Five Frugal Things
by Katy on November 16, 2017 · 96 comments
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I took advantage of an opportunity for a free haircut this morning, which was perfect timing as my hair was getting long and stringy. I hooked up with this service by doing a web search for “free haircuts Portland,” which brought me to a Facebook page which I then “liked.” The offer then popped up on my feed for “complimentary haircuts this week.” These cuts were for “advanced stylist training,” so I made an appointment without a second thought. Unlike a beauty school service, (which can take an extended time) this cut took just 35 minutes from my day. I tipped $5, which then brought the total cost up to . . . $5. I also got put on an email list for future free services including color.
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I drove to my hospital for a one-hour continuing education class. Not ideal to drive 18 miles for a single hour of work, but it was mandatory, it was paid and I had no choice. Unlike many of my co-workers, I chose to fill my travel mug with free crappy coffee instead of spending money to get a coffee from one of the on-site kiosks.
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I stopped at Goodwill on my way home from the hospital and bought a groovy vintage radio that’ll be the perfect gift for a particular person on my holiday gift list. (Or . . . maybe I’ll sell it. I haven’t decided yet.) I came across some other interesting items which I documented on my Instagram, but left in the store. (My favorite was a 1921 wedding certificate with absolutely gor-gor-gorgeous art nouveau lettering!) Edit: I sold it.
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I mailed out a Pottery Barn linen pillow sham that I bought because I’d needed the down insert after cannibalizing the previous one for my son’s off-campus apartment. The $14.99 I made from the sale will more than cover the cost of the pillow insert since I bought it at the pay-by-the-pound Goodwill Outlet. (Even with eBay fees and taxes.)
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I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.
Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 96 comments… read them below or add one }
YES, the radio IS the perfect gift!
Umm . . . it was for someone else. Yeah, that’s it.
You are still my favourite on Twitter!
1. I did some organizing yesterday which makes my life less stressful and can save money, for example, we had just run out of matches and while sorting my closet I found 2 boxes of matches in a bag with some soda…I know weird place, but hey I don’t have to buy matches now!
2. For our weekly family activity we did a restruant at home. We served salad, egg bread casserole from bits of bread from the freezer, coconut soda I found with the above matches, and a splurge of store bought cookies. The kids named it Lego Cafe and made menus and brought out a Lego food truck as a center piece.
3. We closed out a bank account. We found out we were being charged about $5 a month. As we looked into it, we discovered we weren’t doing enough transactions, or keeping enough $ in there, or doing any of the other things in order to not get charged. Since this wasn’t our primary bank anyways we said bye bye!
4. Yesterday’s laundry rinse water watered plants and the wash water got splashed on the car to wash off the dust from our dusty roads.
5. We didn’t make any big purchases this week.
I love that radio. It would suit my house. We have a 1969 radiogram that we use as a giant iPod dock. It’s beautiful.
Our FFT:
1. Had our eye exams and purchased new glasses. Our health fund covered all but $220 for 3 pairs of glasses, including a pair of prescription sunglasses, averaging at just over $70 a pair OOP. That’s a good deal for eyesight. Plus the optometrist was really excellent and explained my eye conditions really well and in clear detail.
2. I got a raise.
3. I took an assortment of stuff for lunch. I briefly considered going out for pho but decided my boring lunch would suffice, especially as I’m going to a sci-fi convention on the weekend and I be spending money then.
4. I came home to a delicious homemade pasta cooked by my husband, made of more bits in the fridge that needed using up. The kid inhaled it.
5. My husband and I agreed to put off a couch purchase for a bit longer even though our couch is truly hideous. We babysit our niece and nephew often and we have teenagers. Until they have finished trashing it and building forts with it there is no point updating it. That will save us about $2000 AUD
Congrats on the raise!
I think it’s brilliant to wait on the sofa. There is so much less stress when you don’t care if the teenagers squish the cushions and the little ones build towers out of the pillows.
That’s what we figured. Right now when they build a fort, we think “how cute.” If we bought a new couch we’d be taking the cushions back and asking them to do something else.
It sure is an ugly couch though. It came with our house and it’s a 90s pastel patterned recliner set. I’d cover it but that won’t help.
Mand01, years from now at family get-togethers, the kids will talk amongst themselves, “remember when we used to build couch forts all the time at Aunt and Uncles’ house? That was the BEST.”
1. Sold two items on Amazon so out in the mail they went
2.used $5 coupon at new Poke place and got a bowl for $3.87.
3. Volunteered at local community fair. Had to pay $4 to park, however got free lunch.
4. Friend gave me succulents with roots so I had gardener plant in back yard
5. Resisted buying hare care, cosmetics or skin care..my favorite purchases
FFT, Chicken Soup edition:
(1) Made a **large** pot of chicken stock as part of the “chicken cycle” mentioned in my previous FFT comment. Will make winter vegetable soup this afternoon from garden leeks, kale, and carrots, plus potatoes and white beans. This should feed us for several days.
(2) Will freeze remaining chicken stock for future use.
(3) Sending “virtual chicken soup” and good thoughts to my BFF in NYC, whose husband is in the hospital for tests. Wish I could send some of the real soup, but no way.
(4) Still enjoying the benefits of a clean office. I can actually find things now. (And, like Katy in Africa, I found a few things in the clean-out process that I’d forgotten I had!)
(5) We didn’t turn on our gas furnace till Nov. 11–and we’re still running it only in the early mornings to take the chill off the house till DH can get the wood-burning fireplace insert going. DH has also brought home yet more free firewood (a small maple tree down the street blew down in a recent windstorm).
🙂
1. I had my Mother, daughter and daughters boyfriend for dinner instead of eating out. I made Chicken Cordon Bleu with leftover ham and sale chicken. The rest of dinner ingredients were purchased at Aldi which made it a very inexpensive dinner.
2. My youngest had her housing sign up for last year. Her sign up time was the last day and her first choice was full. I checked a couple days later and one spot freed up which she promptly signed up for. This will save her
What I meant to say was daughters sign up is for next years housing.
My computer is losing it’s mind.
to continue my daughter will save $2000 next year on her housing. Yay!!
3. My husband and I are taking a long weekend to go up north. We will take our hybrid to save on gas. We are eating breakfast at home before we leave and I will pack some snacks and drinks for the road.
4. I’ve kept the heat down to 62 during the day and saving the propane. I ran my dishwasher last night when the electric rate dropped saving on my electric bill.
5. I walked with my friend again for exercise and entertainment and visited my Mom and had lunch with her at her house instead of going out.
Your comment “my computer is losing its mind” had me laughing out loud. My computer does that too – sometimes it publishes my comments before I’m done writing them. But even more frustrating is when it gobbles up an almost-completed post and the post vanishes before I can hit “submit”.
I hate the gobbling of the nearly complete post and I hate how sometimes I can still manage to send a duplicate even though it tells me it was a duplicate?!?
My phone has been doing that, too! I don’t know what causes it but it’s so frustrating!
I loved everyone’s comments and once again am so grateful to have found this forum of helpful hints and positive reinforcement to live the frugal life joyfully. My FFT:
1. We took a gift card to Happy Hour at a favorite restaurant and ordered two beverages and two appetizers for a super cheap date night. We even had enough left over to take home for lunch the next day. Win-Win.
2. Continued fall yard and garden clean-up. It feels good, it looks good, and it is free exercise.
3. I wanted a small votive size battery operated candle for a Christmas decoration that I had purchased NWT at St.Vincent’s. I found one at the craft store on sale for $4.00. It turned out that it was too big so I returned it and looked at Dollar Tree. Yea! They had just what I wanted, in just the right size and saved $3.00. Yea Dollar Tree, boo me that I didn’t check there first.
4. The green tomatoes that were picked before a frost have continued to ripen and we continue to enjoy them in soup and salads everyday.
5. Took a large stack of free magazines to the community center for someone else to enjoy. I have several free magazine subscriptions so I do this once a month. It feels good to pass them along for others to enjoy, too.
3. Thanks for the reminder! I’m going to pick some of those candles up.
Love the radio! It is fabulous.
1) I grouped my errands together this week to save gas and time. I stopped to fill up my gas and used a prepaid gas card bought at a 20% discount. I then picked up a prescription and paid for it with my HSA card using pre-tax dollars –30% savings. I dropped off some electronics at Staples to recycle and received a $10 coupon. I also made stops at the Goodwill where I found a Patagonia sweater for my son for $4, and the grocery store where I bought a a 13-pound turkey for $7.
2) With the holiday season on the way, I have been busy listing items on eBay and relisting those that have not sold. I have sold 3 items this week which are on the way to their new homes. Thankfully there are also a few extra dollars in my bank account.
3) I did a mid-month financial review, updated my spreadsheets, and paid the bills due during the second half of the month. I used my bank’s bill pay service and saved the costs of several stamps. Although I am diligent, nothing is going according to plan. Ugh! However, DH gave me the ultimate compliment. He said that I was starting to squeak when I walked. 🙂
4) I have not really cooked a meal since Monday. DH is out of town and I have been eating leftovers. I did bake Susie’s Daughter’s Apple Impromptu which my son devoured. I substituted regular flour with gluten-free and added a tablespoon of potato starch as a binder. Thank you for the recipe. I also roasted several squash from my farm box which I have frozen for soup later in the month. I remembered to label it before I stuck it in the freezer. (I am improving).
5) I made an appointment to get my car serviced. I cleaned my house. I ran, went to the gym, and walked the dog. Taking care of what you have is frugal.
Yea….I totally understand about the bills going haywire this month despite my best efforts…sigh
I am a planner by nature, but over the course of the last three years, nothing has worked out the way that I expected it to. Why oh why? It is nice to know that I am not alone.
Love the squeak when you walk comment!
1. I got my free oil change.
2. While at my free oil change, I combined errands and went to Dollar Tree and purchased Thermo socks to give at Christmas, and a can of tomatoes.
3. I also went to Aldi during the above mentioned errand batching and purchased 80 cent eggs, 88 cent loaf of bread, $1.39 jar of peanut butter, and $1.69 jar of mayo. I also purchased 89 cent lb chicken thighs at our local Piggly Wiggly.
4. I made homemade tomato soup and used the can of tomatoes. I made homemade chicken salad, to take for work lunches,and then tossed the leftover bones in the tomato soup for extra flavor. The tomato soup was for supper this week (it is now mostly gone)…I then made homemade freezer fig jam with my free figs from my mom’s tree (which is now my tree since she is deceased but I still refer to it as mom’s tree) that I will eat with the peanut butter for sandwiches.
5. I took a long holiday nap.
I love the idea of your Mom’s fig tree. My dad loved figs and grew them in his back yard. I really wish I had taken the time to dig one up to move to my house after he passed. I’m sure your Mom would love that you have free figs from “her” tree. I hope the figs and jam bring you wonderful memories.
Thanks Robin! They do!
I, too, love the fig story! Your mom continues to gift you with lovely figs..so special.
Thanks Jennifer!
1. Attended a work event over the lunch hour yesterday and got a free-to-me lunch.
2. Hubby and I had an appointment with our financial advisor yesterday afternoon and thought about stopping off for Happy Hour after, but decided to just come home and eat “whatever” for dinner. Good news is we’re on track for retirement in 4-5 years.
3. Watched the first season of The Durrells in Corfu this week free on Amazon Prime.
4. Ordered some Christmas gifts using Amazon Prime. I list as frugal because of easy comparison shopping, free shipping and no driving/gas cost.
5. Reading my library books, wearing thrifted clothes, eating food I brought at work for breakfast/lunch. Not very exciting but every little bit helps.
1. Going out of town for Thanksgiving, but still purchased a frozen turkey for 57 cents a pound for later. Still looking for butter sales to no avail. Gee do I miss my Aldi…
2. Wrapped all Christmas gifts in Dollar Tree paper. Each person has his/her gifts wrapped in a different color/pattern so no need for bows or name tags ~ they fall off anyways. For years we have used and reused and reused again gift bags, but we are going to see our adult kids so had to be cognizant of space and wrapped packages take up much less space than gift bags.
3. Used cooked chicken to make a new recipe for chicken pot pie. Made 2 batches and froze one.
4. Did my CVS shopping in 2 transactions ~ 1st one was BOGO 50% off and awarded $8 ECBs. Second transaction was BOGO 50% and used the ECBs. Total 84% savings!
5. Bought a coupon for haircut, color and style at a local cosmetology school. One of the best haircuts and color I have ever gotten. Husband went with me and had his long hair cut for Wigs for Kids. He received lots of attention and compliments as his hair was beautiful. He is so happy to have the long hair gone.
1. Had my writer’s group last night which was potluck. Always more fun than going out to eat.
2. Have planned a weekend of grading, cleaning, movies, book organizing, and reading which means no money spent going out!
3. Did my shopping for Thanksgiving this week while turkeys were on sale and got a second one for later this winter.
4. Baked some sweet potatoes so we can eat them this weekend.
5. My wife put plastic over the windows in our yoga room because they aren’t the best at keeping the cold out. So, the cats are now like OH PLASTIC! So, they poke holes, I put some clear packing tape over it. I figure this is good in two ways– I already had an enormous amount of packing tape from our move last year (something like 4 rolls!) so I am not spending anything to fix it and if anyone should try to break in, they will be so covered in tape and plastic, they would be discouraged and run off! (Okay– that’s wishful thinking, but still!)
Tonya, I haven’t see a post from you in a long time. Hope all is well!
I was thinking that it had been so long since I last saw Tonya’s post. I was missing the comments from a fellow cat lover. Glad you to see you!
Me too!
Lol, I love the optimism in your post, re: cats and packing taped windows! I have 4 cats under a year old, so I can identify with you. :P. Wouldn’t trade them for the world, though.
1. I was so close to a $35 Balance Rewards at Walgreens for so long – I don’t really shop there anymore because I can get most things cheaper elsewhere. Then I remembered tracking fitness activities, and that back before I got lazy about tracking I’d earn 1000 points each month entering my step counts from my walks/hikes – 1000 points being the max I was allowed to earn from step tracking each month. I only needed 300 points and change to get to the $35 level, so I started tracking steps again a week ago and got to that elusive $35 reward.
2. With reward in hand (actually, on the rewards card) husband and I planned a Walgreens stop for an errand run that would have us driving right past a Walgreens. I cashed in those points, and got foundation, mascara and a liner pencil for me (I still wear makeup just about every day), a jug of dye-free laundry detergent, something else that I’m forgetting, 4 deodorants for husband and 1 deodorant for me. Seriously, my husband goes through 3 or 4 deodorants for every ONE that I do. His theory is that I use so much less because I shave under my arms, but he’s unwilling to go the distance and actually test that theory.
3. Since I’d just reorganized the freezer, I decided to organize the refrigerator as well. In the deli compartment I found an unopened tub of turkey lunch meat that had a use by date of next week. Normally we never buy packaged lunch meat (which is why this was forgotten) but I’d bought some for the family water park trip last month. Used it up. Potential food waste averted.
4. We’ve been having a lot of snow for early November. In past years, we hired someone to plow our l-o-n-g, hilly driveway. Made sense the first year, when we didn’t live here full time, and even in other years when we didn’t have a 4 wheel drive vehicle. But earlier this year, we replaced our 26 year old 2 wheel drive truck with a 4WD, high clearance model that goes through pretty much anything, should we need to get out before we can snow blow. And we have a large snow thrower that we know from experience will take care of the entire driveway quite nicely. As plowing costs were $30 per time, we normally had plowing bills of $300-$500 per season. Doing this ourselves is a big money saver. And we’re retired. It’s not like we don’t have time to devote to driveway clearing – our 6 year old grandson recently informed us that every day is a weekend for us.
5. Filled my old leave-on conditioner bottle with water and a dollop of “free” conditioner from a recent hotel stay. I’ve refilled that leave-on conditioner bottle so many times, I’ve almost erased my guilt at having bought spray conditioner (which was the more expensive, from-a-hair-salon stuff) in the first place.
1. I made lemon pepper chicken with orzo for dinner last night, and we both liked it. It was one of several recipes I marked to try from the BudgetBytes website.
2. Aldi has 10 pound bags of russet potatoes for $1.29, and I’m bringing mashed potatoes for T-giving dinner. I also bought 6 (limit per customer) butter for $2.29 each. Plus I found a quarter in the cart rack.
3. I found a T-Fal air fryer at a yard sale this summer for $5. It was brand new and I considered trying it, but my kitchen is small and I don’t need more appliances. Sold it yesterday on a FB board for $60. Also sold a video game for $5, and a snowboard for $15 that I had bought for $5.
4. I discovered that I don’t have shut off valves for my outdoor water spigots. To help protect them from freezing, I made bag covers for the spigots out of an old down coat and the silver bubble wrap that comes in meal kits.
5. Took photos of a few items yesterday for new ebay listings that I will post today.
#1 – I also made a BudgetBytes skillet recipe this week with a marked down bag of coleslaw, kielbasa from Costco, the end of a jar of dijon mustard and a little vinaigrette. It was great!
I love the Budget Bytes’ recipes for weeknight enchiladas and veggie shepherds pie.
I hurt my back the other day, and I don’t even know how! It just started aching. So I’ve been cranky and avoiding my family so I don’t take it out on them. I haven’t been able to do laundry because I don’t think I’ll be able to carry the basket out to the line (maybe today, when my son is home to carry it?)
1. I finally put a couple of coupon apps on my phone, cartwheel and the one for a local grocery. The Target app offers 25% off the new Spiderman movie, which my daughter wants for Christmas, so that was time well spent!
2. I put together a really pretty display of thrifted votive candles, a glass jar and water. By putting wax over the metal thingy on the bottom, the votives won’t go out, and it brings light to us, when we’re all a little down after the time change.
3. Made tacos out of onion, potatoes, zucchini and mushrooms. Even my zucchini hater liked it! I’m out of veggie ground, and I haven’t found any on sale for a while, but I think this will work as a replacement.
4. I lay in bed and finished a library book when my back got really uncomfortable.
5. Going out to lunch with my husband today. He loves Thai, but since I can’t have soy or dairy (and I don’t eat meat) I usually end up hungry afterwards, and I don’t love that. We’re going to Thai, just the two of us, and I’ll have a big breakfast so I won’t be that hungry and will get by with Tom Ka soup (yummy), he will get his fix, and we won’t go for dinner with the kids and leave with me grumpy and hungry.
Sorry about your back. Have you tried laying flat on the floor? I know it’s hard to get back up, but that always eases my back. I also find one of my kids small balls(think those big bins of multiple sized balls at the dollar store and Walmart) and put it under my back where it is most sore while I am on the floor. You can roll on it back and forth and it kinda massages those knotted up muscles. Sounds a little silly to explain but it actually works.
If it’s possible to try Jennifer’s suggestion, the tennis ball thing could do wonders. My back is aching today and I’m wrapping up warm and putting on heat patches to try and relieve the pain. Maybe that or a heating pad might help? I hope you enjoyed your soup!
Thank you for the suggestions! I am feeling better (not all better, but better). The soup was yummy, and the uninterrupted time talking to my husband was even better! *This* is why we eat out.
Guess I’m going to have to break down and get an instagram account so I don’t miss anything.
1. I went to Kroger this morning and picked up 3 free Friday downloads which were Kefir yogurt, a 2-liter bottle of Mist soda, and the Uncle Ben’s rice. I also received coupons in the mail for free crest toothpaste, up to 6.4 ounces, so I found the biggest tube I could get which was 6.3 oz. I’m not picky about toothpaste as long as it does a good job. I also had a coupon for free Philadelphia cream cheese. This will be great for the holidays since it will last in the fridge for a long time.
2. My kids went to see the pre-show of the movie Wonder last night. It was a really good movie! I love watching movies that are true stories, especially when my kids can learn valuable lessons. Anyway, the frugal part was we ate before we went so we skipped the drinks and popcorn and the cashier gave us all child’s admission tickets. Guess my gray hair isn’t showing as much as I thought, lol. Just kidding, it was a computer glitch in the system at the theater.
3. All I ever talk about is my renovation projects but here I go again. We got my tile up this past weekend and it looks awesome. I’m applying the grout today. I saw on YouTube where you can apply it with the bottom of an old flip-flop instead of buying the special tool that is made from similar material. I’m going to try it in a small area in the corner. I may end up getting the tool anyway but I’m willing to give it go just to see if it works, as long as no harm is done. I will let you all know what happens. I want a smooth nice look so if things look the slightest bit off, I will ditch the idea. We worked too hard to make sure the tile has perfect symmetry to screw it up.
4. Turkeys are 79 cents per pound, which is good as it gets here, so I am buying one for Thanksgiving and one to cook sometime later like when we go to the beach this summer. Not sure why we don’t do this more! Turkey is so good when we aren’t sick of it. I’m thinking turkey and cheese sandwiches and turkey salad sandwiches in the hot summer would be great.
5. I am menu planning for Thanksgiving, carefully getting ingredients that I can use for multple dishes from items I find on sale. In other words, I tend to make Cran-Apple cobbler, cranberry candy, and homemade cranberry sauce while my mom is making all the sweet potato dishes since she found them on sale. I also buy just the amount of pecans I need for each dish from the bulk bins at Kroger instead of buying the pricey one pound bag. I can usually get away which only buying a cup or two so it’s just a few dollars.
I misread that, thought the movie you saw was Wonder Woman, and found it so odd that you thought it was a true story. Like, really?
Lol, too funny. This movie is the new one out with Julia Roberts about a child who was born with severe facial birth defects. I haven’t seen Wonder Woman yet. My daughter was begging to see this movie so I gave in.
I know the book was getting rave reviews. Did not realize it had been made into a movie.
I love the flipflop tip!
Thanks, will let you know if it’s worth trying.
1) We filled out the FAFSA.
2) I have been doing a better job of eating leftovers. We had them for dinner two nights ago and nobody complained.
3) Taking my lunch to work and making coffee and tea at my desk in the afternoons.
4) Using coupons for things we need and will use at the grocery store. I will take advantage of the .57/lb turkeys.
5) Bought wine at Costco yesterday for the first time. $7.99 for a 1.5 L bottle of Kirlkand brand Cabernet. We enjoyed it and will buy this again. Wine and coffee are our splurges.
1. I mended a pair of my husband’s pants. Time-10 minutes. Cost-$0
2. Made a big batch of seafood gumbo that will provide numerous meals for us and possibly be used for company that I wanted to cook for but was not sure if I had the time to prepare.
3. Vacuumed out our vehicle using the free vacuum at the local car wash.
4. Planning sandwiches and snacks for our 14-hour drive for Thanksgiving.
5. Checked and cleaned the drain on our dishwasher.
1. Well, practical Fail, but NCA (happy accident) win: I forgot my ID and cash when I left for work. So directly back home after work today w/ no stops. I really don’t live-or-die-NEED items on the list, but I usually go Friday so I don’t have to go out on the weekend, and use even more gas (which has increased in price this week—imagine that? just before a holiday?) I’m sure I can manage…I’ll make do…
2. took another load to the consignment shop, and got another one ready. Maybe I’ll take it tomorrow since we’re going to visit daughter #youngest for Thanksgiving.
3. Another Fail, but I made it less bad than it could’ve been. I knocked over the vacuum (yet another model that I hate, but it works well enough—in 33 yrs, I’ve never like the vacuum I bought after a while, so I use them up, research the current models, watch for sales, buy my new choice and hate it 6wks later until it’s life span is over) but I digress: since it is still in good shape, I called the company, and they are helping me get the wheel fixed locally under the warranty rather than 1) shipping it all over hell’s half acre 2) replacing the whole thing. I tied in the trip to the vacuum repair shop w/ other errands and got some things done that I’ve been delaying for weeks because of the rarely-used location.
4. sold a couple more items on the FB page. I’ve now sold all the baby stuff I bought so son/his girlfriend/the new baby would have less to schlep over and an easier time visiting. Turns out it was not appreciated, and never! used—and the house is still a strange place to the baby. Not that I’m bitter or anything. On a more hopeful note, I’ll start listing Christmas-type things and items suitable for gifts when I get back from Thanksgiving trip.
5. delivered the rest of the garage sale left-overs to Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and more boxes to the auction house to be re-used. Not only have I made an effort toward re-purposing/re-using instead of increasing consumerism, but I also got more stuff out of the garage and the basement.
1. I can’t believe this but as I was brushing yet more snow off the porch, I found a 10 pound bag of frozen carrots that I’d harvested, put down by the back door and then forgot. I brought them in and scrubbed off the dirt but they were too frozen to cut the green tops off. So I made a huge pot of carrot soup, greens and all, and when things had thawed and cooked, used the wand blender on them so with a glug of cream it was creamed carrot soup. We have eaten it for four days running, lunch and dinner. Finally done, no food waste and no money spent on food this week!
2. Sold two items on FB selling group.
3. Went to a holiday bazaar and didn’t buy anything but enjoyed listening to the live holiday music.
4. Contributed a tip to a magazine column and it was selected so I got a free year’s subscription to a magazine I really enjoy.
5. Accidently took a terrific photo of one of our northern lights display and used it to make our Christmas cards. (Not frugal but I actually like sending out cards. Our list is not long so not terribly expensive, especially when we make our own.)
Love the carrot story!
5. Oh, I want to see the Northern lights one day. It’s definitely on my bucket list. So glad you get enjoy them often.
Although I feel your pain on the frozen carrots (I’ve been working on harvesting mine before a really hard freeze does them in), the carrot soup sounds like a fantastic rescue effort. Kudos!
My husband went away for work and took our shared bank card with him. We both forgot to take out money before he left so that’s leaves me with a VERY limited ability to spend. I’ve taken it as a challenge instead of a hardship though.
1. Made beef and barley soup with a leftover piece of frozen pot roast and pantry supplies. It was enough for 3-4 meals as well.
2. Made a double batch of banana bread with bananas that were going too soft. It didn’t turn out great since I don’t have loaf pans and I think I overfilled the pan I used. It was still delicious and doesn’t need to be pretty if it’s just for me!
3. Posted more items on a buy/sell app to hopefully make some Christmas money. I’ll also relist the items I’ve not had a response to yet.
4. Stayed home for my three days off and got a lot of cleaning, organizing, planning, and relaxing done. No money spent.
5. Updated our budget for the next couple of months and saw that things will be very tight as I go on maternity leave next month. Before I got a chance to discuss this with Husband he told me that his boss informed him he’ll be getting a raise! Perfect timing. I’m going to keep our expenditures side of budget the same however, so we can bank that extra for savings and home improvements we’ll need to make.
1. Spent some time asking various merchants and supporters for donations for a fund–raiser we’re doing at school. I only needed three of any one item, so when a friend who sells essential oils gave me 4 bags, I was confused. She then told me one was for me! Several bottles of oil, an oil diffuser necklace, a bottle of thieves’ cleaner, and a car vent clip – score!
2. Got an offer for a free Shutterfly Xmas ornament, all I had to pay was $6.99 shipping – used 4 of my granddaughter’s senior photos and my husband will be thrilled.
3. Stocked up on stuff from Aldi so I could use my $10 off $40 coupon that expires soon.
4. Wanted to take butter croissants to a potluck, they’re usually almost $7, but I got them marked down to $3 and they still tasted great!
5. Dinner last night included chicken cutlets, breaded with crumbs made from a chunk of hard as a rock french bread, the rest of a jar of parm. cheese, and some herb mix I needed to use up, as well as roasted cherry tomatoes (which were a little shriveled, so would not do for salad) drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with herbs. Pounded the cutlets in waxed paper bags from crackers. Delish!!
oh, and am proud to announce I got rid of 5 more boxes of brand-new books from my reviewer job – 2 to the library, 1 to the Christmas Elf program (gifts for needy kids), 2 to a friend’s daughter who is doing a Xmas project and needs new books for it. And I listed 7 boxes for $25 each (10-12 new books in each) on CL and sold 6 to a librarian for $25. My husband is beside himself with joy!! LOL
I just learned that our local Lions Club gives books to kids during their free Breakfast With Santa event. Might be a possible outlet for next year’s build up, depending on what kind of books you review.
I’m working on filling gaps in our documents at home and realized that we don’t have a copy of my birth certificate or our marriage certificate. Those will cost money but the most time efficient way to request them is to mail requests since we don’t have any urgent need for them. The not great thing is the requests have to be notarized but I’ve found out that if you’re a Chase customer, their bankers will notarize certain documents for you, free! That’s ready for me to send off with a couple of checks when I’m ready to pay their fees.
1. School has been crazy busy but I heard back that they transferrred 30 credits from my previous degree, so that knocks almost a year off my current schooling. I have a Bachelor’s in English but I’ve gone back to school to earn an early childhood associates degree so I can teach preschool.
2. Every time I go to class there are bowls of Halloween candy and the teachers are trying to give away as much as possible. I saw that there were several little bags of skittles so I grabbed for my son’s friend who is vegan and loves them. It is his birthday coming up so I’m going to put them in with his birthday gift.
3. I finished reading Erin Odom’s book More Than Just Making It. I got it from the library and I was glad I didn’t spend the money. I know she has a large following from her blog The Humbled Homemaker but it wasn’t my cup of tea.
4. My son went through another growth spurt and I passed on some of his pants and shirts, as well as some rain gear. Literally he wakes up and he is taller!
5. I was given two spaghetti squash so I’m defrosting some seasoned pork bought on sale and I’m going to make marinara sauce and serve it over squash. I really hope my family likes it. I tried roasting acorn squash last week and I was the only one who liked it. I’m trying to incorporate more squash into our diet since it is nutritious and filling.
#4 – I know, right?? DS was wearing a shirt this morning (lovely big name striped shirt hand me down – yay!) which two wearings ago needed to have the sleeve cuff rolled over since it was too long. By the next time he wears it, it will look like a 3/4 sleeve!
1. I did really well at the grocery store this week, kept both my trips down below my target area.
2. I have finally slain my Trader Joe’s habit, or at least trimmed it. Shamefully, I used to go every week and just toss things in my basket, and then end up spending at least 100 dollars, and that isn’t even our primary grocery store! Shame. I stopped going every week–it’s actually a fun outing for me and my (homeschooled) kids, so we make a morning of it. So we go once a month, and I have now an iron-clad rule: Thou Shalt Not Purchase at TJ’s What Thou Canst Find at Thine Regular Store. I was buying produce–some of their produce is so neatly packaged and pre cut–and tofu, but they have tofu at Kroger and I get rewards points for shopping there! I’m now spending 50 or less, and going once, maybe twice a month (DH gave me some mad money from royalties we got, so I’ve been stretching that) and it feels SO good to walk out of there with the stuff we really like and can’t find anywhere else.
3. Wow, that was long. But I was really excited. Gave everyone haircuts this week, except for me, and that saves $$ and time.
4. We used a 30% off coupon at Kohl’s and got the kids stocked up on the clothes that should get them through the winter. Youngest has lots of handmedowns, so all he got was a Batman shirt.
5. I didn’t buy a Frappuccino or a new phone.
hey, I have that radio. It’s in my thrift store box. If anyone wants to pay the shipping, you can have it.
Any idea what shipping would be to 37801? Im drooling over that radio, lol
1) Saved dinnertime from the clutches of the diner by having ‘take out’ at home. Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken and wonton soup with TJ’s mini chicken wontons and homemade chicken stock. Rice from the mega Costco bag purchased a year ago. Dinner at home for the win!
2) Dispersed goods into the world today – a box of kids puzzles and books to the thrift store, a DVD, cd , a puzzle and three books to our awesome library and a bag of cookbooks and knick knacks to go to the church holiday bazaar tomorrow. Oh and a cookbook and two pairs of DS’s pants to our friends with the next boy in the hand me down chain.
3) Thought of you all, my frugal friends, this morning as I folded the odd assortment of cut up flannel pj’s and holey old dish towels that we use for cleaning cloths.
4) Sold books for the first time to our local bookstore. My timing was good since she stopped buying Thursday until after the new year. I have a $15 store credit to use and the store will track it for me.
5) Borrowed season one of Victoria from aforementioned library to ward off the despair about the season finale of Poldark this Sunday. Sigh. Poldark.
I really enjoyed Victoria. I hope you will too. It was well done. I just love PBS and especially Masterpiece.
I love Poldark! Hubs watched seasons 1 & 2 with me, but doesn’t seem terribly interested in watching season 3. Oh well….if i must watch it alone, so be it…. (lol).
I enjoyed Victoria as well. Masterpiece Theatre is always so well done.
DH was losing interest in Poldark, he thought the plot repeated too much (there was some of that, but I wanted to hang in there just for the gorgeousness of the scenery and costumes). I convinced him to persist, and he enjoyed season 3 more than he had season 2.
1. Got a clearance bag of candy for 29c. Halloween is over but sweet tooth remains.
2. A financial matter was cleared up this morning from retirement account. Didn’t get a receipt from someone else and left a message for them to send me one so I can claim my reimbursement. Keeping up with boring bookkeeping items is a frugal use of my time.
3. Purchased two advent calendars today to give to small cousins at Thanksgiving. Trader Joe’s had them for 99c!
4. Weekend plans include raking leaves, continuing to work on bedroom organization and visiting a holiday bazaar to look but not buy – can’t think of anything I need at this moment.
5. DH gifted me with Thai egg rolls from new neighborhood restaurant. Very filling. Not interested in going out for dinner. Acceptable homemade dinner from ingredients on hand.
1. Looked through the papers to find the loss leader turkey. Will buy that at the grocery and the other things at Winco (my cheapy cheap store, that I LOVE!).
2. Clipped a coupon for Shampoo. Every $3 counts!
3. Made homemade pizza tonight. Replaced some of the water and all the sugar in the recipe by using pineapple juice in the dough. (Yeast loves that juice.) In-laws are visiting. Need to keep the costs down when there are extra mouths to feed.
4. Been keeping my eye on Varagesale for cheap wall décor to hang above the master toilet. The PERFECT canvas showed up for $8. I offered $6 and she accepted. She actually lived a block away so I saved on gas too.
5. Caught my dishwasher before it went to the drying setting and opened it up to air dry overnight.
4.
Oh, and I made a “Happy Anniversary” card tonight. Celebrating 10 years this next week. Hope he thinks the card is special!!!
Happy anniversary (a bit early). I think homemade cards are very special because of the thoughts and love that go into them!
I am not on Instagram so I can’t see your pictures there, but I can just imagine the 1921 certificate! I absolutely LOVE anything vintage. I found a 1920 school certificate from my grandmother in a random box in my mom’s basement and I framed it. I mean, it’s almost 100 years old, incredible! It now lives on my wall.
My great grandparents marriage license was handwritten on what looks like old-yellowed paper from a notepad. It is in a photo album that was my grandmothers. I would love to have it but since it is the side of my family that are all jackasses, I refuse to even ask. We don’t really communicate anymore, anyways. Turns out I can’t speak jackass! Lol
Lol. I can sometimes understand “jackass” but pretend I can’t. Easier that way if I still want to have any kind of relationship with that bunch.
1) I attended an Education Forum/Luncheon yesterday, which is 100% reimbursable. I just need to make certain to submit my receipts next week. The lunch was yummy. I ate breakfast at home and drank my own coffee, so no need to waste money on the drive to or from the Forum.
2) I dropped my large Roaster off at a friend’s house, where we’ll be attending Thanksgiving dinner. It’s nice to have a circle of friends you can share with.
3) I dropped by Aldi to stock up on food for the next week and bought the supplies for the triple chocolate cake I’m going to make for the dinner on Thursday. They had a bag of sweet potatoes on sale for $2.40 – which I plan to bake and use as a side dish for the dinner, also.
4) I returned an audiobook and one book of the Lumby series I had finished, in the book drop at the Library on Thursday, then renewed the other stuff online. Avoiding book fines. The online renewal is so handy!
5) I found a hand-held spot scrubber shampooer at GW last week for $7. I’ve been needing one and finally got around to checking at the GW nearest work –
scored on the first trip!
Sorry if this is a repeat, sometimes I can’t remember if I’ve posted things in the past.
I am also bringing baked sweet potatoes to Thanksgiving. We like them better than the marshmallow topped dish. Didn’t get your good deal though!
1. Cleaned my own house (well, all of us as a family worked at it) while listening to an audiobook borrowed from the public library. I wish that, as a household with a child and two working parents, I could justify paying a living wage to someone else to clean my house, but I just can’t. Not my favorite way to spend Sat morning, but the house feels better and with all of us working it didn’t take all day.
2. Last night my husband and I went on a date – we went out to a restaurant where we split an entree and an appetizer and we still ended up with a doggie bag to bring home!
3. On Thurs I had a meeting for a committee I’m on, at which meetings we are given free lunch. It’s not the kind of food I’d ideally like to eat (too heavy and carby, but at least there’s a vegetarian option)…but it’s free so I ate it.
4. I sat a bag of pantry items out for today’s mail-carriers food drive. Earlier in the week I intentionally bought extra pantry items for a food drive at my kid’s school, but the mail-carriers drive came to my attention suddenly so I dove into my own stock. There was plenty there to fill a bag, and I was happy to be able to help a little. (And maybe I need to revisit how much food I stock up in my pantry without a clear purpose in mind!).
5. Our public library has a shelf of books for sale by Friends of the Library, usually for $1 or $2. This week they had bundles intended as holiday gifts. For $5 we got the DVDs of the first three Harry Potter films and for $6 I got 5 of the original Nancy Drew novels (my daughter has recently discovered their glory). That completes my holiday shopping for my daughter (we already had a few things we’d bought over the course of the year)!
6. I almost forgot! I also made a batch of my homemade deodorant. It works 10000% better than any store-bought natural deodorant, and costs pennies! The whole family uses it and a batch will last us months.
How do you make homemade deodorant Sarah D.?
Sorry for the long delay on this response, Christine! I use this recipe here: http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2009/08/natural-homemade-deodorant/ During the winter I need to use more liquid oil (I use the vitamin e oil from Trader Joes, which costs about $3 a bottle) than solid coconut oil, and in the summer more coconut than liquid.
So with you on #1. I remember reading in the Number One Ladies Detective series how responsible the main character feels for providing work for those who don’t have jobs. We did have twice-a-month housekeepers for nearly a year when I had 4 kids at home, 3 of whom were participating in very muddy sports, and hubs and I both worked full time. But even those two brief mornings wreaked havoc on budgeting tuition payments for the kid who was in school, plus I felt endlessly guilty about housekeepers not having health insurance, not getting sick pay, etc. It was a disaster.
Now my house is a disaster. Wish there was a good choice when all the adults in a household work long hours, but I haven’t found one.
I hear you on the double disaster! I think part of my acceptance of cleaning my own house is that I have to accept it won’t be perfect, and we won’t get it fully cleaned every week. But we can do a quick once-over and make a lot of progress in just about 1.5 hours.
1. Having friends over for dinner tonight. I had to buy some ingredients for a vegan lasagna (one guest is vegan) but a friend gave me nutritional yeast for it that she had on hand.
2. Tomorrow I am going to walk my sister’s dog and come home to relax. I feel like I never have my own time anymore.
3. Coffee from home.
4. I was very hungry yesterday and went over to the campus snack shop to buy a sandwich. They were expensive so I waited half an hour and ate lunch in the faculty dining room for $5.50. It was good and healthier than a sandwich and took a banana and coffee to go.
5. My hands get so dry in the cold. I have been using a hotel moisturizer that I took from the hotel room I stayed in a few weeks ago.
1. It’s Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard around here, but couldn’t get to the grocery store today, and made do.
2. Made a batch of my homemade laundry soap.
3. Paid our car insurance in one lump sum, saving $248 every 6 months.
4. My Uncle got tickets to the Lightning Game and invited my husband and Dad. My husband bought two 6 packs of Labatts- still cost less than ONE beer if they bought it at the game. They’ll tailgate before the game. ⚡⚡⚡
5. Organized what I have and made my Christmas list today- frugal because I know what I have and won’t over buy!
1. I spent one hour taste testing new products for a restaurant chain and received a $50.00 gift card to their restaurant for doing so.
2. I went to the library and borrowed several books for my husband and myself to read over the next few weeks. While there, I browsed their free book section which is books that have overstayed their welcome and picked up an interesting one to keep.
3. My husband and I walked in the woods last Sunday (the only day of the week when hunting is not allowed in our state) and discovered an interesting old farm site with only cellar holes and stone walls remaining. Free exercise and our interest in local history was piqued.
4. We have been able to keep our heat turned down to 60 degrees with the help of thermal underclothes and sweatshirts worn around the house.
5. I brought eleven items of clothing, five belts and a large pasta bowl I never use to our local consignment shop. Payday will be the 15th of next month.
FFT – visiting the college kids edition
1) Crowded 4 of us into one car (me, hubs, grandma, Littlest) for the 5 hours each way, even though Littlest complained until she fell asleep. Then crammed middle daughter in to shuttle from place to place.
2) Younger son had a performance (the reason for our visit – 10 hours RT for six minutes on the stage, but we’d do it again in a heartbeat), which delightfully was free. The rest of the show varied in enjoyability, but there was one really good piece of original music and two very good dance performances, so a pleasant and free evening of entertainment.
3) Stayed in a fairly dreadful but very inexpensive motel near the campus. On Saturday night, Littlest came around the corner in our hallway to find a large party of, probably, university students. She’s not put off by young adults because that’s what all her siblings are, but they were pretty surprised to see her alone (we were several steps behind). To their credit, they moved the party from the room next to where she was staying with Grandma first to the parking lot and eventually down the street. So very little extra cost in lost sleep for staying nearer school.
4) While we ate out all meals, we chose non-fancy, non-ocean-view restaurants, which saved a lot of money. Also ate only two meals per day – brunch and dinner – except bought a second to-go dinner for the performer, knowing he’d be starving after the show. Worked out great.
5) Still looking for the perfect non-vulgar home in the new city. I found one I could certainly live with. Hubs hasn’t seen it and he’s not happy with the price, but our realtor is pretty sure it’s overpriced by $60-70k. So maybe there’s hope.
1. My daughter and I hosted game night and early Thanksgiving dinner for some of our friends last night. The next door neighbors brought the turkey (she won a free turkey), gravy and sangria, the other next-door neighbor guy brought salad and dressing (his wife is in Hawaii visiting her brother, who is on hospice, so I tried to keep it simple for him), and my new gentleman friend brought 2 lovely homemade chocolate cream pies. I made the rolls, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. The stuffing was Stove Top (purchased on deep sale last year) – a combo of 2 boxes (turkey and cornbread), and heavily laced with craisins. The rest was homemade from scratch. Oh, and I had a couple bottles of sparkling cider bought for .99 each and some bottled water that is free to me after returning the bottles for deposit. It was a great dinner, and didn’t cost me more than $5 for my share of a meal for 6. I even got to keep half a pie, a turkey leg and a serving plate of sliced turkey, so we’re set for Thanksgiving Day, too. We played Mexican Train dominoes and just had so much fun talking and laughing. Inexpensive, delicious dinner, wonderful; time with friends, priceless!
2. Having friends over makes me clean and organize my house and gets me inspired to fix small things in my house that I tend to put off – win-win!
3. Had a girls’ day out with my daughters last Monday – we shopped the bins at the PDX Goodwill Outlet. We found some really great bargains for our own use and some for resale, including 2 down duvets and several gorgeous formals I need to get listed on facebook or taken to consignment – I found 2 to keep for myself, but several are perfect for holiday parties or Winter dances, so I really need to list them tomorrow. The two I’m keeping are 2 sizes too small right now, but will fit beautifully when I reach my goal weight – I plan to wear one of them for my TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) graduation to KOPS (Keeping Off Pounds Sensibly) ceremony.
4. We had lunch at the nearby Costco – $1.50 hotdogs and drinks with free refill on the drinks.
5. I Had to take my nephew’s cats to the vet in Astoria to be altered on Friday. It’s a long drive and a long day, but the price is so much more reasonable than the local vets, and they do such a good job there, that it’s worth the drive. I did a little shopping at the Warrenton Goodwill while I was in the area – I found a bicycle pump, 2 pairs of shoes, and a glass to match my set. The grand total was about $15. Not too shabby, especially since I found the perfect pair of like new, dressy black sandals to wear with that great dress in #4, and they were the right tag color to be 50% off. I also lunched at Costco again and filled my water bottle with lemonade for my free refill. I returned a bunch of deposit bottles and cans which paid for much of my gas, and I picked up a couple of Fred Meyer Friday freebies – the Uncle Ben’s rice and a full sized package of Mother’s cookies. I hiked a trail between rain squalls – free exercise. All in all, a great, frugal day. 🙂
– Made a vat of soup from dried beans and odds and ends that were lurking around the freezer and fridge. Yummy!
– Made bread to go with it. So good on a cool weekend, and so much cheaper than going to the bakery.
– Scored a long-wanted reusable Advent calendar at Goodwill and stocked it with little candies and stickers.
– Found some books for my niece and nephew at Goodwill- they will be from Santa.
– Removed the lace from my son’s Halloween pirate shirt- now he has a dress shirt for the winter.
I’ve been really out of the frugal saddle for months. Seems I have had nothing but expenses and bad consumer decisions come my way. However, it is that time of year when I face facts and get back in the swing of things…
1. It’s taken almost a year, but I am seeing the difference from my big purge. Basically, it has been letting go of my former married life and looking towards the future. To paraphrase a movie quote: I spent the first half of my life acquiring all this crap and I’ll spend the second half getting rid of it. The frugal part is seeing I have more space and items than I will ever need.
2. I made a sort of pre-Thanksgiving meal this weekend (I am also vegetarian) out of potatoes I bought for 10lbs/$1.30 at Aldi and a post Halloween squash. My son mentioned he wanted “real” mashed potatoes because his step-mom will be serving instant ones on Thanksgiving (not my holiday year 🙁 ). I also made a really yummy curry squash soup.
3. Sadly, it seems to be colder this time of year in my northern Southern city and I had to turn on the furnace. I do have it set at 60 and will try hard to tolerate it there as I do most years.
4. Adding to the list here of aging body issues: My shoulder has been killing me for some unknown reason. I made my own heating pad and am trying to not make it worse. I am fortunate to be well-insured through my employer should I need to break down for a med visit. I really wish everyone was.
5. The best frugal thing lately: I fixed a cracked water line all by myself (saving me approx. $500 for a service call as it was deep in the bowels under my house. You have no idea the courage I had to muster to crawl into that tight space). I won’t say it did not come with some leaks from my eyes, but I persevered!
I enjoy reading all of your posts and I am glad to see so many names here from quite a few years now. I never stop learning from you all. Happy Thanksgiving (USA or elsewhere!)
#5 – go you!!!!!! That is awesome that you were able to accomplish that. And a few leaked tears just mean more that you did it yourself!!
Gina, I love the generosity in the way your #4 ended. Made me smile, that.
Ouch 18 miles one way for an hour of work. So roughly $11 fuel, wear and tear on your vehicle. I consolidate trips where I can, and calculate the added transportation costs when I make a decision on where to go for a product or service. I call it the transportation tax, so insourcing where we can cuts that tax.
Hubby fixed the snowblower, he got the parts in April but no snow, no hurry, but he still got it repaired before snow is sticking.
Huuby gave the boys each a haircut on Saturday, want them to look nice to go to grandma’s for dinner. I got him to trim mine the week before, my coworker told me it is tough to get a hair appointment this time of year, another reason that insourcing haircuts is the smart choice.
Driving and staying with family for Thanksgiving, so no air fare or hotel costs.
We have tenants for the vacation rental for this weekend, yay income rather than expense.