Five Frugal Things
by Katy on November 25, 2017 · 91 comments
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I sold three eBay items on Thanksgiving and packaged them up in free used shipping materials. I then dropped them off at the post office on my way back from dropping my son at a friend’s house. (Batching errands.) The eBay app on my phone makes a “cha-ching” sound whenever a payment comes through, and it’s just as dopamine-tastic as the obnoxious but oddly satisfying bells and whistles on a Vegas slot machine. (All the fun of a gambling addiction without the heartbreak.) I did buy a book of the Ezra Jack Keats Snowy Day stamps while at the post office that I’ll gift to my sister for her birthday. (She’s too busy with pre-grad school to read the blog.)
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Yesterday was Black Friday here in the United States, but I didn’t set my alarm to scoop up any 75%-off 5 A.M. deals. Instead I slept in and then puttered around the house and ate my way through a tremendous amount of leftovers. (This particular cheesecake stalked me throughout day.) My father stopped by in the afternoon and we enjoyed tea, conversation and yes, cheesecake. I put together a couple of eBay listings as shopping season is apparently upon us. There’s nothing frugal about buying stuff at Goodwill “to sell,” and then letting it languish in what’s referred to as a “death pile” in the eBay community.
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I put out the word in my Buy Nothing Group that I wanted uncut pumpkins for puree and then life got in the way. I finally picked up a couple on Wednesday night and baked one up, which provided a full ten cups of yummy pumpkin puree. I used four cups for two pies, and then froze the rest in two-cup portions for future use. I still have another enormous pumpkin to precess, as well as an acorn squash. (Since Target sells a small can for $1.69, this one pumpkin saved me $16.90.)
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I lent my stock pot to a neighbor, I gathered a full grocery bag of random stuff to drop at Goodwill, I considered setting up my garbage picked artificial Christmas tree and then decided to wait as I have about a week, maybe a week-and-a-half of looking at Christmas decor before I activate Scrooge mode.
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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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1) My family and I put up the 4 ft artificial Christmas tree that I’ve had for 10 years since I paid $20 for it my senior year of college.
2) I used a piece of cut up t-shirt to help stabilize the base (which is elevated to keep ornaments out of the hands of the toddlers).
3) Hung up curtains in the room my husband and I are now using as a bedroom – three of the 4 walls are just windows – yikes! Got the curtain rods for 75% off at JCPenney with free shipping, and the curtains themselves were 50% off at World Market, plus 10% off for joining their mailing list (which I will promptly unsubscribe from) plus 2% off for ebates. I couldn’t have made them this cheap, and it would have taken months to find something similar thrifting (I needed 10 panels!).
4) Bought my kids their winter boots at the local consignment shop. Only 2 of them needed them as the rest can wear handmedowns.
5) Successfully used up 2 cartons of eggs and 2 ends of cheese without any of them going bad!
I made my first Ebay sale this week. A vintage pie pan. Nothing big, but a start. I have twelve more items listed and am working on getting more up. I’m sure it will go faster as I get the hang of it. I sold an antique butter churn I garbage-picked at the town recycling center on Craigslist, and sold six books on Amazon–a couple of old hard-to-find titles (again, garbage-picked) that brought nice prices. Having fun.
I found a queen mattress with split box spring for my brother on our town’s list serve: he needed a split box spring to get it up some narrow stairs. The set was free. In return he gave me his double mattress to replace the one I’ve been using and don’t much like. Listed the old mattress on the same list serve to give away and hoping someone comes to take it!
I also traded out the antique bed frame I’ve been using for my brother’s plain double frame. The antique bed is gorgeous, but HIGH, and I no longer feeling like literally CLIMBING into bed! Have listed the frame (iron, painted white, very pretty) on the list serve and hope someone will buy it.
Thanksgiving was not very frugal, as I hosted a gang of friends and sent everybody home with leftovers, but it was a beautiful meal and nothing will go to waste. The turkey carcass is in the freezer until I make soup. The drippings are frozen too (I made the gravy ahead so didn’t need to use them). I inherited a couple bottles of wine and a vase of flowers from the event. Picking at leftovers and I think the rest of the turkey meat is going to end up frozen too–right now I’m tired of it but I’ll love it in a stew or soup later.
Everything I wore for Thanksgiving dinner (with the exception of underwear) was thrifted! I looked swell.
For Black Friday I stayed home and didn’t buy anything–oh that’s wrong–I did order cat food online.
Just chilling out this weekend, waiting for the indictments to come down from Mueller, teasing myself trying to guess who’s next.
1. Donated 3 years worth of Smithsonian Magazines to someone who will use them for art therapy and at the same time I decluttered my life a bit (guilt free). Two birds with one stone!
2. Got a few cards ready to go out… I now use “Happy New Year” photo cards in Xmas colors because sometimes I get them out too late for the holiday! The cards were free with a Shutterfly coupon code. My relatives are few and far between, and I really wanted to share a photo of our Southern California family. It was worth the small shipping fee. Photo was from last Christmas but we haven’t changed much.
3. Thanksgiving dinner — Got everything for under $40 with lots of leftovers. Ours was a small gathering that included a good friend who is a great conversationalist. Her company really broke the ice… Grateful for small favors <3
4. Something else to be grateful for: A call for work came in on Wednesday noon. It will be a lifesaver if it comes through.
5. I did not go shopping!
I’m not feeling very frugal but I’ll give it a shot…
1. My husband made a yummy brisket for Thanksgiving which costs more than a turkey but we enjoyed it more and we were able to split the leftovers four ways making everyone happy. We’ve been eating and enjoying all the Thanksgiving leftovers.
2. I purchased a few needs and one want at the black friday sales saving some money.
3. My husband borrowed a large wheeled leaf blower from a coworker to use on our lawn and his parents lawn. We don’t have enough leaves ourselves to justify buying one. My in-laws are unable to do it themselves and they would have had to hire it done otherwise.
4. I gave my daughter my electric tea kettle so I’m using an old percolator that I bought at a garage sale to heat water.
5. I used my coke codes saved from boxes and bottles to purchase two $5 amazon gift cards.
I thought my coke rewards were no longer?
me, too. Have they started another promotion with the codes?
Yes, if you search coke points it should lead you to the new site. really don’t like this new program as the rewards are very limited but, got to get rid of all these caps somehow!
I don’t like the new promotion either. I miss the old rewards site, but free gift cards are free gift cards right?
Shoot. I’ve been throwing them all away. 🙁
1. We went to the beach for Thanksgiving, not exactly frugal, but we wanted a holiday getaway. It was perfect and we found a bargain rate for a sweet little motel just a block off the beach.
2. The motel included breakfast and it was tasty. There were hot and cold cereals, waffles, sausages, a variety of breads and muffins, fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs, juice, milk, and assorted hot beverages.
3. We had planned to eat Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, but the motel staff told us about a tradition in the community of serving Thanksgiving dinner. We decided to join the locals and found it to be a friendly atmosphere and the dinner was just like home cooking.
4. The weather turned sunny and we enjoyed visiting the nearby beach towns and then going for a beach walk with our little dog. Great frugal entertainment and good exercise, too.
5. After breakfast at the motel we got on the road for our trip home. We each took a cup of the good custom roast coffee to sip on the way. I had fruit and granola bars in the car and we snacked on those midway home so no stops for burgers and fries. Saving money and saving calories – win/win.
What sweet little beach town is this, or do you want to keep it a secret?
Thanks for asking. It’s no secret. We were in Long Beach, Washington.
Oh, one of my favorite places!
Katy’s #4 included:
—”I gathered a full grocery bag of random stuff to drop at Goodwill.”
As part of my ongoing effort to live more mindfully, I have started (what I consider to be) a good habit.
I always have a “Goodwill Bag” that lives in my spare bedroom. When I run across items in my apartment that I ***KNOW*** are destined for Goodwill, I immediately place them in my Goodwill Bag.
With this practice I’m always preparing for my next visit to Goodwill. When I’m headed to our trusty SE Portland Goodwill store, I make sure to head FIRST to their “Donation Drive-Thru,” giving the attendant my Goodwill Bag.
While this isn’t a major sort-out effort, it does keep me mindful of recycling the items that are no longer needed in my humble abode.
Happy Little Box Saturday (and no, I did not visit ANY store on Black Friday)!
A couple of years ago, I started doing something similar – keeping a donation bag in one of the guest bedroom closets. As soon as the bag is full, it goes out to the car to be dropped off at one of the local charities the next time I’m in town. It really works well, doesn’t it? And of course, as soon as one donation bag goes out to the car, I set up a new one to take its place.
I have an ongoing donation box that I empty periodically. It’s great, because when the kids realize they no longer want something (or it no longer fits) they are *less* likely to follow me around with “what should I do with this?” and usually just pop whatever-it-is in the box!
1. Between several rounds of freezing rain and deer hunting season, we’ve been staying home a lot the past few weeks. No shopping, no gasoline used, no money spent.
2. Once we were felt like venturing out again, I used a Menards merchandise credit rebate to buy suet for my bird feeders. We have the pickiest birds when it comes to suet – they did not care for the homemade stuff, and also wouldn’t come near the cheaper stuff. Choosy woodpeckers for sure! I try to get their “preferred” brand suet as cheaply as I can. I love watching the birds, I love waking up and seeing them outside my window in the morning – it’s a favorite frugal entertainment of mine. I only feed the birds in winter, but that’s more for black bear reasons than frugal ones.
3. With fresh fruit selections more limited – and expensive – in the winter, I’m happy that I froze so many bags of blueberries and red and black raspberries this past summer. Berries are a nice change from apples and bananas.
4. Now that every last speck of carpet has been removed from the house, I’m realizing how cold hardwood and tile floors are on my feet in winter. I thought about getting slippers (with a gravel driveway and lots of wildlife leaving “gifts” in the yard, removing our shoes at the door is a must). Then I tried putting a pair of shorty socks on over my regular socks – kind of like slipper socks. I’d bought a large package of those socks this past summer, but two pairs were awfully heavy for warm weather. They make perfect slippers.
5. I rescued three lemons before they could go bad, juiced them and froze the juice in ice cube trays. I’ve had a few food waste episodes lately, and am trying to get back to almost zero food wasted.
1. Well with only 4 of us home this week I haven’t done much cooking and we have been plowing through the leftovers. Haven’t cooked in 3 days!
2.My parents are giving us a car. While it isn’t very frugal for us to get it and bring it home (cross country) it did allow for a train adventure for my dh and dd as well as family bonding time with his family before driving it home today. Plus, buying another car was likely 3-4 years in our future so it really is a huge help when you have 4 drivers.
3. Packed a lunch to eat while running the Christmas tree sales all day.
4. Received a free Christmas tree stand! The unfrugal part is I then purchased a tree from the scout troop to put in said stand.
5. My son thinks I am taking him on an elaborate grocery shopping trip before he heads back to his college apartment. I thought of a better way. Hand him a $50 and make him do his own shopping. As typical of teens he is way more frugal when shopping with his money – with my money not a care in the world.
1. I downloaded my free Friday download from Kroger which was mentos candy. My mom is a diabetic so I will get hers as well. That is two stocking stuffers for my younger girls. I also signed up for the Merry days promotion at Kroger. They give away an item every few days or so for 25 days, I think. I downloaded the first of those, which is a free Sunkist drink. We don’t usually drink those but will be nice to have around for company at Christmas.
2. I really wanted to make a “real” baked cheesecake for Thanksgiving. I don’t have a springform pan and didn’t want to buy one. I cut some long strips of wax paper and put them in the bottom of my regular cake pan before filling so I would have something to pull on to lift the cake out after it cooled. It worked perfectly! I also cut strips around to go around the inside edges of the pan so it wouldn’t stick to to sides. I cut the strips to a little taller so I could make a really tall cheesecake. Surprisingly, it worked well. I was afraid it would topple over the sides as it baked. I may pick up a springform at Goodwill some day but I don’t make cheesecake very often so it would be kinda silly to own one.
3. I didn’t go Black Friday shopping but I did have a $10 off any $10 purchase coupon from Kohl’s to use. I get this every year and usually buy a Christmas gift for someone with it. I found these really cute Christmas jar lights that were 60% off making them $9.99 and a pair of earrings that were $2 for my daughter. I went late in the afternoon so the crowd was gone.
4. Staying home for the weekend …that’s always frugal.
5. Ate leftovers from Thanksgiving.
I read about these mysterious cans of pumpkin and various pumpkin flavoured things on US sites. We have no such products here. If we want pumpkin anything we have to do it the old fashioned way.
We have these pumpkins here called ‘Queensland Blue’ – they are so tough to cut you can break a knife in them. Unless they are as cheap as chips I will avoid them!
1. We hosted my eldest’s second 18th yesterday. I budgeted $250 but only spent half that.
2. We have heaps of leftovers that will do us for at least another two days.
3. We roasted chickens as part of the party food. I asked my husband this morning if he threw the carcasses away, which I wouldn’t have blamed him for as it was full on yesterday but he looked at me aghast. “Of course not! They’re in the fridge!” I love that man xxxx Now they are in the slow cooker making stock.
4. I’m gardening all day today, planting out seedlings I have raised and potting up Christmas gifts. It’s perfect gardening weather.
5. Finished all my library books and returning them today to borrow some more.
Don’t break a knife on your pumpkin. Drop it on cement. If it doesn’t break, drop it from a higher altitude.
We were gifted a HUGE hubbard squash one year by my jokester uncle. My husband stood at the top of the cellar stairs and threw it down as hard as he could. It broke–he brought the pieces upstairs so my Mom and I could cook them, while poor husband cleaned up the cellar floor. It made 10 quarts of puree, which my Mom shared with me and one sister and some for herself!
I’ll just cook a variety I can cut!
I never considered that you don’t have canned packed pumpkin there. We also have a canned pumpkin pie filling which has other things added to it. In September, our stores become flooded with various pumpkin flavored prepackaged treats. The downside is after Fall, the clearance racks seem to be bursting with the stuff that won’t sell. The homemade version of pumpkin is so much better than the can. I’ve never heard of the Queensland blue variety.
I guess there’s just not the demand here. We don’t eat pumpkin pie traditionally (I’ve never tasted it). We mostly eat it in soups, roasted, risottos, scones etc. I love it curried with lentils.
I’m trying to grow it this year. Two varieties: Kent and Lakota. Fingers crossed!
Mand, I have a great book out from the library: The Compleat Squash: A Passionate Grower’s Guide to Pumpkins, Squashes, and Gourds, by Amy Goldman. This book has photos and descriptions of all sorts of squashes and pumpkins and has a whole section on the Australian blue varieties (looks like there are several) including Queensland Blue. It sounds like it would be delicious, if you could cut it and bake it. It looks like the difficulty is the fact that there’s not much of a seed cavity. Most of the ones we get in the US have a large, hollow seed cavity, which makes cutting it much easier. Even if you skip the Queenslands, I highly recommend the book.
I think the Compleat Squash is one of the most visually gorgeous books ever. It makes squash look sexy.
Oooh thanks – I will look for it!
Barbara Kingsolver wrote about the Queensland Blue in “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.” She suggested an axe to get inside!
Sounds about right!
I KNEW I’d heard of it before reading The Compleat Squash! I love Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. One of my all-time favorites.
FFT, Thanksgiving with the Bestest Neighbors Edition:
(1) DH and I drove Thursday morning to the BNs’ cottage about 3.5 hours west of here for our traditional T’giving celebration. The cottage was Ms. BN’s dearly beloved (by all of us) mom’s home until she died 10 years ago, and Mom BN’s spirit is still very much with us. Fond memories of those who have gone before = priceless.
(2) Dr. BN made his usual incomparable turkey–but had a classic Julia Child moment when he dropped it on the floor during one of the bastings. In proper JC style, we picked it up off the floor and ate it anyway.
(3) My contribution to dinner was a kale/carrot/apple salad made with my own Tuscan kale, my own carrots, my own shallot, and my own parsley. I admit that I purchased the radishes and the apples, and I didn’t personally manufacture the olive oil, cider vinegar, mustard, or maple syrup for the marinade. But it was a great success, particularly with the one vegetarian dinner guest.
(4) We went nowhere near a conventional Black Friday experience on Friday. Instead, we visited a small farm/craft market nearby; had a classic diner lunch at the diner on the village’s main drag; and walked through every antique/junque/thrift shop in the area. And I was glad I had just enough leg power left for our ritual visit to the nearby Great Lake.
(5) Finally, Dr. BN produced his incomparable turkey shepherd’s pie for Friday dinner. If it’s possible to look forward to the leftovers even more than to the holiday dinner, this is the occasion.
Your Bestest Neighbor Edition Thanksgiving sounds wonderful, and I love the way you spent a non-conventional Black Friday!
1. Sister-in-law hosted Thanksgiving dinner and made a ham as well as a turkey. She gave me the ham bone with tons of meat attached and I will make a big pot of ham and white bean soup with it.
2. Had Thanksgiving #2 at my Mom’s yesterday. She bought the turkey and I cooked it and brought the ingredients for stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy which I cooked at her house. Sister in law sent home an extra Costco pie with me day before which we had on Friday. My cost for the items I made (sans turkey) was only around $15. Brother and wife brought salad and veg. Mom was very happy to host without having to cook! I have a friend who doesn’t cook and is financially comfortable. She always has Thanksgiving catered at her house. Her cost (with tip for caterer) for 12 people for traditional Thanksgiving dinner = $1200! But, it’s prepared from healthy local food and money goes to a local woman who does the catering so not a bad way to spend money if you have it!
3. Turkey carcass from yesterday’s dinner is in my crock pot as Mom didn’t want to deal with it. I will make turkey noodle soup, yum!
4. Hubs and DD went over to his brother’s this afternoon to watch football; after three straight days of family I took a pass. They told him to bring a veggie tray as he doesn’t cook, but the price at Freddy’s $24.99. I threw one together for him to take $10 in ingredients that was much nicer looking.
5. Did succumb to $76 worth of online Black Friday shopping but got some excellent deals on basics for my (young adult) kids for Xmas.
1) We decided to adopt a cat. Our current cat is lovely but lonely. So we went to the shelter on black Friday and got two senior cats (they are brothers, we couldn’t stand to break up the pair). It was free since they are seniors. They are red tabbies so we named them Fred and George.
2) Eating Thanksgiving leftovers for all our meals!
3) Hiked this morning.
4) Reading library books.
5) I bought tons of holiday gifts for family and friends this summer at the library’s annual used book sale. I have to buy a few things to fill in the gaps, but it’s an awesome start on a frugal holiday.
I LOVE the names of your new cats! Are they jokesters as well?!
Haha, Cathy, I guess time will tell! We are big Harry Potter fans, it seemed like the best name for the brothers.
I never thought of getting a gift at the friends of the library sale. Boom! Genius!!!
Bethany M, I hadn’t thought about it before. But this year we were perusing the sale and I thought, “Everything here is already divided by subject/interest matter, what a perfect shopping opportunity.” I got three religion books for one relative, two golf books for another, a gardening book for a sweet neighbor, and a dog book for my dog loving friend.
Library sales are my current favorite place to buy books, too. Almost all the books DH and I bought for ourselves this year, and a large proportion of our book gifts, came from the FFL and our other fabulous local library sales.
When our children were little my husband and I took them to the library book sale and pointed out books we would like to read. And then we would walk away and let them pick one or two for us for Christmas. Then they went and paid and wrapped the books.
This way they did not have to spend much money and we received something we really wanted.
I love that you adopted senior cats! I volunteer at a cat shelter one day a week and some of the older cats I see week after week after week while the kittens especially and the young cats are scooped right up. Also for keeping these two kitties together as some cats, brothers, sisters, or just two cats who have lived together, become very bonded. Kudos to you and your family!
Christine, thanks for saying that. We have adopted there twice and have had such wonderful experiences. We figured that senior cats would be a good fit since our current kitty is 11. So far, so good.
Great to hear Tonya! Enjoy them!
So nice to hear of you adopting not just one senior cat, but a bonded pair. What a lovely decision.
Thanks!! We think we made a good choice to keep the brothers together.
1. Hosted nine for a vegan Thanksgiving celebration. I worry that our house looks shabby and slapdash, but everyone seemed to have a good time. I spent $75 on groceries and wine which includes the week’s groceries. . .
2. and a half bushel of various kinds of orchard apples that are not perfect. Made the four worst into apple sauce for giving the dog his meds. Made an apple pie for T dessert. Will have apples with our hot cereal all month.
3. A neighbor complained that the bulk trash people didn’t take her pumpkin. So I did. After some extirpative surgery on the squirrel damage, I pressure-cooked big chunks in a couple cups of water. . .
4. and used the resulting broth in tonight’s Moroccan-spiced chick pea and sweet potato soup. Instead of salting the soup, I threw in the brine left over from the olives we had for appetizers on Thanksgiving.
5. I mended a hole in the pocket of my husband’s jeans. Then I cut off the hems which were badly frayed, edge-stitched them, and turned up a small hem. The I treated the hems on his other two pair of jeans.
6. No shopping for me. (except at the grocery store.)
I am glad you entertained your family and friends for Thanksgiving in your home. I sometimes hesitate too, because I want things to be perfect. I suspect that I have watched too much HGTV over the years, and it has given me an unrealistic idea of what my home should look like. After years of stressing, I have finally come to realize that the most important things in a welcoming home are love and laughter.
And most homes don’t look like those.. I have read that they hide a lot of the “stuff” in a bedroom that never gets put on TV, so we never see it. I always wonder how long they are able to maintain that look. I mean, does no one ever have a random box of Ritz crackers or cereal sitting on one of those beautiful wood/pipe or floating shelves or dish liquid by the sink? My home is very ‘lived in’ and we like it so that’s all that matters.
I once had a guest at an impromptu (and very fun) New Year’s Eve game night party say, “I love the way your house looks so lived in!” Had a really, really hard time taking that as a compliment, but I think it was. He seemed to mean it. . .
Better than when a houseguest described our place as ‘shabby chic’. Pretty sure she just meant shabby but added the ‘chic.’
I have been known to hide things in the bedroom too. Just throw it all in there and shut the door. 🙂
1. I was purposeful in waiting to buy a new TV until Black Friday. I saved my money, paid cash, and got a great deal. I was in and out of the store in less than 10 minutes. A miracle I tell you. (and technically it was Saturday morning…)
2. Went to a friend’s thanksgiving gathering. It’s potluck so nobody has to spend a lot of money. They sent you home with tons of leftovers so I had a full meal from their generosity.
3. I finally finished an afghan I’ve been working on for years. It may literally take me years to finish a project, but I always do so!
4. Went to the library today and got a pile of books and cds to listen to. I so love our library.
Have kept the heat low. My cats do not like this, so each of them have their own microwavable heating pads. I keep them heated for them and they are as happy as can be! Tis a small thing, but it makes me smile.
1. As many of you, we enjoyed Thanksgiving leftovers today, courtesy of my in laws. None of the fruit salad and veggie tray I provided were left.
2. Decided to do a “clean out” of my Christmas tree decorations as I decorated today. One box for future yard sale and one large bag went to Goodwill with dh as he
3. Batched errands.
4. I hate to mend clothing, but have been doing it because it does save us $$.
5. Keeping house at 60, and it is a little chilly.
You should turn the heater up if you are chilly.
Or put on an extra layer. I have found that if I just put a simple scarf around my neck it warms me up just enough if I am just sitting around.
1. I mended and patched a favorite potholder that got too close to the burner. That happens to me a lot.
2. I cooked up 2 large butternut squash purchased for $2 each at Amish store. Ate one for Thanksgiving, froze the rest. It’s good.
3. Frugal Fail: spent 2 days in the hospital this week getting a heart stent–did discover that valet parking is actually cheaper than the ramp if you stay ALL DAY–and believe me, we STAYED. I checked in at 8 AM and my procedure was finally started about 7:15 PM. Emergencies galore in this hospital–#1 in the area for vascular problems–surgeon said one emergency took the entire team 4 hours time that day. Little did I know a couple complications that I had would keep him there even later into the evening. Went to ICU about 1:30 AM so I could get IV drugs, and the problems resolved quite quickly after that. It delayed my departure by maybe 6 hours as about 8 different departments had to come and examine and discuss things with me but then they did let me go home about 4 PM. I’m a bit tired and not quite up to full strength yet, but I’m getting better every day.
4. Daughter cooked Thanksgiving dinner at my house–turkey was 48 cents a pound here and ours was about 16 1/2 lbs. I had made cornbread for stuffing ahead of time and froze it. Same with squash. Granddaughter made green bean casserole from fresh beans, and bought a pie. I had already bought potatoes and all the other things that were needed. We did cut a couple corners that we don’t normally but everyone ate and were stuffed!
5. Have not left the house since I returned Wednesday night, so no shopping was done. Less frugal than postponed, but I haven’t spent it yet!
Hope you are feeling better. Your spirits seem to be good! Hard to go through this during the holidays.
Feel better.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Marcia!
Hope you’re feeling better and stronger! Here’s to a speedy recovery!!
1. A section of lights on our pre-lit Christmas tree have gone out. It’s only 5 yo, which I think is way to soon for its failure. I just turned the darkened side to the wall. Maybe I’ll add in a string before I pack it away for next year.
2. I’m assembling toilet paper snowmen heads for little gag gifts (printing out face on printer paper and wrapping it around tp, then putting in clear bag and tying with a bow…cuter than they sound). Gotta have a sense of humor, and as consumable gifts go, I’m pretty sure everyone will use this up.
3. Using the sleeves from a Goodwill men’s sweatshirt to experiment making sweaters for my terrier. Washability is important, cuteness not so much.
4. I didn’t use gasoline (or time or frustration) doing the Black Friday routine.
5. Spending this evening watching does-this-thing-really-work Youtube videos with the middle schoolers. Very entertaining getting their feelings on the ripoff quality of some of the items. I’m calling it a learning time for all of us. 🙂
1. Went to Cousin’s for delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Contributed organic baked sweet potatoes with two kinds of sauce. Also purchased raw honey and flowers for a hostess gift . Large piece of pumpkin pie sen home for DH sweet tooth.
2. Baked turkey on Friday so our family will have leftover bragging rights. Today we had hot turkey and gravy “leftovers”.
3. DH cleaned out hi car this afternoon in anticipation of hauling son’s excess leaves to drop off point. He found 5 ice scrapers in his trunk which will be winter useful and save me some $$.
4. Black Friday’s limited activities included shopping at Home Depot for sale Xmas plants and wreathes for son’s house. Stopped at Subway for sandwich to cheer his leaf raking duties along. Gentleman behind me paid for the sandwich! Nice gesture on this holiday weekend.
5. Bought some sale books at Small-Business Saturday. Local thrift shop was participating in promotion so 30% off plus a donation to a good cause.
1. Last week my daughter feel in her driveway and broke her glasses. She was very upset until I called the eyeglass place and found she had bought the replacement insurance; 2 days later she had a new pair.
2. Thanksgiving eve I worked the night shift and got a free turkey dinner at work and it was surprisingly good. Plus I was paid time and a half.
3. Thanksgiving Day I had dinner and my son and DIL’s house. I brought desserts. They sent me home with some left overs. I still have a turkey in my freezer that was very cheap at Kroger with a $20 purchase.
4. Black Friday my daughter and I went thrift store shopping. We had a great time and picked up presents, stocking stuffers, some needs, some wants, and some food including yellow apples (my favorite) and green peppers which will be cut up and put in the freezer.
5. While we were driving to one of the thrift stores we spotted a rug in the left turn lane. We waited until the traffic subsided then my daughter jumped out and got it. She steam cleaned it out on her deck and it turned out great!
1) Gladly hauled our Thanksgiving contributions in 3 cars carrying 8 of us and a lot of food to a cousin’s new house. I didn’t have to clean up before or after, and the very slight increase in expense for aluminum foil and plastic wrap was so, so worth it. First time in 30 years that my mom or I (usually both of us) didn’t host. It was lovely.
2) Between Thanksgiving and a visit to a different cousin who also has a new house, we had a great, free opportunity to see a couple of neighborhoods and floor plans. Cousin #2 has a kitchen just inside the front door, which I’ve seen in houses we’re looking at and rejected. But actually, it’s not that bad. Hubs also discovered that some features he liked in empty houses are a little rough when people are crowded in – very frugal to discover that before buying.
3) Three of the kids made extra effort and hauled furniture and dishware one direction or another to swap; two have recently had housing or roommate changes and needed to add or subtract furniture and supplies. We’ve been passing some of this stuff around for more than a generation, which is a lot of accumulated effort but nobody’s out buying cheaply made new stuff.
4) Had fabulous free entertainment all weekend: long talks with the kids (one has an interview Monday for a much better job – woohoo!); hilarious rounds of card games using decks my dad picked up cheap or free decades ago; long walks with the dog in the mild weather; a free, outdoor tree lighting ceremony and singalong – and hoo boy did we sing along. Not sure anyone in earshot enjoyed it as much as we did.
And a Frugal Fail: Grandma really, really wanted to take the (mostly grown) grandchildren shopping for items they would promise to forget before Christmas. So we found ourselves in the mall for several hours Saturday. I vetoed cheaply made sweaters, especially the apparently ironic Christmas sweaters (of which Grandma has unironic dozens, which she passed out happily once we got home), but with daughters who need women’s size 10-11 shoes and sons who need men’s 13-15, I find it’s a crap shoot to rely on thrifting. One daughter was down to a single pair of shoes plus leaky rainboots. So we reluctantly contributed to the consumer culture, but at least they’ll be shod.
I have been opting outside this holiday weekend! Walking and swimming and doing creative work on my porch. Everything is 100% off when you don’t buy it!
So true! BTW I followed your link to your blog and you make gorgeous quilts!
I am in awe of your hand sewn quilts. You do beautiful work!
1. I am going to make a turkey pot pie in a bit from leftovers.
2.. I did buy some tickets for a trip to nyc on Friday. I saved $30 due to their black friday online sale.
3. My b-i-l helped me with some fixer-upper stuff around my house. I took him and my dad out to lunch to say thank you. Frugal in that to hire someone to do this would have cost a lot more than the price of lunch.
4. I took out a bunch of books from the library.
5. I saw 5 clients yesterday. All were scheduled and all showed up. Yay for Saturday after Thanksgiving clients who don’t cancel. I had 7 clients scheduled for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and 2 came. The rest cancelled.
I am catching up with my blog reading this morning. I wanted to thank those of you who gave me words of encouragement last week as a result of my FFT comments. Your kindness is appreciated.
This week’s FFT include:
1) My hubby and I went to visit our daughter for Thanksgiving. She is a graduate student and has an extremely heavy work load right now. She was just too stressed to travel. This trip was not in our budget, but we made it work. We drove because flying was out of the question. The 3 of us stayed in her little apartment. We brought travel food and ate at home for all but two meals. Our son took the dog. She felt better when we left. I think that she needed some TLC.
2) We opted out on Black Friday and went for a hike..Fresh air and sunshine are good for the soul. Better yet, absolutely free.
3) I have also sold several items on eBay this weekend. My daughter gave me some nice boxes which I brought home with me.
4) I am enjoying a simple breakfast at home this morning. Scrambled eggs, GF toast and freshly brewed coffee. I have a kitty on my lap and a dog at my feet. Affordable luxury!
5) It’s another beautiful day. I think my pup needs a run on beach and a bath. Whatever we do, we will not part with our money.
It was fun to read all the Thanksgiving related posts! Our Thanksgiving for 8 was a team effort with my son and DIL.
1. We sent home with said son and DIL or ate all of the leftovers except for turkey which is frozen.
2. Instead of shopping I took a long nap!
3. We both have spent time taking walks or doing other things outdoors.
4. I did buy at a good price pair of shoes online that are the same style; different color as a pair I have happily worn for over a year.
Frugal fails but sanity savers: We traveled most of the week before Thanksgiving so purchased a pre-cooked turkey and gravy which greatly reduced the stress of the holiday. I also couldn’t face the turkey carcass so binned it.
1. Drove 300+ miles to spend Thanksgiving with family. We brought several pies as well as a hostess gift. We left leftovers behind, thus saving inches. We stayed with a relative so no out of pocket for that, bet she’ll receive a generous Christmas gift. Brought a few Christmas gifts with us. Drove early in the morning, to avoid traffic problems.
2. My husband has gone vegan so I’m making lots of soups that contain legumes, vegetables, etc. healthy and pretty darn cheap.
3. I stopped at Staples to get $.01 after rebate reams of paper. Used rebate debit cards to pay for the purchase.
4. I bought tea and butter at Safeway. They were on a good sale and I had coupons.
5. We rented from the Red Box using a $1.25 off code.
Thanks for all of your posts. I pick up new-to-me frugal ideas every time I read them.
My FFT for Thanksgiving week:
1. Went to daughter’s house one town over for Thanksgiving dinner. It was potluck so we contributed sweet potatoes and an apple pie made with from scratch pie crust dough. People look at me like I have two heads when I say this but truly with a food processor it’s a piece of cake, or should I say pie. Lots of food, family and great conversation. We were sent home with enough food for a very hearty supper for Friday night.
2. Speaking of Friday…had planned on staying out of the stores but then spied a fantastic deal on birdseed at Ocean State Job Lot. Buy 50 pounds of Black Oil Seed for $29.99…get a $20.00 gift card for future use. Like spending 10 bucks for 50 pounds of seed. Couldn’t pass it up as retired husband loves to watch birds and his other hobbies are free…walking, hiking and reading library books.
3. While at Ocean State Job Lot, successfully navigated past racks of pretty and cheap but foreign made clothing without being tempted (too much) to purchase some. This is something new for me so I am quite proud! Should have started this years ago but better late than never.
4. Husband I talked seriously about starting a new gift giving tradition with our adult children for next year’s Christmas. We figured this year might be a little too late as they may have already purchased gifts and our new tradition may take more time to put in than this year’s season allows at this point. We want to give and receive only handmade items. This might be a baked good, a pot of something scrumptious, a craft, a knitted, crocheted, sewn item, you get the picture. Our four grandkids will continue to receive their usual from us as the delight on their faces is well worth the cost.
5. This is old news but had to share. We live in a part of New England that experienced a Gypsy Moth caterpillar infestation this past summer. As a result, not all of the trees and shrubbery fared well. An orchard down the street from us was hit particularly hard, unbeknownst to me. I went there to purchase apples this fall and the owner sadly told me his apples were not marketable this year due to the caterpillars and a wet early season. He told me to go in and take whatever I wanted as he couldn’t sell them. Hubby, grandson and I went in and picked, picked, picked! Wonderful family time plus an abundance of free cooking apples for the fall.
We do the handmade Christmas with my side of the family. It’s actually handmade/secondhand and a namedraw so we only have to give to one person. We still buy for kids.
We instituted it last year and it was great. Prior to that we just did a namedraw and that was ok too but I prefer this. My best option would be no gifts but I don’t think I’ll succeed there. My giftees are receiving plants propagated by me and homegrown, homemade pickled onions, in recycled jars, natch.
I’m with you on the no gifts too but I don’t think our family would go for it either. I love that you propagated plants and have made homemade pickled onions in recycled jars. Great to know as I’m trying to build up my idea pool for next year.
1. I have 3 girl friends that I have known since the 4th grade, and we are now all 55 years old. We get together as often as possible, and have lunch for birthdays. Instead of going out to eat, I made soup, salad, and bought bread, while another friend hosted and made a cake. It was a wonderful meal, and great time to catch up, and of course much cheaper and comfortable than a restaurant. (even tho the salad called for pomegranate seeds, so I paid $4 for one!).
2. Took a GAP raincoat I wasn’t wearing that didn’t sell online to the luncheon, and gave it to the birthday girl as it fit her perfectly and looked great. I had intended it for one of the other ladies, but it didn’t fit her. Also gave one of them a blouse I never wear. I love cleaning out my closet.
3. Birthday girl gave me a jar of her fabulous blackberry jam, as she knows my DH loves it.
4. DH and I went to the mall one rainy day last week just for a change of scenery.
He is recovering from surgery, and is mobile, but not up to anything too strenuous. Didn’t buy anything but coffee, and a dollar store birthday card. My sister called us old. LOL.
5. I refused to shop on Black Friday. I was happy to see a sign at an Athletic Shoe store that said : “Black Friday sale : 0% off, instead 15% of sales will be donated to the local Humane Society” Love it!
So wonderful that you still get together with your 4th grade girlfriends!
1. Sent a lot of the Thanksgiving leftovers home with our guest, so it was time to cook today. Made a big pot of bean-veggie soup that used up many fridge and freezer odds and ends and is very yummy. Also made vegetarian chili for the Mister and a homemade pizza for our son, both designed to create lunch leftovers.
2. Spent only $72 on groceries on Friday (my only purchases), which included some stock up items. The freezers and pantry are looking good.
3. Cautiously trying out our dog with allergies on Chewy.com’s house brand kibble. So far, so good. She is eating and feeling well for about half the cost of her old food.
4. Moved some furniture around yesterday and hung up some pictures that had been in the closet for years. House looks refreshed without spending any money.
5. Chopped up and froze a lot of fresh produce that was edging toward wilting. Also froze about half of the holiday ham for future use.
1. Went to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving. Our contribution was fresh cranberry sauce, GF dressing (stuffing), and the pumpkin pie (GF/DF–allergies, ya know!). While I prepared those, I made double. We have our own T-day meal on Friday (with an unattached friend whose family is out of state), so doubling up on my kitchen work Wednesday and Thursday was frugal with my time. We splurged on a hormone & antibiotic free turkey at WF, but got an extra 10% off coupon because son has an amazon prime membership. Discovered I had PLENTY of cranberries in the freezer so I’ve bought none this year. Pies were made with pumpkin and butternut squash I baked and froze a few weeks ago.
2. Simmering the turkey carcass on the stove right now, turning it into stock. Used up the last of a bunch of celery and four semi-sad carrots. It’s unseasonably warm so I was able to cut more parsley and thyme from the garden. Also, enough meat on the bones that some of the stock will go right into turkey chili for tonight’s dinner. While I was at it, I gathered up all my veg scraps (fresh and frozen) and I’m also making veg stock to go in the freezer. Making something as delicious and useful as stock out of what is garbage to most people always makes me feel a little bit virtuous :-).
3. Enjoying my potted geraniums/pelargoniums which are blooming right now. This is the third time I’ve overwintered some of them in the house. They live on my porch all summer.
4. Youngest son’s glasses prescription changed. I dropped off his back-up glasses at Costco to get new lenses. When those are done, we’ll drop off his favorite pair for new lenses. It takes 7-10 days per pair, and I found I could do both his glasses at Costco for slightly more than one pair through his eye doctor. The good thing: it was the eye doctor who told me to check out Costco! I need to get new lenses for my glasses, but I only have one pair and can’t afford to go without. So I’m thinking of purchasing a back-up pair online. Does anyone have any experience (good and bad) with any of the online retailers?
5. Hanging out catching up on blogs, cleaning the house (and trying to declutter), finding things to sell, reading library books, and watching the birds in the yard (today it’s lots of chickadees and juncos). I’ve done absolutely no Black Friday shopping. Didn’t even make it out for Small Business Saturday.
I’ve had really good experiences buying from
Zenni Optical and Firmoo. They both have sales running at the moment as well. I’ve ordered much more often from Zenni simply because they’re a little better prices, but Firmoo has a bit more stylish/ luxurious looking options.
1. Spent Thanksgiving with daughter’s and son’s families and brought home some leftovers which we are still enjoying. Asked for the ham bone which will go into a pot of beans. I was able to cut it in half, so , TWO pots of beans. I froze one and will use the other soon.
2. We went to Goodwill on black Friday. I found a few Christmas items to add to my supplies for craft shows next year. Daughter, Daughter in law and Granddaughter only went in one retail store and I sat in the car while they shopped.
3. Mended a tablecloth ripped by a bad cat.
4. Already started donation piles for Goodwill and also for an organization that makes art out of scrap items. I am determined to have more room and more organization (and more sanity) in the new year.
5. That is about it, since we just went out of town, stayed at a hotel and paid a pet sitter while we were gone. We ate the bad free hotel breakfast and collected the extra soaps for comfort bags to hand out to homeless people.
1) We hosted Thanksgiving for 10 (counting us) and have been enjoying anything leftover. I made two pumpkin pies to make sure there would be pie for breakfast! Also making good use of our ‘walk in cooler’ (aka the porch) for cold storage. Gravy froze solid today…
2) Went to a movie matinee on Friday to see Coco with DS, Dear Wife and my in laws and we treated. 5 tickets for Coco in 3D and one bucket of popcorn to share = $30. Affordable movies is one the benefits of small town living. And we all really liked the movie, in case anyone is thinking of going.
3) Only other purchase on Friday was made by my MIL buying flowers for my parents (who hosted us for dinner on Friday) at a local independent florist.
4) Today we bought our Christmas cards online at a discount and did most of our remaining shopping through the Uncommon Goods catalog website. Uncommon Goods features lots of interesting items made by artisans and is a company we feel good about supporting. Plus no gas used driving around (though shipping the stuff here uses fuel) and no crowds. 🙂
5) Repurposed old Christmas cards for tags for the nieces and nephews gifts. A cool hole punch and some ribbon along with sparkly tissue paper from Costco in a reused Christmas bag = presents ready to go back with my in laws. Woohoo!
1–cooked and pureed a pumpkin for the first time! Froze the pulp and am excited to use it in baking sometime.
2–getting ready to cook pumpkin seeds.
3–unpacking my Christmas items and trying not to buy new additions to decorations this year.
4–finding pine cones in the yard to add to my decorations.
5–didn’t go Black Friday shopping…did go to one store to return some things I didn’t need for home repairs!
1) We were at our weekend house for the four day weekend, so our main house was rented on Airbnb.
2) Our oldest wanted to make a pie for Thanksgiving. I forgot to buy a premade crust, so we had to make our own. It turned out surprisingly good. My parents gave us the rest of their turkey. We’re still finishing turkey and pie.
3) My husband and I enjoyed a rare date night on a gift certificate his mom gave us last Christmas. My mom watched the kids for free.
4) We started the process of reorganizing our weekend house to move bedrooms around as our two year old is about done with the crib. Our weekend house is full of more crap than our main house as my mom the hoarder constantly brings me crap “I might need.” I took a truck load to Goodwill Saturday. I am determined that the reorg will take as little cash as possible. I refuse to buy anything until the house is thoroughly cleaned out at least.
5) We bought nothing over the weekend, but did start to plan our Christmas gifts so that we can make strategic purchases.
1. I hosted a friends and neighbors Thanksgiving dinner (and game night) last Sunday night, so I had plenty of leftover turkey and gravy (supplied by the neighbors) for Thanksgiving dinner for my daughter and I on Thursday. I did need to make more mashed potatoes, stuffing and rolls, and baked a pumpkin pie I had in the freezer. Made for a nice, low-stress day.
2. I came down with a migraine Friday, so I didn’t do any Black Friday shopping. I only had Home Depot on my shopping list, so I missed out on the .99 poinsettias, but I was able to buy the other items on my list there on-line. I will survive without the poinsettias. I was having trouble figuring out how to arrange to buy the number of shelving units I needed at the sale price without having to pay shipping to the tune of $110! 😮 They didn’t have enough in the store for me to buy them and pick them up and no option to buy and pick up after the store restocks. I used the live chat feature, and the gal I talked to offered me free shipping for all the shelf units I needed! I won’t have to pick them up at the store and haul them home, the delivery driver can put them right where I need them, and I’m saving $110 on shipping OR gas and my time to pick them up. 😀
3. I spray painted my toilet seat, and it looks like new. I was nearly done with the other one, when I changed paints – the new paint puckered up like I’d applied paint stripper! Now I have it nearly scraped and sanded back to the original, crappy paint (no toilet seat pun intended), and I’ll start over on spray painting it. It’s still cheaper than a new seat, and once painted, will look like a new one.
4. While I’ve been painting everything in sight, I’ve also spray painted my upright freezer – it looks so much nicer now, and the small spots that had started to rust are no longer able to continue to deteriorate. I love appliance paint!
5. Present day me is thanking past me for going Christmas shopping after Christmas last year. The gifts I need to give this year are already on hand. I can stay out of the stores and the crowds. I’ll be setting up the artificial tree I’ve been using for many years – I bought it at 90% off then, and most of the lights on the formerly pre-lit tree no longer work, but the tree is still in pretty good shape. I just add more strings of lights to it – you can’t tell that the original lights are even there under all the decorations. 🙂
Awesome #2. $110 savings is great! Also, #5 is good too. Pays to think ahead! Plus you save lots of $$
1. I didn’t do black Friday, or small business Saturday or cyber Monday…they don’t do those here and I didn’t either.
2. Today I’m wearing a headband I made a few years ago by cutting up a chocolate brown legging. And last week my daughter was supposed to wear a green headband to school. I got a pair of her brother’s wearing thin shorts and (with his permission) cut them and tied a piece into a headband. First I tried braiding three strips from the shorts, but it ended up too small for her head.
3. For supper last night I heated up leftovers from the fridge and freezer, then popped some popcorn.
4. We have a metal fire starter thing, I’ve been trying to use that when I light the stove more often to save some on matches, matches are cheap, so it’s not saving much, but hey the little stuff adds up.
5. I was doing some organizing this weekend and found a pair of torn up shorts and elastic less socks…instead of tossing them, they went into the rag drawer.
1. Leftovers, all weekend long!
2. Instead of shopping this weekend, my family took a hike (free, beautiful, healthful!) and had other simple fun family times like playing games and just hanging out together.
3. We’re prepping for my daughter’s 8th birthday party by making our own pinata using recycled newspapers, water, and flour, and bought stuff to fill it with from the dollar store. Thankfully, she’s only invited four other girls to have a dance party at our house, so even providing food and cake and the pinata, we’re spending very little.
4. Ok, so I haven’t done this yet….but we need to give our dog a bath and brush her teeth. Doing it ourselves isn’t our favorite thing (nor hers), but it saves us the cost of a dog groomer!
5. My husband is working on building bookshelves for our daughter’s room. It’s a fun hobby for him and even though wood is not cheap, it’s far cheaper than custom made shelves from a builder and will get her room organized!
1) We had a potluck at work today. I spent $4 making a large pasta salad. The leftovers from today will be put out again tomorrow for another lunch.
2) We spent Thanksgiving at the house of friends, ate well and then went home to enjoy the evening watching sports. I stayed home on Friday, saving gas, cleaning house and enjoyed reading one of my Library books.
3) Saturday evening our grandkids came over for the night. The girls and I put together a gingerbread house, which they took home with them to enjoy as a treat over the next few weeks.
4) I made hamburgers for dinner Saturday night and we’ve been eating leftovers of those. I love leftovers!
5) I ended up with a $5 off Gamefly coupon, so I had my grandson order a used game on their website and use the coupon. The game will be one of his Christmas gifts and $15 is better than full price any day.
Katy – I love the pumpkin idea! I often buy pumpkin puree for my dog when he has digestive issues. Getting it for free would be better!
1. Woke up early on Black Friday to hit resale clearance sales to gather inventory for my Poshmark closet and eBay store. Got a lot of great stuff, all of which is already listed.
2. Only thing I bought for myself on Black Friday was a robot vacuum. Frugal? Probably not. But I got the best deal possible and Should help my allergies as well as my boyfriends. If it makes my life easier and makes me feel better, it’s worth it.
3. Stayed with friends on Saturday night. Left Sunday and declined going out to eat for breakfast. No eating out for November!
4. Dog sitting! Easy-ish cash.
5. Doing my best to save on gifts for secret Santa’s and other exchanges. I don’t love being forced into these things but, the goal is to be frugal not cheap!