getting home.
3. Mended a knit top that had developed some tiny holes.
4. Hubby finished our patio planting redo by himself so we only had the cost of materials. We are finding we are using it a lot more now that it is not next to overgrown bushes!
5. Didn’t book a trip to Paris or anywhere else.
1.I made a Apple Carrot Quinoa Chili and used up many things I had in the house. It called for a couple things I didn’t have but I just substituted. It made a ton so I’ll be eating it for a while. I shared some with my Mom. My husband doesn’t care for it.
2. I’m picking up my homesick child from college. I’ll drive my hybrid.
3. I took my mother to Costco. She wanted some of the Kirkland toilet paper. She doesn’t have a membership to Costco but she does have Sams Club so we share. I bought the cheap Costco gas while I was there.
4. I am saving up my laundry to do this weekend when electric rates are low. I didn’t get up early enough this morning to take advantage of the low rate otherwise I would have done a load.
5. I’ve been walking with friends and with my Mother. I save on a gym membership this way.
“I know it’s a ridiculous goal, but I’d like to bring in an extra $1000 per week with all my side hustles.”
GOOD FOR YOU
‘A man’s reach should always exceed his grasp.’
That’s a great quote.
I won’t meet this goal, but at least I can try.
Katy, you never know…it could happen. And if you only make it to, say, $800 a week? That’s still really, really good! Your ebay, CL, NextDoor and fb marketplace sales always seem to do well. Mine have stalled….nothing has been moving, and lots of no-shows. But i’m keepin’ the faith.
1. Tuesday was feeling apprehensive and out of sorts due to Wednesday’s doctor appointment with a new oncologist, new office, and overdue mammogram by 3 months. Breast cancer survivors will tell you these feelings pop up and anxiety results. Announced it was cook’s night off and DH and GS decided to make pasta bake with meatballs. (They have a limited cooking repertoire.) So I put Italian bread in the bread machine. The pasta bake and salad were great, but the bread came out terrible ~ peaked and jagged top and crust so hard it was difficult to cut through. The inside was very dense bread. If anyone has any idea what I did wrong other than not carefully following directions due to being distracted I would appreciate the help. Anyway in the spirit of having lemons and making lemonades I sawed off the crust and put the bread into my mini food chopper and made 6 cups of bread crumbs. Froze the crumbs into 2 cups bags.
2. Had leftovers for lunch on the balcony and watched the Blue Angles practice. Free entertainment.
3. Wore a thrifted blouse to my doctor’s appointment and received several compliments.
4. Got my free flu shot today. Avoiding the flu is frugal.
5. Put on a pair of clean socks that the elastic at the top was gone and the socks kept falling into my shoes. I meant to trash several times before. Today I took them off and added to the dust rag bag.
So you are in Pensacola? We take our RV down there to a lovely camp ground near Fort Pickens. Such a neat place!
Yes, Pensacola. We just retired and moved here in July. Love it!
I love Pensacola…I sometimes drive down there just for the day to go to the beautiful beach…South Central Alabama here…
This has been a mixed week. Some eating out, we booked a holiday for the end of the year.
1. I attended a conference for work. Fully catered and among the swag I got a free new water bottle, excellent tea in my favourite brand and good sticky notes.
2. I’m going away for work soon for almost a week. I will get a per diem and breakfast and my goal will be to bring as much of the per diem back as I can. I can’t tolerate eating out every night so I’ve found that when I travel protein shakes are a good option.
3. I got ‘free’ tickets to a play last night. ‘Free’ because we supported the crowdfund to get it up and running. But we would have done that anyway so it was good to attend opening night.
4. Wore my amazing thrifted white linen shirt yesterday. That shirt was my white whale. I finally found it after years of searching, for a whole $4. It always looks great and makes me feel expensive and chic for almost no money.
5. I’m going to harvest the rest of my winter veggies and do a big cook up this weekend. We have a ton of onions, kale, spinach and peas to pick. For some reason picking fresh peas makes me feel that I have the most abundant life.
We need three trips to pick up free large river stones for our Landscaping Border in our front yard. I’ll be cooking with ripening tomatoes that we already picked from the vine a few weeks ago because of the colder weather otherwise they would have brought it on the vine. Went to the grocery outlet this week scored some great deals including Italian sausage that I use to make pasta sauce with some of our homegrown Frozen tomatoes. I’m going out to dinner at a local Vietnamese restaurant for a cheap beef noodle soup dinner this Friday night.
I love that – “white whale!” My thrift white whale was the Hudson Bay full size wool blanket I found a week ago at the V of A thrift store for $26. No holes, pre 1970, deliciously warm. I’ve wanted one since I was about 13. I am 51:)
Jo, nice catch on your “white whale”! (Pun intended!) Those blankets are so awesome…..I saw one at an estate sale maybe a year or so ago (local house in my neighborhood that was essentially a big yard/house sale), and they wanted $35 for a smallish sized one. I have no idea if it was authentic HB, some sort of knock off, or what…but I passed on it.
1. Enjoyed the free coffee at work,
2. Got a compliment on a blouse thrifted from Goodwill.
3. Had to put new tires on my car. The old ones were original to the 7 year old car, and lasted so long thanks to driving with a light foot.
4. Stretched a deli sandwich to two lunches.
5. Had to run an errand for work and swung by the dollar store to buy a jug of Purex laundry detergent on sale.
1. Went camping near a really fun area. Ate every meal at the campsite and only spent $10 each on activities the entire time.
2. Electric bill was 1/3 the total of the summer bills due mostly to perfect weather but also due to telling my kids to “put on a shirt” or “put on socks” instead of touching the heater in the mornings.
3. Thrifted light sweaters purchased off season last May are making their appearance as new clothing.
4. Rented a movie online instead of all of us going out when my daughter got an invitation on a Friday night. Just sent her and enjoyed being home.
5. Had a Telephone doctor appointment instead of being seen in person for a visit that would have been a talking visit only. Saved the whole copay, 20 miles of driving, and 2 hours of my life.
1. Well… I don’t think my idea of using only recycled water to keep my plants alive during dry season is gonna work, but I most definitely am still supplementing with laundry and dish rinse water, water used to wash veggies and rice, ect…
2. A friend had given me some wooden skewers she was getting rid of, the kids and I used them to make stick puppets. You could either cut out characters from coloring books or draw and cut out your own, then we taped them to the sticks. Afterwards the kids videoed a puppet show.
3. I bought a delicious box of caramel tea, but I know those 25 tea bags aren’t gonna last long, so if I feel like caramel tea in the morning, I snatch one of my kid’s used tea bags instead of opening a new one, still got flavor!
4. I was able to get 3 more days use out of this last gas tank for the stove than the previous one…now let’s see if I can beat it!
5. I put the almost empty bottle of oil upsidedown in a cooking pot and left it there for a couple of minutes to get those last drops out.
I make hot tea every morning. I save the used tea bags. Depending on the brand, 2-3 used bags makes one cup of regular tea! I usually steep for 3 minutes but will steep for 4 when using the used bags. Saves some serious moola as I drink a lot of tea when it gets cool.
1. While cleaning out drawer found $23.05 stuck in the back! My own $$ but happy to have relocated them.
2. In the process of investigating Consumer Cellular for phone service to save $$. Seems to have good reviews.
3. Took advantage of supermarket meat sales. Bought a huge pork roast for 99c per pound. Will cook and freeze portions for future use.
4. Batch errands for gas savings – lend my hybrid car to kids regularly so need to find some ways to save on fuel!
5. Lots of frugal fails – made what looked like a delicious apple crisp – then dropped the pan on the floor spilling the sticky stuff everywhere; didn’t get around to processing a bag of green beans, and let my husband talk me into going out for dinner last evening. Tomorrow is another day…….
#1 – What a neat reward for cleaning a drawer! I know what you mean, even if it’s my own money I’m always happy when I find it. Last year I found a very clean $40 in the back pocket of a pair of shorts that had been washed and put away the previous season. And I was thrilled to have found it, even though I didn’t know it was missing.
Janine, I have Consumer Cellular as my carrier and am very happy with them. They will automatically bump you up to the next level if you go over your minutes or data, saving overage fees, but it’s up to you to reset your plan to the lower level again. Depending on my usage, my bill for 2 lines ranges from around $30 a month to as much as $55. Signal strength and coverage has been excellent, too. I chose a mid-size (and mid-priced at $79) Moto smart phone, as my old phone was so old it was no longer usable. Otherwise, I would have been able to keep my old phone on the new carrier…did keep my number. I wish I’d sprung for the next size up, as the print is very small without my cheaters.
I found an envelope with several $100 in it last time I sorted paperwork. Gotta love finding your own money again, lol.
It’s cooling off here in Ohio, which means I can wear my favorite boots….I love boot weather. “Fashion” boot weather, I mean….the snow can wait.
My fft, amidst lots of frugal fails lately…..
1) Went out with my mom to a wonderful museum show about antique quilts. Mom treated me to the show and dinner afterwards; took dinner leftovers home, which was lunch today. Took lots of photos of the gorgeous quilts to enjoy after the fact.
2) Hit the bins in Dayton earlier this week – found a few potentially sellable items (a dirty Jansport backpack in good condition, really cool vintage shot glasses – though hubby has his eye on them), but mostly items that will be used at home – a large basket for corralling toys, about 5 birthday gift bags (DS gets invited to a lot of birthday parties, and these are gender-neutral), a book of William Morris gift wrap sheets, and an awesome pair of Franco Sarto brand suede boots (the short ankle boots that are so “in” these days) for me. Frugal fail: found ONE J Crew ankle boot in my size, great condition – but whoever hid the mate, really hid it well. Trust me, I searched everywhere for the mate.
3) One Craigs List sale has failed, so will contact another potential buyer who also wanted the item (a pair of Dansko clogs).
4) Submitted a PetSmart e-receipt to Ibotta for a 3% rebate. Feeding a puppy & 2 cats adds up pretty quick, so glad to get some $ back.
5) working my Swagbucks daily, which is slowly adding up.
1. Bought 3 boxes of my favorite peach sleepytime tea. On sale, and used rebates to get for 1.o0 a box. 5 cents a tea bag isnt bad!
2. Trying really hard to not use AC! It is nice and cool in the evenings, but still heats up during the day in the south.
3. Have been feeling crafty and in need of some apartment sprucing. Made a little fall wreath for our door with items I had and a few dollar tree items. Total cost 6 bucks (including the stuff I had) and looks great! I also printed out of those “welcome to our home, our wifi and password is blah” signs, and put it in a cheap but cute frame.
4. Needed to wash my car. Since I live in an apartment (on the 4th floor) I can’t wash my car at home, or vacuum it. I took my car to a 4 dollar wash where you can also use their free vacuums. So I took my car there, scrubbed the bugs off, went through the wash, then vacuumed it out and used my dollar tree armour all finds to clean the inside and tires.
5. Stocked up on beans, fruit, and other staples at Aldi. I love that I can go in there and spend only 30 bucks to get almost everything I need!
1. My local library has been closed for 6 weeks for new roof installation – put my holds on “suspend” and read things in my house to save driving.
2. Continue to make a lunch/dinner schedule to use up what is here/only buy what we need.
3. Keeping very careful time on second job done almost entirely from home.
4. Buying 40% off clothes for sweet grandson – going to visit in November but need to mail clothes cause he needs them now – will include other items so that I can fill my carry on with books for the flight/late night reading at their house.
5. Candy is so cheap right now with sales/coupons – will bring some in November for son/daughter-in-law who love (along with me) a treat in evening!
1. Headed to a second hand baby fair today- people will be selling their gently used baby goods, and the cloth nappy library and baby wearing group will be there so I have a chance to learn more about these options from knowledgeable folk!
2. Made a list for the grocery shop and stuck to it which is pretty impressive when my snack obsessed husband is in tow.
3. Lots of clothing items get left at my work (busy pub) and if they’re unclaimed after a few weeks the owner throws them out (eek!) I’ve taken to rescuing them just before the deadline and dropping off at the charity shop. I nearly cried when I saw him stuffing a perfectly good leather jacket in the trash can once!!
4. Also related to work waste- all the citrus odds and ends for drink garnishes get tossed but I’ve seen that when soaked in vinegar they make a good cleaner. I’ve rescued a few days’ worth for now which isn’t much, but better than nothing. Now what to do with all the bread ends that they don’t already make into croutons?
5. It’s been freezing but a few extra layers and thick warm socks means we don’t have to turn the heat as high as we may want to.
Good for you Lauren! Thanks for saving items from land fill.
I cringe to think of all the stuff that has gone out before you came along.
Lauren, we do the same thing for lost and found items at school. Amazing how many jackets, sweaters, etc get left with no name inside.
4. Throw those bread ends in the freezer. They will be perfect for meatloaf or a bread pudding when you can get around to it. Not sure if we are talking about mass quantities here, or just a few. That’s what we do with them at my house anyway.
I use bread ends to make strata (fancy) or bread pudding (not fancy). There are savory or sweet recipes. My family really likes an artichoke and goat cheese strata, for breakfast or dinner. (I get the goat cheese at Costco so it’s not expensive.)
Re: bread
There’s a pretty small amount of bread that I end up tossing- they’re pretty good about making croutons for the salads first usually. But bread pudding and strata is a great idea for frugal neighbor/host gifts for the holidays- especially if I bring them over frozen for them to bake at their leisure. Thanks all!
1. DH and I went to a place about 2 hours away for a “responsibility free day”. We never take vacations, except to see family, so this was a treat for us. Staying connected = priceless.
2. Took the free ferry, its about 40 minutes, timed the ferry home for a free “sunset cruise”.
3. Went out to lunch instead of dinner at a waterfront burger bar.
4. Splurged and rented a golf cart, figured it was less than staying overnight and this island discourages car traffic. Since we were relaxing, bikes were not an option for us this time. 🙂
5. Found a T shirt for him on sale (off season) and shopped more off season sales for Christmas gifts.
Total spending: $160, including gas. It was a splurge for us, but no airport or any other travel stress, and the drive home under the stars was lovely.
1) Friday evening we attended a Birthday dinner for a friend. I printed off an Amazon gift card from my Premium account, so he can get what he likes and I gain reward points.
2) Yesterday I picked up my granddaughters for a sleepover and we shopped at Aldi for groceries. I spent $37 and have enough food to last us the week.
3) We’re having homemade biscuits and gravy this morning – the girls favorite. This will keep them full for more than half the day, then I can feed them a late lunch and they won’t need a heavy dinner when they get home.
4) My MIL bought the girls the cutest aprons at a small town Art Festival and bought a pampered chef hand-held slicer for me, since I already have one I’ve decided to pass it on to my daughter. I’m always happy to pass on gifts I can use or already have one of.
5) I didn’t buy a Lear Jet, Yacht or gold encrusted anything!
If you need to post about your side hustle goal to push yourself, I think it would be an interesting read. (Listing what you have out for sale, how much you’ve brought in that week, ups/downs specific to that week, and any improvements or changes to your routine in order to up your earnings). Kind of like The Frugal Girl does with her Friday meal posts/what she spent and ate…but with side income 🙂
I’m going through a rough situation personally, but have tried to stay frugal regardless. I 1) mostly have been eating at home 2) including bringing leftovers to work and drinking free coffee/water 3) am still wearing thrifted clothes, even though I want to buy all new things and look stunning 4) have resisted the urge to go get a pedicure/facial/massage. I am beautiful the way that I am, and spending money on costly things won’t actually make me feel better and 5) I am at work today even though I want to curl up in my bed and never come out. I am working and I am making money.
Beth,
I’m sorry you’re struggling, but getting through. I hope things turn to the better for you soon.
Thank-you!
Beth, I’m so sorry. I hope things have gotten a bit better for you. If they have not, know that you have our moral support. And good for you for not succumbing to the temptation of costly comforts! {{{}}}
1. Volunteered to help at picture day at my kids’ school. Earned a voucher for a free photo package to use during the spring pics and ordered the fall pics (we send them to relatives at Christmas) using a $40 voucher I earned volunteering at last spring’s picture day. So, that covered the cost for one kid so just spent $40 OOP for kid #2.
2. Bought my husband’s anniversary card for $0.50 at the Dollar Tree, but earned a $0.25 “any item” Ibotta rebate, so final cost was $0.25. And it was the perfect card for him!
3. Found a penny at the gym! I often find change at the angled leg press because it will fall out of people’s pockets and collect under the machine. I always look.
4. I’m one of the PTA officer’s at my kids’ school. The meetings are usually held at the school, but the President decided to mix it up and had the October one at a local Mexican restaurant. I ate at home beforehand so didn’t order anything and just drank water.
5. Sold some of my kids’ toys to a local kids’ resale shop and earned 30% more by taking store credit rather than cash.
Even though I don’t agree with a lot of what you write, you are spot on in your fashion comment.