Five Frugal Things
by Katy on December 19, 2017 · 91 comments
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We’ve been the recipient of multiple home baked goody bags from my husband’s employees. I’m realizing that I need to reciprocate, so I’ll mix up a double batch of my ginger snaps, which are always a hit yet do not require fussy or expensive ingredients.
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I spent a couple of hours photographing and then listing my recently thrifted Build-A-Bear clothing lots. In all I spent $15 for two tremendously full bags of doll clothing, from which I assembled nine mixed lots and will potentially bring in $150. Of course eBay, PayPal and the IRS take their cut, but even so I’d prefer to engage in a money making activity than sit idle in front of the TV. (I’ve sold dolls and doll accessories on eBay in the past and have a 100% sell-through rate.) The bags contained additional random unbranded doll clothing items, which I’ve already gifted through my local buy nothing group.
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I’ve been making dinner early in the day lately which saves me from cooking in the evening when I’m uninspired and likely to succumb to the siren song of takeout or restaurant meals. Yesterday was meatloaf, the day before was butternut squash soup and tonight will be chicken adobo. All meals that can be prepared hours in advance without dried out or soggy results. I know I could plan a big prep day once a week like others do, but that smacks of a level of organization and effort that eludes me.
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I returned an overdue book to the library, I accepted an offer to buy just a small piece from an eBay listing, I gifted a wall calendar through my buy nothing group that comes unasked for every year and I’m thinking I can make 100% of our holiday gifts be either consumable or second hand this year.
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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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comment on #3
I started making dinner as soon as I got home from walking my kids to school so I wouldn’t have to do it while they were excited to tell me about their day when they got home. Even tho those days are long past(kids are 33 and39 and are out on their own doing their own cooking) I continue that habit because I too am more inspired in the morning. Also if something comes up so I can’t cook in the morning, I have a lot of time left to do it later.
I always try to either have an idea or actually do some prep by early afternoon because by time to cook, I am at my low point for the day for energy. It’s smart to get dinner planned and started when possible, as early in the day as I can. Then if my daughter stops over and stays and stays and stays–I can still get dinner on the table quickly when she leaves. (They don’t have the regular meal schedule that we have–she does go home to make or eat dinner if her husband is cooking.)
The crockpot has solved this problem for me.
Personally, I enjoy cooking in the afternoons because by the time I knock off for the day on my telecommuting job (I work as an editor for a small NYC-based publisher), I’m dying to do something that doesn’t involve words–and cooking fills the bill nicely. (I just have to remember to get ingredients out of the freezer as needed beforehand.) It’s all a matter of doing what works for your personal schedule and energy level.
I’m similar A. Marie. I’m a business writer. After a week in front of a computer writing all I want to do is spend my weekend in the garden. I need something physical and completely unrelated to writing.
Creating a meal plan has saved my sanity. I plan it around the sales for the week and shop accordingly. In the winter, I use my crock pot a good bit. I always do dinner once the kids are home from school. We eat no later than 4:30. This gives me to time to clean up, get their baths, etc and enjoy the evening.
1. I accepted nine loaves of previously frozen bread that didn’t get eaten at church. Free-cycled six of them, dried one for future garlicky croutons, and used the extra crumbs for crunch on top of soup I made from a trash-picked pumpkin.
2. Invited friends over to celebrate my birthday. Pasta fazool soup with a home-made apple pie for dessert.
3. Hubs gave me Richa Hingle’s Everyday Kitchen as a b-day present. I had asked for it. I love exotic food, and am getting good at cooking it.
4. I’ve taken so many loads to the thrift shop for myself and others that I have ten of the 30% off coupons–you get one for each six boxes you donate. Coupons expire on the 31st, so I’ll drop by the thrift store tomorrow and give them to women with small children. It is better to give. . .
5. The toes of the socks I knit in 1996 (four pair) are getting very thin. I’ve been picking up stitches and reknitting the toes. The socks have felted enough that unraveling doesn’t seem to be a problem. A new friend wanted to spend time together. . . and learn to knit socks. We’re having sock tutorials with tea.
6. Haven’t bought anything gold-plated or vulgar.
What a great idea, to give coupons away! It’s so expensive to raise a family, I bet the recipients will be jazzed. Bless you!
I love Richa’s recipes! Her Sweet Potato Blondies are our go-to snack bar recipe.
P.S. Love your no. 4, too!
1. One step forward. I really needed new boots. I knew when last winter ended that my winter boots had had it. The pull-ons I got from one of my favorite thrift stores three years ago were ripping apart. I’d already fixed the toes to the bottoms with super glue but they were just deteriorating. The leather hiking boots I bought retail back in the day were great boots, but their day was 20 years ago and the leather was tearing and they were leaking along the bottom even after many repairs. (My fault partly: back in the day I didn’t take care of things so well, like oiling and cleaning them.) Since September I’ve been looking for boots in every thrift store and just came up empty. I’d admitted to myself I’d have to go buy them. And then, while I was getting wood from the basement I noticed something out of place. I must have been unpacking and sorting bins, and there on top of a pile sat an almost new pair of North Face vortex boots that once belonged to my son. Wonder of wonders, they fit, at least well enough (I’ll need two pairs of socks as they are a little loose,) to at least carry me through until the thrift store has something for me.
2. One step back: Oh my the learning curve hurts sometimes! In my first weeks of getting started on eBay I made $123.00. I was happy! Then today came the shocker, which of course I should have foreseen. A $100 eBay fee for a big listing (a painting by a well-known artist) that didn’t sell. Yes, I saw the $100 fee note but stupidly thought that applied when the item sold. I wouldn’t have minded taking $100 out of $2000. So sad, and also a little embarrassed by my mistake!
3. STILL eating down the refrigerator. I’ve bought a few things, like bread, and parmesan, things to go with the meals I have on hand. And I’ve taken some things from the freezer. But my it takes a long time to empty a larder. I’m having friends for dinner on Thursday and will probably live on THOSE leftovers for another week. Happily, I’m not cooking for Christmas.
4. I really wanted to throw out the last serving of eggplant parmesan–it wasn’t as good as my usual and I got tired of it fast. But there was nothing wrong with it so I had it for lunch and didn’t waste. Meanwhile tonight’s dinner yielded enough leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.
5. Didn’t buy a yacht but I DID buy a gold dress (to sell!)
Since you’re a new seller, you might want to contact ebay’s customer service and ask them to waive the fee, explaining you thought it applied only if you sole the item. As you become a more experienced seller, you’ll be able to post more items free each month.
If they say no, nothing lost!
Thanks Roberta– I will give them a try!
1. I forced myself to come home tonight and cook a modest dinner. My husband said he liked the simple fare – grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, sliced apples, cottage cheese, and a tossed salad with tomatoes and cucumbers. Notice how very little cooking I did! I also prefer to make my meal plans in the morning when I’m not tired and tempted.
2. Wandered thru stores today with not much to show for my efforts. Did get some ideas tho… Also didn’t spend much. However, the holidays are almost here – decision time.
3. Ideas include stuffing a tin tub (otherwise used to hold iced beverages) with staples and topped off with a six pack of craft beer for one son.
4. Other son wants tickets for professional basketball game in the new year and sold by Costco for a small discount. (experience over stuff!)
5. Continued to troll the bargain shelves of my favorite market and got 39c celery, 89c mushrooms and bargain bread.
1. Husband had three polo shirts too faded to wear for meetings. Used Rit dye and they are as good as new.
2. Forced myself to wait for a new book until the library buys it later this month. I am first on the list.
3. Have spent only $30 for groceries this month, eating surplus out of the freezer instead. We have so much that sometimes I have not had room for a real good sale on chicken breasts or frozen vegetables, so doing this helps with being able to take advantage of future savings.
4. Before I started feeling crappy, I made two loaves of challah, freezing one of them for the future. Which turned out to be this week, when I feel so tired.
5. Wanted to order out the other night, but instead we put together a meal of leftover meatloaf, one leftover brat, about a cup of mashed potatoes, about a cup of very sad Brussels sprouts, and leftover sauerkraut. Two elderly apples, with peanut butter, were for dessert. Not great but it fed us and eliminated food waste.
I wish I could learn to like beans. I loathe the smell and texture. It would be so much cheaper and healthier, but my resolution for next year is to stop torturing myself by making bean foods and just let it go. I do other food things that keep our bills down…still, it reminded me of when I was in college and tried to force myself to like beer. Still hate the taste and even the smell of it.
Not really frugal, but wonderful: This week I am in a period of regression with my chronic illness, which makes it difficult to stand, let alone walk. I offered a friend of mine a quart of honey I received in trade from a local bee keeper this summer, in exchange for two dozen of her homemade Christmas cookies. My husband is a cookie freak and I just cannot make any right now. She showed up with three other women, each bringing two dozen different cookies. They also bought a pan of lasagna and spent a few hours eating lunch and chatting. Then they cleaned up the table and kitchen, even washing the dishes. I cried.
I don’t blame you for crying because I’m crying just reading it. What a sweet thing for the bee keeper and her friends to do! I wish you and your husband a very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy 2018!
How lovely of your friends!
Lindsey – One of the things we are here on this planet to do is help one another. Your gracious ability to receive their cookies and lasagna and company was a gift to them too! Wishing you peace in these days.
God bless you and so happy hour friends were able to help out some joy in your holiday. It’s the little things that can help so much.
what wonderful friends you have!
Lovely to read this. Hope your illness hits the pause button soon.
What everyone else has said about your friends: They’re awesome. And feel better soon, Lindsey.
Sorry to hear you are having a tough time, I will keep you in my thoughts. So glad you have friends to lift you up during these rough days.
1. I have attended 4 Christmas parties and have worn outfits put together from my closet.
2. Three of the parties were potlucks so one dish for two people. Frugal fun.
3. We hosted a Christmas Tea Party. It was a fun afternoon entertainment with small sandwiches, assorted cookies, nut bread, gingerbread, and 3 pots of tea. More frugal fun.
4. Have been making all meals out of the freezer, refrigerator and pantry. Tasty frugal.
5. Used paper and ribbon from years past Christmas clearance sales to wrap presents. Pretty and frugal.
Kinda like #1: I’ve been to three holiday parties and one to go and I’ve worn the same clothes to each. As soon as one party is over I come home and carefully hang up the clothes for the next party. I don’t think I smell too bad. :>) I’ve saved on laundry and also on the need to have more than one holiday outfit.
We are away on a summer break with the kids so not super frugal, but here goes:
1. We set a budget for our holiday and paid in cash for our accommodation. So far we have well underspent our ‘holiday fun budget’ because there are a lot of fun free activities to do where we are staying. We spent two days just doing stuff here – pool, free water slides, lake.
2. We packed a picnic today and barbecued last night. The eating out options around here are not great and when we have eaten out we have regretted it. Tonight we are having cheese and olives and local fruit.
3. Other activities have been visiting the library and three thrift shops. The thrift shops are very cheap compared to the shops in the city. My kids are pretty happy with their deals. The library also had a good selection.
4. We visited a local adventure park (free), an old river boat ($2) and tonight we are going to see the Christmas lights display in a neighboring town (free). I did buy some local chocolates, dried fruit and we visited the really excellent local bakeries a couple of times. But the Apple turnovers? Worth it.
5. More NCA than frugal but I wanted to recommend a book I just read called “Plastic: A Toxic Love Story”. It was very well written and researched. I borrowed it from the library.
Thanks for the book recommendation, I’ll have to put it on my list.
1. I had some fancy dark chocolate nobody would eat…I chopped it up and made chocolate chip cookies that everyone eats. My family hates nuts so I put a big walnut half on top of some of them so I would get to eat a few cookies too. It’s really pretty amazing that for 1 stick of butter, a half a cup of brown and white sugar, an egg, some flour, vanilla, and baking soda you get nearly 4 dozen delicious crunchewy cookies. I can’t even imagine what they cost at a bakery.
2. Shoes at local Goodwills are 4 bucks a pair. I hit the jackpot this week….3 pair of look brand new no wear or tear shoes. 1 pair Ugg sandals, 1 pair Nike Zoom trainers, 1 pair Nike Lunartempo 2 runeasy. I’m set. I should probably look into selling finds like this but I want to wear them.
3. Since I cancelled my Sam’s membership I’m sticking to Aldi’s weekly specials. Roasted bacon brussel sprouts and fried granny smith apples from this week’s deals.
I laughed out loud at your “nut” idea! Great way to save some for yourself!
Great score on the shoes, Tia–especially the Uggs. I have yet to find a pair of secondhand Uggs that weren’t either completely worn out or priced into the stratosphere.
Me too! People wear Uggs until they are falling apart. I did just now buy a pair of Chacos to put up for my daughter for summer at a going out of business sale for $8! That’s a yard sale price for those.
Amazon has them for sale…Ugg black Lyra wedge $99
so I guess it was quite a deal.
1. Had some potatoes that needed to be eaten so made latkes for dinner for the last night of Hanukkah. Kids apparently didn’t get enough at Grandma’s the other day.
2. I’d wanted a small Norfolk pine for my office. I had a perfect 4″ pot, so last week I checked the plants at my local nursery. After stacking coupons, my balance due was only 60 cents for a beautiful plant.
3. For virtually all the gifts I’ve purchased this year, I’ve checked online for coupons first. Last night I discovered a 20% off plus free shipping on the site that sells the socks my boys like. Younger son also needed pants which I was able to order from Lands End for 50% off plus free shipping.
4. Best gift deal: found the perfect pair of socks to go in son’s girlfriend’s gift. They rang up at 7 cents minus a 4 cent discount. Yes, I bought awesome, brand new socks for 3 cents. It allowed me to add another item to her gift.
5. I have a winter wreath I’ve used for years (fake, but looks like rosehips on a grapevine base), but I wanted something different this year. Saw a really nice one at the nursery (see #2 above) but crazy expensive. So I’m making my own using a grapevine wreath base that was part of a gift we received a couple of years ago, free evergreen trimmings from another nursery and my yard, and ribbon. Discovered a favorite little shop has a great selection of ribbon by the yard at excellent prices. Same look for little money.
Re: Norfolk pine as a “Charlie Brown Christmas” tree: Completely with you there. The Norfolk pine I bought at a Master Gardeners benefit sale two years ago (Dr. Bestest Neighbor is a certified Master Gardener, among his countless other accomplishments) is now finally big enough to play the role.
Oops, just reread original post and realized you weren’t planning to use the Norfolk pine as a Christmas tree. Apologies. (This is what happens when I comment at the end of a *very* hairy work day.)
Katy, After the holidays, will you do a post or mention on a post your 100% consumable/second-hand gifts for this year? I’m interested in different gift ideas.
I would like this also.
1. My FFT are the boring kind. I find true FFT for me are boring in that they don’t involve getting deals or finding great finds. They simply are: Don’t Spend. Money! Did not go to the grocery store yesterday. WIN!
2. Still did not Xmas shop! I have some little things from throughout the year that are re-gifts or actual free items (good things, not pre-landfill) on the closet shelf. We need to go through them and find out how far we are with gifting. we do realize we need to step it up!
3. Giving books to most everyone this year. Kindle and audio was the plan. Anyone else pulling out their hair trying to give an audible book this year?
4. Have been so good at hitting sales beginning of Nov that we no longer need many groceries. I hear others sounding the same. Use up what is in freezer and pantry. No. Shopping!
5. Taking a moment to practice contentment. It feels like a muscle that can get very flabby and small if not used regularly. I am not visiting anyone in the hospital right now. Yes we had some big bills but our emergency fund took care of it and there is more if we need it. We have a full freezer of delicious foods. Our health is great. We are not visiting any family in prison. We have so much to be grateful for.
I especially love your #5. Thank you for the wonderful reminder!
My frugal five
1. Had my annual exam today. Brought my own hospital gown that was saved from taking care of my dad at home. No paper dress for me. Actually makes the visit more comfortable.
2. Needed a prescription and office staff got the cheapest price in advance for me so I did not have to call around first.
3. Had to go into a big box store for my prescription and I had not been there since October 31st. I was feeling traumatized by the crowds. A local NFL football hero was there signing autographs. Went to my car and retrieved my cup I keep in there and got a drink at McDonald’s and waited in the back. Free refills with no shopping.
4. Stamped some brown paper lunch bags to use as gift bags. I enjoy making copy cat recipes and will be giving out subway sweet onion dressing copycat with instruction on how to do their own subway at home.
5. Received a large box of cheese from an uncle who lives in Wisconsin Amish country. Yum yum. It was perfect timing. A cheese plate with homemade crackers and Apple butter as a hostess gift. We have family coming in from out of town so we will have Mac n cheese with sides day one and day two is grilled cheese and tomato soup. I was able to stock pile a family favorite Campbell’s soup when the store was doing a loss leader for .50 cents a can and then used reward points for more off.
Happy holidays to everyone.
Your #5 has me really craving good cheese right now! Several years back a friend and I happened upon a cheese store near one of Wisconsin’s biggest Amish settlements, and while we have lots of cheese stores/factories in the state, this one had some of the best cheese I’ve ever eaten. Yum.
Consumable gifts are right up there with experience gifts on my list of favorite things! How nice that you could share some of the cheese with others in a hostess gift and in meals for visiting family members.
1. My college son decided to keep living where he is living for next year. This means no double rent payments for us and the rent is the cheapest we can find for his situation.
2. Free breakfast at work yesterday and free lunch today. Yay!
3. We were able to fit in an urgent specialist appointment for my dd yesterday and now have an MRI scheduled for next week. We have hit our deductible and max for 2017 so this will be free for us due to insurance. Unfortunately we are looking at surgery in the new year but for now, I’m happy to have the MRI covered completely.
4. Oatmeal for breakfast today all around – yay for cheap meals!
5. I realized that one child’s stocking was very slim compared to the other children. Shopped on Amazon to find a couple of books he will love for cheap and they will be delivered to my door today. And take up a lot of room in the stocking.
1. needed a Santa gift for my 18yo. I went to AE for a shirt for him (he likes their shirts) and also found a pair of socks (stocking stuffer) with sushi on them, plus a hooded tee shirt on clearance, jogger pants AND a winter coat (could not find one he liked/would wear anywhere else). since I am an AE member, i also got 10% off. All those things cost $123. the coat alone was more than that without sales or additional discounts. (i still get him a shirt from Santa because when he was about 6, he saw Santa with his older cousins and they were asking for expensive things, he asked for a shirt “any shirt will be fine”. So, Santa gets him a shirt every year and it’s wrapped with foil-type gift wrap i bought for a $1 when he was 2. its the only time i use that wrap and hope when he gets married and starts his own family, i can give it to him to use.) boy, that was a long #1!
2. made enchiladas for lunch yesterday and had everything on hand (freezer and cupboard). mmm. leftovers too
3. finished up a bagel for supper that was getting stale. still tasted good toasted with cream cheese and i didn’t waste anything.
4. going to lunch today with my boss. definitely having fish!
5. every gift this year was either made by me or purchased by a local artisan or small, very small, store. for instance, I bought small potholders – the kind you put your thumb in one side and fingers in the other and it folds up and has magnets to put on your fridge/oven – those were $5 a piece and were made by a local group that employs people with various handicaps. i bought pewter ornaments depicting NH and a much-loved lake from a pewter co in NH (Hampshire Pewter). nothing at all came from a box store. (well, except for my purchases for DS).
Love buying local, especially art that is useful!
Your #1 is so sweet 🙂
What a wonderful tradition!
1. For our double birthday celebration, I looked at my thrifted candle stash, and had every number except 8. I melted the sides of a zero and made a weird little number 8. It made us laugh, anyway!
2. Making a hodgepodge skewer dinner to use up our bits of produce in the fridge.
3. Making apple butter and bird feeders with some unfortunate looking apples we forgot wer in the fridge.
4. Using the free Christmas cards and calendars that come in the mail to my departed MIL from various charities. I notified them, but the mail keeps coming.
5: Frugal fail: our pipes cracked under the house, we had to rush to turn off all of the water in the house and call the plumber. Merry Christmas to our plumber! At least our company had already left.
1. My husband and I went to Costco and purchased his glasses using the prescription he received from his exam at Pearle Vision. We paid $150 out of pocket after insurance. Estimate from Pearle Vision was $1500.
2. My husband picked up some wrenches at Sears as a gift for daughters boyfriend. We had $40 worth of reward points which made the wrenches just 40 cents.
3. I used a coupon from my doctor making my prescription $25 vs. $200.
4. Shared the cost of a spiral sliced ham with my Mother. It was on sale for 95 cents a pound. We had it for dinner Monday night together and then split it three ways with my daughter. Neither one of us could eat all of it. We also took home the bone to make split pea soup.
5. My husband wanted diabetic cookbooks. We looked at Barnes and Noble and then we ordered one used on Amazon, got one through the library and I’m keeping my eye open for a couple of others.
BONUS:
6. Did the do it yourself car wash yesterday vs. the expensive autowash at the gas station saving $5.
7. Went to Meijer yesterday and picked up only the items on my list.
I have been frugal failing right and left, would do much better with another Five Unfrugal Things post! To keep myself honest I will confess that my plans to downsize Christmas this year have been only partially realized. I have fallen into the trap of buying too many gifts and have also made sojme impulse purchases for me that were not needed. Sigh… But reading on here continues to inspire me and I will keep trying to make small improvements, recognizing that I’m human and will fail…
1. Christmas gifts I have purchased for my 5 kids and husband are virtually all highly practical — mostly basic clothing, jackets and exercise wear. No electronics etc. Some clothing purchased at Goodwill, all purchased at a deep discount.
2. Have put together a Christmas basket for my in laws — basket purchased at Goodwill, to be filled with all consumables.
3. Have agreed with my extended family not to exchange gifts.
4. Giving gift cards to the employees who report directly to me — for restaurants. Not frugal per se but not an object that will end up in landfill either.
5. Having annual holiday lunch with 3 of my oldest, dearest friends today (we’ve been doing this for 25 years or so). We exchange small gifts and I am giving consumables (truffle oil and Himalayan pink rock salt). Former purchased at Costco, latter purchased at Grocery Outlet. Very reasonable cost and again minimizing impact on landfills.
Am planning on doing an uber-frugal January to kick start my non-consuming affirmation…
1) I relisted 5 items on eBay that have not sold. I also have photographed several that I will be listing today. Although I expect things to slow down for a bit, this is done and out of the way as we enter the new year.
2) I updated my spreadsheets and used my bank’s bill pay service to schedule all payments due through the first week of January. I don’t want things to fall through the cracks. No stamps used and no late fees. I am thinking about next year’s financial goals and how to get there and jotted down some notes.
3) I stopped at the GW earlier in the week and found a very nice small lighted, magnified make up mirror — new in the box for $3.99. New cost is $49. I have wanted one to put in my guest bath. I have a cousin who visits every winter who prefers to use a makeup mirror. Now she with be more comfortable during her stay.
4) A friend gifted me with a yoga ball chair for my home office that she was not using. I am under strict instructions to find it a new home if I decide I don’t like it. I used to have a yoga ball that I used frequently, but my giant mutt thought it was a toy. Keeping my fingers crossed.
5) We have $35 left in our Flexible Savings Account this year. This is a use it or lose it account. My dentist has suggested that I use a sonicare toothbrush and mine is no longer working. They are on sale this week so I am putting these funds towards the purchase of a new one.
1. I picked up our Christmas spiral sliced ham at Meijers. I had a $10 prescription reward that had to be used so I bought an 11 lb. ham at .97 a lb. for a whopping total of 1.06! The rest of Christmas dinner will be from the pantry.
2. An unusual Christmas for our family as one child is working in South Korea and we mailed her package of home made treats and deordorant she can’t find there. The package was expensive to mail but it will give her a sense of home during the Christmas season. Contents included homemade cookies, peeps I found on sale for .24, a box of colored pencils and a scarf she left here and missed. Our packing material was home popped popcorn.
3. I send Christmas cards every year and work on the stash of thrifted cards I pick up. I’m particular and only buy high end beautiful ones. Also, if I can hand them out to people, I do. And then put .50 extra for each card I hand out in the Salvation Army kettle. The local organization is really behind this year so I’ll send extra today with my husband as he makes a trip to the hardware store and will pass a kettle.
4. I wrapped gifts yesterday using paper I’ve had for years. Today, I’ll go through our stock of gift bags we’ve reused for ages for the difficult to wrap gifts.
5. We have an odd little doorway at the back of the house that shelters our back door. It’s difficult to describe but needed to be finished off. We got a good estimate from a handyman which depended on my husband putting in the insulation. He’s been working on it as he’s on vacation and has decided he’s done the hard part and may be able to finish it himself. We got corrugated metal for the walls from craigslist. A local woman had bought it for a roof on a shed and never used it. What was once the eyesore of the house may end up being magazine worthy at a tiny price!
Happy frugal holidays to all!
1. I was recently reminded of an article in the Tightwad Gazette, where Amy Dacyczyn wrote about how widely the cost of a recipe could vary depending on the ingredients used. My husband found a recipe for tortellini soup – so I immediately reminded him that neither of us likes tortellini all that much. He said he thought we could just use some form of pasta instead. After reading the recipe, it was “let the substitutions begin!” – using ingredients I had in the house. Farfelle (bow tie) past was subbed for tortellini, cutting the cost by $3.50. Since I always save parmesan rinds in the freezer, I tossed a small one in to make up for any lost cheese flavor. Other substitutions were homemade “chicken carcass” broth for premade low sodium broth (my homemade broth is relatively low in sodium) for another $1.50 savings; loss leader hot Italian sausage purchased during grilling season for chicken sausage ($2 saved) and loss leader regular spinach for baby spinach (another $1 saved). All in all, at least $8 saved. And while I’m sure the original recipe was delicious, so was this much cheaper soup. As a bonus, it was very substantial and made 6 servings (at least for us) instead of the 4 the recipe said. Using what we have rather than purchasing extra ingredients saves us a lot of money. It also helps that I seem to be genetically incapable of following a recipe as originally written and I make changes all the time.
2. Got the Christmas tree up. Around 15 years ago – after realizing my husband just might be sneezing all the time during the holidays due to an allergy that the “real” Christmas trees were aggravating – we bought an artificial one the day after Christmas. It’s gorgeous, and even 50% off it wasn’t cheap. But since we were paying $50 or more each year for a real tree we’d cut down at the tree farm, it paid for itself several times over when we lived in the city. Now, we have literally hundreds of pines that we could cut on our property for “real Christmas trees”, but my husband still has allergies. So there’s still a small savings in having to buy fewer allergy meds – and a bigger savings in having a happier, less sniffly husband at the holidays.
3. Son and daughter-in-law requested a zoo membership for their main family Christmas gift from us. I know they’ll get many happy hours out of the membership (parking and 2 guest passes are included, so they’ll be going to the zoo a lot). I’m hoping that all of them make a lot of happy memories with this gift.
4. We did buy a few small gifts for the grandchildren to open. Everything was purchased from a locally owned craft/hobby shop and a locally owned toy shop. Our area may be filled with tiny towns instead of big cities/suburbs with malls, but all these towns have nice and often unique locally owned shops. I like that much better.
5. I asked my sister-in-law what we could bring for the Christmas Eve lunch, and was told “pickles, and lots of them!” We’re the only ones that still make the home canned pickles my in-laws always made, and the pickles are what we’re usually asked to bring to any family functions. We make several large batches each August. It doesn’t cost us much to bring them as our contribution, and the pickles seem to always start conversations about our memories of Mom and Dad. As my niece once said, “It’s a little bit like Grandma and Grandpa are still here with us, serving up their pickles.” The memories are even better than the pickles.
Love the #5, Susanna. Home-produced pickles in whatever form (I admire you for doing the canning, BTW; canning for me is the Final Frontier) seem to be universally popular–and the family memories involved in yours are great. I’ve been taking the last few jars of my 2017 refrigerator pickles to various holiday gatherings as my gift, and they still seem to be as good as they were several months ago. We’ve eaten our fridge pickles up to a year after production, and we’re not dead yet.
Are you me? “Canning for me is the final frontier.” This. But refrigerator pickles ftw for now!
Love #5. That’s so sweet!
With the exception of one of my grandmothers, no one in my family did any canning/preserving. The grandmother who did, well she canned only two things: plum jam and eggplant caponata (apparently she had a thing for canning purple foods). So I didn’t grow up with much exposure to canning but my husband did – his parents canned a lot of things. He’s still the one who does the bulk of the canning (I assist and could do it myself if I had to, but then I probably wouldn’t). And he’s up for canning just about anything that can be canned (no pun intended). I’ve learned everything I know about canning from him.
I have at least one recipe from all the grandmothers and from our moms that are in their own handwriting and those are treasures to me. The handwritten one from my mother-in-law IS the pickle recipe, making the pickles even more special. At least to me.
A. Marie, we keep crock pickles in the fridge through the end of the year that we made them, too (if they last that long – we ran out of them in late October this year). We’ve always used the jar sealing contraption that came with the food saver to seal them before refrigerating, though. Are you saying they don’t have to be sealed, just refrigerated? That would be neat, since sometimes I just don’t feel like hauling out the sealer, lids, water, etc.
I think last time I said I wasn’t buying gifts this year for US family…well we changed our minds and ordered them gifts off Amazon.
1. I wrapped 2 gifts using some used boxes then cutting up an old skirt and wrapping them in that. I used the first method on this pin: https://www.pinterest.com wrapping gifts this way not only saves paper, but tape too.
2. For the gift tags I cut 2 pieces from the silver lining in an envelope we had received with a Christmas card in it. The shiny color looks nice against the red fabric of the gifts.
3. When my conditioner started running out I put some water in the bottle and shook it up, so far I’ve gotten 3 more uses out of it.
4. I also have a collection of toothpaste tubes my family would probably toss, but I’m working my way through them. Cutting them open I can get a lot more mileage out of them!
5. We bought a bike and nice Nike shoes for my son, both we bought used.
Your pin didn’t come through. I’d love to see the tape-less method!
Katy – I love your original thrift posts!
1. I did not menu plan this week, and my life is much easier when I premake those decisions. However, we made it through last night without ordering takeout! I boiled pasta, and threw together a sauce out of things I had in the pantry and some chickpeas I cooked last week. Yummy, filling, and cheap!
2. Finally made the popcorn kits for the boys’ Christmas gifts. I didn’t have enough matching little jars, so I ransacked my spice cabinet. I used my spice jars as gift bottles, and moved my spices into unmatching bottles since I don’t care what my spices look like.
3. My daughter requested gifts for our dogs in her letter to Santa. I got a stocking at Goodwill for $1, a toy at Grocery Outlet for $2.50, snacks at the dollar store, and two bandannas at Petco in the clearance bin for $1 each. I did not get them clothing they will hate, or socks they will hate. My dogs do not want Christmas gifts! But there you go.
4. Made glittered wine glasses for my mother’s Christmas gift. I bought stemless glasses at Goodwill, and glittered the bottoms with Modge Podge and glitter I already had. I will pair this with homemade liqueur. She doesn’t need anything, but she likes pretty things. And at her house, glassware IS consumable.
5. I am beginning to wrap gifts. I am mostly using cloth bags I have made out of scraps, or finds at the outlet, although I am using some reused paper bags. Paper bags work better for me, for things like bottles, so I glue an old Christmas card over the printing on paper bags I have received over the year, tie a reused or thrifted ribbon on the handle, and it looks cute and vintage!
When I was checking out at Trader Joe’s yesterday. The cashier suggested I reuse my paper bags for gift wrap since it has a winter design. I loved it! I rarely meet frugal people — live and in person.
1. Ate all meals at home yesterday– using up the beans I had made from dried in the crockpot.
2. Got a free trial for FilmStruck to watch old movies over our Xmas break. We both love Ingmar Bergman and that seemed the most frugal way to watch his films as the library has none. (We might actually keep the $10 service for a month or so. Winter is a nice time for watching movies and that service is more affordable than renting the films individually, plus since all the films are older “art” films, it’s educational. For example– I finally saw Eraserhead the other night. WHAT A TRIP THAT WAS! Oy vey!)
3. We got a new mailbox and put it up ourselves. We used the pole we already had but re-dug it to be deeper and put the new box on. The mail carrier had bent it so it wouldn’t close properly and we got tired of going out to find our mail in the street. Since we put it up ourselves, it only cost $25. (We did buy a post hole digger, but since we plan on replacing our fence, that’s an investment in a future job as well!)
4. I’d been having muscle cramps a lot– I figured it was my blood pressure meds and low potassium but since I am vegan, I actually get a lot of potassium. So, I got to looking into it and found out most folks are low on magnesium. I read about magnesium and how to make your own oil. Well, I did that two weeks ago and I’ve stopped having cramps, sleep like a baby, and generally feel VERY good. I realize I paid about $15 for this solution– buying the salts and a bottle– but since this is a non toxic, no invasive, and largely natural cure, I think it is frugal that I am not at the doctor’s office being given some other drug!
5. Keeping the heat turned down, wrapping up in afghans! (And drinking lots of tea!)
Yesterday my small-town grocery was getting rid of odds’n’ends of produce for bargain prices. I got a bag of blemished bananas — 18 bananas — for $1.00. Most I peeled and put into (reused big shredded cheese) zip bags for the freezer and have a few left to eat now. And I got 10 lbs of red potatoes for $1.99 — yes they had a lot of bad spots, but I still got a huge pot of potato soup out of them and lots of peels for the compost pile. Sweet potatoes for .39/lb? Yes, please. They’ll last a month or more and add nutrients to my weekly soup-making. We’re expecting a blast of real winter weather soon, so I watched some “staying warm while camping” YouTubes to remind myself of some ways to keep from turning up the heat. And … after briefly thinking that I needed to buy fleece leggings and a fleece sleeping bag liner, reminded myself that old sweatpants and a folded fleece blanket will do the same jobs!!
1. My job gives us a $300 reimbursement of medical costs. Submitted a dental bill from earlier in the year.
2. Our resale store had 50% off clothing and Christmas items. I bought two Ann Taylor loft sweaters for $2.50 each and a cardigan for $3, all for me to wear to work. I also bought a handful of items to list on ebay, of which three have already sold. Thinking of going back tonight.
3. Baked another simple loaf of no-knead bread yesterday and was reminded how great it is for sandwiches and toast. Threw together another batch of dough to bake tonight.
4. After testing a friend’s memory foam in a box mattress, found a good deal on one at Walmart. My order was cancelled due to low inventory. I checked several days later and back in stock. This one actually shipped.
5. Have been walking to work, except the one day it was raining. I wasn’t up for navigating the icy sidewalks.
1. Made my first ebay sale. My husband actually did all the work. I just found the item-a very cute Christmas ornament. $8.00 profit after fees. I paid .89 at Goodwill.
2. I have been sick yet again, so spending time by the fire, not going out and shopping. Unfortunately, when my husband shops in my place, he comes home with extras, but I think that is a small price to pay for the chance to stay home and recuperate.
3. We had a friend over for dinner, prepared with things on hand. She brought dessert. Then we rode around looking at Christmas lights. She needed some Christmas cheer and we all enjoyed the cheap evening.
4. Cashed in Swagbucks for a $25 card. Had enough for a $50 card but I saw that the $25 one was discounted whereas the $50 card required the full amount. I will get another $25 card next month.
5. Using a lipstick brush to get the very last out of the tube. Many years ago, when I found out that “my” color was being discontinued, I bought 8 tubes, thinking that they would last the rest of my life. I only have 2 full tubes left, so looks like I might be going to outlive my lipstick stash.
1. Ate a banana that no one else wanted. I guess it was my turn to take one for the team.
2. Bringing in leftovers every day for lunch at work.
3. Talked my sister-in-law out of renting a car for her visit with us over Christmas. (More of a frugal win for her, but I’m going to count it!)
4. Gifting friends, family, coworkers with my chocolate peppermint cookie bark. Always a win for them, super frugal and simple for me, and I come out looking like a food genius!
5. Found $0.01 so far this week. Yippee!
Re #5: Every penny counts! 🙂
1) Keep telling the family that we’re not really doing Christmas – we’re buying a house instead (as yet unidentified, but we’ll get there). They are skeptical, and the kids are buying and making gifts for each other, but the spiraling up of stuff that usually happens this time of year isn’t happening. I will write each of them nice notes and remind them that we pay their phone bills, car insurance, tuition, and help with rent. I’ll probably add a bag of groceries for each of the older ones. I know hubs will balk and do some last-minute shopping, but there’s only so much damage he can do in two days. Frugal, and remarkably calming.
2) Dropped 27 cents in a snowbank yesterday and dug it back out.
3) When the furnace stopped working this weekend, built a fire and waited until Monday, saving the $85 “emergency” fee. It is ancient and creaky so we pay to have maintenance done every year, which comes with free fix-it visits between check-ups. . . but not on weekends. Wood was free, from a tree we took down more than a year ago.
4) Made a menu of items the kids can cook and we’re sticking to it.
5) No vulgar purchases.
Our family decided to celebrate Christmas differently this year. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first. But now when I am out and about, I see how stressed others are. I am actually enjoying the season.
Bee, I’ve been thinking about your family holiday trip enviously these past few weeks, so I’m glad you are enjoying the season. We’ve done that before – taken a trip that is the “gift” – but this year is even more pared down than that. It’s stressful to make a change in tradition . . . but sometimes it’s even more stressful to maintain it.
KJD, your last sentence is brilliant! I promise to credit you when I use that sentiment. All of life is change, whether we are on board with it or not…
1) We ate leftovers for dinner last night. I am trying to be more conscious of food waste, but it’s more challenging at this time of year, since we have lots of holiday items in the fridge and other things “hide” behind them.
2) Brought breakfast and most of lunch to work today. Bought some delicious veggie soup to round out my meal.
3) We are moving offices tomorrow. I have spent the week packing and organizing, and have also found some items that I forgot I had. Use what you have!
4) Wearing a thrifted outfit from head to toe (as usual).
5) We are cooking at home tonight. Wednesday is my long day so hubby is going to cook.
1) Cooking mostly from stuff at home, except for cheese which I keep buying because it is ridiculously cheap right now and I can store it unopened for ages in the frig or freezer.
2) Doubling most of my non holiday baking (muffins, desserts etc) and most entrees so that we can help one set of dear neighbors who are recovering from an emergency surgery. This is frugal I guess because I haven’t had to buy anything additional to do this except for a bag salad and some bread one day. It also makes me feel better to be able to do something for them.
3) The decorating expenses are larger than last year so I am still not budgeted accurately, but I had a lot more padding in the Christmas budget this year than last. I will make an estimate for next year using this year’s figures. I was pretty grinchy last year about the Christmas budget – and for good reasons – but this year’s budget made Dear Wife’s inner elf much happier.
4) We are having ‘pizza and a movie’ family date on Friday night to watch The Polar Express at home on network tv. All the stuff for pizza is already on hand.
5) Dear Wife and I went cross country skiing yesterday! We live near a trail system where we have a family membership and are both using equipment we already own so a lovely outing, good exercise and very frugal. We have both broken our left ankles in the last two years so it feels great to be able to be out there at all. I am mindful not to take my mobility or my health for granted.
1. Received $5 coupon at local garden store for my birthday month. Went today to redeem & got cat grass for our kitty (nothing else) & only had to pay .25 cents.
2. Stuck to my list at Dollar General this morning buying only cat food & 3 packs of 6 miniature candy bars for my husband.
3. Deposited check in my checking account, (rather than cashing it) from employer as repayment of buying a gift card for massage therapist that volunteers his time once a month at the senior center where I work.
4. Cooking dinner at home & taking lunch everyday to work.
5. Side job scheduled for Saturday afternoon, so I will nab a few extra bucks this week.
1. Finished shopping at the Dollar Store today for cheap but useful grab gifts for our Christmas Trivia game we play at home on Christmas Eve with our guests.
2. Husband made me a beautiful handmade wreath out of vines and red berries he found while searching the woods for greens and dried weeds I use to make cemetery baskets for Christmas. Today he found a strip of curled birch bark which he is drying out to make a ribbon for it. He’s embraced this frugal lifestyle remarkably well!
3. Stuck to my shopping list for Christmas Eve with the exception of a container of yogurt which I had forgotten to write down. Felt like I needed it to keep healthy as can be this time of year as “they” are now saying most of our immunity is in our gut. Between that and lots of green tea (made at home, of course), no major colds or illnesses…knock on wood…so far this season.
4. Leftover sliced roast beef in gravy bubbling on the stove thanks to my raffle win in November. Have not eaten in a restaurant since our frugal fail the first week of December. I have come to enjoy making our own meals and feel I have lots more control over the salt, sugar and fat content.
5. Using up last years gift wrap and bags for gifts. Sad thing is I bought 2 rolls of giftwrap at the Dollar Store before I scrounged in the closet to see what I had left from years past. Oh well, I’ll save them rather than return them and hopefully remember to use them next year.
Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday Season and a Healthy 2018! Peace.
P.S. Everything is 50% off at the Salvation Army Stores this week.
1. Baking brownies as a gift for a friend and her family for a Christmas gift with ingredients on hand. They are her son’s favorites and I feel good making them for him.
2.I took home Chinese food leftovers from our office party.
3. Using holiday cards from past years.
4. Using gift wrap and gift bags from my stash. Some have been saved from gifts given to me.
5. Baked a trash saved pumpkin. So much pumpkin! Will use it to make a Christmas eve pumpkin cheesecake and will freeze the rest.
1. I gave my neighbor a small gift in return for her taking care of our mail and checking in on our home while we are out of town. I found the gift at GW for $1.50
2. I used all paper, ribbon, boxes and bags for wrapping this year that we already had, and did not buy one thing. Cloth bags are already cut out for next year as a permanent substitute moving forward.
3. We have eaten all the leftovers out of the refrigerator so no food spoilage. I made a double of one meal and froze it so that first night we get back we have a home cooked dinner and no take out.
4. We have packed up all of the fresh fruit that will need to be used while we are gone and are taking it with us so that we have it there.
5. This week made homemade hot chocolate mix, taco seasoning, some spice mixes that are frequently used and some salad dressing.
6. Nothing gold, vulgar or as we say “no dumba** purchases”!
Merry Christmas!!
I also,am moving to cloth bags. I purchase them yearly at a Christmas sale run by volunteers of an organization I support. I’ve told my children they will get a container of them should they have children. I can remember all night Christmas Eve wrapping sessions. Since I went this way in the last ten years I have saved so much time. I save bits and bobs of wrapping and tissue paper through the year. Like VS gives out. I “wrap” it around items going in the cloth bags, no tape and it gives padding and another layer of unwrapping.
1. Sold 4 items on Amazon in the past week.
2. Ordered $5 Target giftcard through new Coke Rewards program.
3. Used part of a $25 giftcard earned through mystery shop app to order DS#2 a hat he wanted for Christmas.
4. Made a batch of pumpkin spice cookies from a Krusteaz mix I bought for 22¢ at Big Lots. It was marked down from $1.95. DS#2 lived them!
5. Excited to have a Grand Opening for my Little Free Library after Christmas! DH built it for me as a birthday gift from reclaimed materials. Plywood was a reclaimed piece from the Restore for $10, door made from 2 cabinet doors I got on freecycle a few years back, “floor” from Pergo scraps. Two gingerbread trim pieces, shingles and a door handle shaped like a dinner knife we had on hand. Only had to buy some paint and Plexiglass for the door.
#5 = How exciting! Please let us know how it goes!!
I will! DH registered it for my Christmas gift so we’re waiting for the plaque to arrive. DS#2 is going to help me design bookmarks, which we will put in each book. Also a flyer to take to everyone in our neighborhood to announce it. My goal is midweek.
Oh I love Little Free Libraries! I have only seen two in my lifetime…one this fall while leaving a friend’s house and I still think about how adorable it was. It was built alongside some mailboxes on their dirt road…very quaint.
Christine, there’s a map on the Free Little Library website that shows all the FLL’s. You can see if there are any in your area.
Thank you for letting me know about the website for the FLL’s. I had no idea! Merry Christmas Kim!
I love little free libraries too! I tried to get one in my yard, but HOA says no. 🙁 I did find one in the neighborhood next to a really great close-by park. I’m hoping to be visiting it a lot this year.
I also,am moving to cloth bags. I purchase them yearly at a Christmas sale run by volunteers of an organization I support. I’ve told my children they will get a container of them should they have children. I can remember all night Christmas Eve wrapping sessions. Since I went this way in the last ten years I have saved so much time. I save bits and bobs of wrapping and tissue paper through the year. Like VS gives out. I “wrap” it around items going in the cloth bags, no tape and it gives padding and another layer of unwrapping.
Argh….sorry about the double post.
1) It didn’t look like the Christmas gift for my oldest granddaughter was going to arrive in time, so I got her gift card for Hobby Lobby and a set of 64 washable markers for her art set. When I got home the doll she wanted, that I’d ordered her from Amazon nearly a month ago, had arrived. So, I’ll save the GC and other art supplies for her Birthday next month.
2) I’d bought the wrong race car set for my youngest granddaughter, but the one I bought is perfect for my great-nephew, who will be at my daughter’s for Christmas with my brother. I found the kind of race car set she wanted yesterday on sale at Toys-R-Us. Thankfully it’s one you can build out big or small and it has two race cars, so the other kids can play with her too and once she decides she’s out grown it, I can pass it along to my great-nephew. He’s 3 years younger than her.
3) Today will be a grocers visit to Aldi, so I can p/u the few things I need to cook the turkeys and the dressing for Christmas dinner and few other groceries we’ll need for the next week.
4) We had freezing rain and light snow last night, just enough to make everything that’s elevated slick. Thankfully I already had a bag of rock salt so I could salt down the steps before hubby came home.
5) I picked up two more audiobooks at the library and returned a book that I finally finished, but was a few days overdue. I had a book by Toni Morrison in my home library I’ve never read, so I started that one a few days back.
I got two full weeks and one day off, starting yesterday, from the University and I only had to take 6 days of PTO. It feels wonderful to get a break, spend the holidays with family and have extra time to finish projects here at home.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Everyone!
My local Freecycle sucks. Stood up (2 days) for a lady picking up free play kitchen accessories. Delivered a large bag of mega blocks to a home with no address numbers. No reply to know if I actually hit the right place. Never received a reply regarding free 45’s but the ad remains. I’m trying on both ends here, but it’s null and void. So frustrating.
On a better note, 40% of my mandatory Christmas gifts purchased are from thrift stores. They’re the coolest gifts at the tree.
I’m curious! Are your thrifted gifts for kids or adults?