Five Frugal Things
by Katy on March 4, 2018 · 67 comments
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Last night was my step father’s 68th birthday and we marked the occasion by hosting a celebratory dinner at our house. I served chicken adobo, rice and bacon roasted brussel sprouts. Dessert was fancy ice cream sandwiches. I was able to purchase almost everything I needed from The Grocery Outlet, and I used a $3-off-$25 coupon from my Chinook Book app. The entirety of the meal added up to around $7.50, with leftover food as well as leftover ingredients.
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I worked Thursday and Friday and brought my own food for the 24 hours of work. I drank the free semi-crappy hospital coffee and the free delicious tea. I stopped at a Goodwill on my way home one of the days and picked up a $2 glass container that my husband had asked for, as the plastic one he packs yogurt in had started to leak. I also bought myself a $4 cute lightweight cardigan that’s a brand sold at Nordstrom. Oregonians know that the key to warmth is to layer our clothing, and this piece filled a much needed gap.
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I worked the full 48 hours of my last pay period, plus clocked in for 3-1/2 hours of CPR certification and 2-1/2 hours of helping out around the labor and delivery unit one day that I accidentally showed up to work. (My schedule is different every single week and it can be confusing. Not my favorite thing to drive across town at 7 A.M. for no reason, but the unit was busy that day and the charge nurse was more than happy to keep me around for a few hours.) I’ll take a two week break from working while my college kids are home for spring break towards the end of the month, as well as while my sister visits with her kids during their spring break. Luckily, my husband and I will bring home five, count-em five pay checks this month. I do love me these five paycheck months!
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I finally sold a thrifted table that I’d been listing and re-listing on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for over a month. Bought for $15 and sold for $60, it was still worth the effort as it doesn’t take more than a minute or two to renew the listing. I also sold a Goodwill Outlet sewing pattern for $40. Unfortunately an previous eBay buyer misunderstood a listing and insisted that I mail free extra items to him. We eBay sellers live in fear of negative feedback and buyers know that they can bully us with the threat of ruining our 100% positive ratings. He did leave negative feedback, but with all the awful things going on in the world I really don’t care. It’s hard to give a sh*t about my eBay rating when high school students are being murdered in our schools and the NRA then smears the names of the incredible and inspiring survivors. These daily annoyances do not matter.
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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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{ 67 comments… read them below or add one }
1. Used birthday coupon for free regular sub and 22 oz drink from jersey mikes
2. Used coupons to buy refrigerator pasta as sauce for 3 meals. Cost $4
3. Treated myself to talenti gelato on sale with coupon .99
4. Scored package of 25 5×8 index cards for .50 at thrift store. A packet of 100 was $4.95 at Office Depot
5. Downloaded Chobani coupon and got a free yougart
6. Won $100 gift certificate and plush robe from yoga studio. I’ll regift robe to daughter in law
Kathy, did you know you can SELL the empty Talenti containers, once you’ve finished licking them clean? (They shouldn’t, by the way, go through the dishwasher — or, of course, go in the microwave.) Don’t believe me? Look on eBay — I sold 10 empties for 10 bucks on Facebook Marketplace! Wheee!
OMG! I use them to prep DH’s morning oatmeal. I can get ten jars on a lazy susan that fits in a corner of the pantry. For a few weeks, they were on sale at Target for $1.99, so I loaded up. Who knew they had residual value? I googled them and discovered you can remove the writing with acetone. Except that my clever hack is that if I fill the jar to the middle of the “t”, it’s exactly the right amount and it serves to rinse the jar clean, too! Love those cute little jars. Also love that my family happily eats the ice cream/gelato for me.
What a smart Mama you have, Katy!
I had no idea there was a market for Talenti containers! We’ve acquired quite a few of them the past couple of summers – when I can get the gelato or sorbetto for $2 or less, we buy…and buy some more. I just told my husband that he’s keeping all his various nuts, bolts, screws, etc. in something that could bring in money, and that he ruined some of the money makers by putting leftover paint in them.
They are good for keeping small things organized – I love those little containers, too.
1. A new grocery store opened up nearby, so the grocery wars are on where I live. I used a mailed coupon from my store, a competitor’s coupon, some “super double” coupons, and an online (evic) coupon. I only bought sale (BOGO or B2G3) Got a filled shopping cart full of necessities and basics for about 60.00, which is phenomenal where I live. Receipt said I saved over 100. I was so excited the rest of the day.
2. Made chicken stew last night with some freebies from the store, home made broth from my freezer, marked down potatoes (1 dollar a bag rewrap!), and some chicken on sale. My husband was amused as I listed the ingredients and the cost.
3. Eating leftover dinner tonight! Found some french bread in my freezer from a day old sale, going to make garlic bread to go with the leftover stew.
4. Lunch date at a local restaurant, using gift cards. The gift cards were enough for 3 separate dates if we did lunch, ordering water.
5. Tried a different approach to my budget this month: started with our total monthly income, subtracted recurring bills (schedule online to pay), and figured out the amount I would allow myself to spend until the next paycheck. That includes groceries, gifts, anything that’s not a regular bill. It has helped me make good decisions this month!
1. We are flying to New York to watch our daughter graduate in May and the airlines changed -and messed up – our flights. We received a credit for future flights so I did a few hours research and came up with a fare of $250 for two people to fly from NC to Denver this summer to see our son. Which is normally the price for one person.
2. We are listing our house for sale in the spring so we decided to have a pre-inspection to unearth some things we could fix ourselves before listing. The inspection fee was $325 but they did a thorough job and came up with some safety issues that we can fix.
3. When we ditched cable we kept our Netflix account. I have watched three movies with my visiting mom this week that were already paid for in our monthly fee.
4. The flower beds in our front yard needed some attention after the winter. Never pay someone something you can do your self so I’ve spent a few hours clipping and weeding over the last few days. Not overwhelming to me, I get some time outside and it’s free.
5. I’ve been reading library books like crazy, batching errands and cooking at home – even though my mother is visiting and notorious for wanting to eat out. I did let her buy me a sandwich for lunch the other day so she could escape the drudgery of peanut butter and jelly for lunch everyday. 🙂
Yes! I am trying to do better about not getting angry over smaller things when there is much larger tragedy. Great job keeping things in perspective. And congrats on finally selling that table! 🙂
Is that the table in the photo? Gorgeous!
And, yes, even a difficult personal week, *everything pales” in comparison.
1. Lost/stolen purse meant no spend weekend. Nothing like forced austerity and panic to make you realize you are absentminded and overwhelmed with life. Worked on yard (it is looking lovely) and house projects. I’m due. From 5392 items on the to do list to 5389 maybe.
2. Cooked some great meals from items in hand including a yummy roasted cauliflower curry.
3. Played at park with my kid and dogs (see #1)
4. Took my meals on a work trip and am keeping the automatic per diem)
5. Hugged my kid a lot and work Dicks Sporting Goods and Delta a note of thanks (nit perfect but at least a few Corps are stepping up).
Sorry for the typos-typing quickly!
1. I have picked up five peenies in the last two days. All in different locations.
2. My husband used Shoe-Goo to repair a dress shoe. It was his first experience and he was pleased with the results.
3. I have stopped doing Swag Bucks. It was too much of a time suck. I am doing Bing Rewards (which earns me Amazon gift cards) and occasionally eRewards (which I use to earn Southwest Airlines points).
4. We are thankful that our electricity stayed on during the nor’easter that blew through.
5. I am loving the increased light and warmer days. They are so good for my psyche. Priceless. Also I have the energy to get so much more done.
“Peenies!” Thanks for the laugh!
Can you get this fixed? I can’t access your blog on bloglovin’ anymore either.
I no longer post because its too much trouble.
I guess you were trying to type fast! There are going to be plenty of errors as we all try to speed type so we don’t have to reload. Should make for some good laughs!
1. First, my #1 involves a big thank you, Katy – for your posts about cracking open the cyclone on a Dyson vacuum cleaner. Our 14 year old Dyson was NOT… sucking…the way it should (yes I could have worded that better but this was more fun). While my husband wondered if we’d need a new vacuum cleaner, I looked up your posts – and the link to You Tube. I figured what do we have to lose, the vacuum is not really picking up dirt anymore. And we have absolutely no carpet beyond one area rug downstairs and a couple throw rugs in the mudroom (which I beat with an old fashioned rug beater instead of vacuum), so why would I buy a new vacuum cleaner, even if it’s nice to have for corners every once in awhile? Well, after spending some time with various videos and applying what we learned, I’m happy to report the Dyson sucks again. In vacuum cleaner lingo, sucks is a GOOD thing.
2. We’ve been spending a lot of time at home fixing the shower issue. The only time we’ve been leaving the house is when we need a break and go for a hike in the woods – which is walkable. There are no stores that are a walkable distance from our home, so this is saving on gasoline costs as well. I’m excited to see how long this tank of gas can last us.
3. Free entertainment has been provided by a “free pay channels” weekend, where we were able to record several movies that I’d wanted to see but am too cheap to ever go to a theater. I finally got to see “Hidden Figures” which turned out to be one of the very few movies I would actually be willing to pay to see.
4. Additional free entertainment has been provided by nature, including the chickadee who landed on me as I was filling a suet feeder, and two small groups of deer who area apparently having a turf war over who gets what part of the lake frontage.
5. The last time we went grocery shopping, I glanced over at the Coinstar machine and could see a number of coins in the return slot. That’s not the first time this has happened – one time I found $3 in quarters – and this time yielded $1.09. There was a Canadian quarter and one Canadian penny, which will absolutely delight my 7 year old grandson.
Ooh . . . I really enjoyed cleaning out the inside of that Dyson vacuum cleaner. It was very satisfying, even though it gave me a terrible asthma attack. I’m glad that my sacrifice benefitted others.
Those Canadian quarters work just fine in Aldi’s Carts, and in parking meters. We live close to the northern border, so many stores will take them, too.
As you do, Susanna, I regularly find Canadian change in my local Coinstar machines and regularly grab and use it. Canada is about 90 miles north of us, and many local businesses (including all my favorite thrift shops) will accept Canadian coins under $1 at face value. (I save the loonies for friends who are going north of the border, now that our travel days seem to have come to an end.)
And, Katy, I’d appreciate links to the posts about resuscitating Dysons if you’ve got time to post them. DH has a dustbuster-type Dyson that isn’t sucking in the right way.
A. Marie, the post where I found the link to YouTube for the Dyson fix was from May 16, 2017. I actually just put the word Dyson in the “search for” box on the right hand side of the screen and a number of Dyson-related posts came up.
When I followed the YouTube link, I also found a bunch more Dyson-fix videos on YouTube. My Dyson was very similar to the one Katy fixed, but if your husband’s Dyson is hand held (I’m thinking from your “dustbuster-type” description that it might be) YouTube has lots of instructions for fixing those types as well.
That is a beautiful table!
1. Had to work into the night Friday and pulled a frozen meal bought with coupons from my stash as supper.
2. Remembered to buy gas at mid-week before the price creeps up as rthe weekend approaches.
3. Just been hanging out with my husband and son for entertainment. Absolutely free!
4. Did pay $2.25 for parking Friday night outside the building. It beats getting mugged walking in the dark to the public lot.
5. Used enough coupons at the drugstore that the package of side combs I bought was free. The combs help extend the amount of time between haircuts. I used to have a bunch of those combs, but they got lost over the years and a new batch had to be purchased.
1. My husband and I took our youngest to the art gallery for the afternoon. We found street parking for $2. Entry to the gallery is always free. I packed a lunch and we had a great time. I did splurge $12 for coffee and tea at the cafeteria but that was a planned treat. After we stopped by to visit a friend who had returned home from hospital.
2. My youngest had complained about school lunchboxes being boring so I insisted that they help do some baking. We made beetroot chocolate cupcakes, cookies, a pear and yoghurt cake, and cheesymite scrolls. Should be a happy kid this week!
3. I scored a less than half price ham.
4. I’m going away for work (boo) and I’m going to try to bring back as much of my per diem as I can.
5. We have managed to stick to our reduced grocery budget for a whole month now with no ill effects so I’m very happy about that.
It took me into my 20’s to realize that British and Australian people say “beetroot” for what we Americans simply call “beets.” I thought it was some exotic vegetable.
2. I wonder if beetroot chocolate cupcakes are what we call red velvet cupcakes in the US? I know red velvet cake was originally made with beets.
Now all the recipes use extreme amounts of red dye—I cannot eat it because I can taste the dye.
I’ve found several recipes online that use beets instead of dye. Just do a quick google search.
I have a chocolate cake recipe that uses fresh beets…it’s really good, but doesn’t look like red velvet cake.
1. My husband fixed the arm rest in my minivan that had broken. He used stuff we already had. Cost$0!
2. My job was going to throw away cartons of tea that just expired(February and March). Convinced my boss to let employees take it instead. Everyone that took some had to say that they knew it was expired. I took 5 boxes and I’m going to share it with a friend and my daughter.
3. Got a GC in the mail from P&G about a problem I had called them about in January.
4. Used a $10 bonus coupon from Harry and David. Paid overage with above GC and the rest went to groceries.
5. My oldest daughter wanted a bathing suit for her birthday(its been since HS that she has gotten one). I gave her a VSGC I had for a while, a $10 off $40 coupon and bathing suits were bogo. There is still money left on the gift card.
Beautiful table. I would have a hard time parting with that one.
1.Sold a second item on FB Marketplace after doing some Swedish death cleaning.
2. Brought 5 items to the local consignment shop after doing more Swedish death cleaning. That place is like a continuous indoor giant yard sale. So much fun.
3. I found a penny on the sidewalk hopefully breaking my dry spell of no found money while walking.
4. Talked to my financial guy and will be moving money from a low performing account to a higher yield one.
5. Broke down and purchased a pair of much needed black tights that I can pair with many skirts but had a 30% off coupon to buy them.
I would have been happy to keep the table, it was gorgeous. However, I didn’t have a spot for it without overcrowding the house.
Katy,
I have had 2 buyers (in many years of eBay selling so pretty good) try to use negative feedback to get money and/or more free stuff.
One shady buyer actually left negative feedback to try to get more from me. Turns out I was still selling the same amount of items with the negative feedback on my account which surprised me but I contacted eBay and they removed the feedback so I definitely suggest that you contact them. It wasn’t a lengthy process.
1. Somehow left a bag of apples on the porch when unloading car after grocery shopping. At 22 below zero, by the next day when I found them they were frozen solid. At $2.39 a pound, I was not about to throw them away. Threw them into a big stockpot and boiled them with a bit of water. Used a food mill to get rid of seeds and skins. Added some amaretto and ended up with tasty applesauce.
2. Having good relationships with the neighbors is frugal. The one across the street called and said, “Did you know your garage door is open?” We didn’t know! At 22 below, if it had stayed open all night, our furnace would have been damaged from constantly being on. Worth all the times I took over bags of vegetables to her non-gardening household!
3. Did five mystery shops this weekend. Ended up with five bottles of free water (you had to buy something and then get reimbursed), plus money for doing each of the shops.
4. My wheelchair is breaking down, bit by bit. We found one I like on Amazon but it costs over $2,000. So, we are buying $200 in Amazon gift certificates each time we go to the grocery store, and entering them on the Amazon site. By the time I really have to replace the chair, we will have the amount we need stockpiled on Amazon. Meanwhile, each $200 purchase of gift certificates gives us 400 gas points, so 40 cents off per gallon for up to 25 gallons of gas. Today we ended up with 800 gas points so bought gas for 80 cents off per gallon.
5. Our vehicle does not take 25 gallons of gas, so husband took gas cans along and once the gas tank was full he filled two 5 gallon gas cans so that we got maximum use of the 25 gallon limit. When we use some of the gas in the car, he empties the cans into the gas tank so they are empty for the next time we get a fill.
What a thoughtful neighbor!
1. We are juicing this weekend. For the first round I was lazy, and we picked up juice at our local taco stand (that’s what’s great about LA, veggie juice at taco stands.) When I got home I ran the math and realized if we kept buying it there, we’d be out $90. So I schlepped to the nearest walkable grocery store with my backpack to get some produce to run through my juicer. We will save about $50 doing it ourselves.
2. Needed to get things moving…ahem for this cleanse, and they recommend stocking up on enemas, but I realized I had some epsom salts on hand. They taste terrible, but incredibly cheap per use. Put lemon juice in to mask the flavor a little.
3. Wearing a dress that I almost got rid of but had second thoughts about. The husband came up to me and gave me lots of attention–no need to buy a new date dress, just pay attention to what he already likes!
4. Saving every little promotional pad of paper that comes in the mail or through my husband’s work, and now we have plenty of notepaper.
5. Saved a half a jar of pasta sauce from going bad by cooking up some pasta instead of ordering takeout on Friday. Ah…pasta…the simplest things sound delicious when you’re cleansing.
Great job getting the table sold. It looked like a keeper for sure, but if you don’t have room or you don’t need it then let it go.
My FFT:
1. Ran across the grand opening for a new winery in our area. We knew that it was going to open sometime this spring, but hadn’t seen it advertised. We decided to drive by and see how things were progressing and discovered that they were (quietly) having the grand opening that day. It was a party and we got to taste some great wine and enjoy some wonderful food, too.
2. We cooked all meals at home this week using things from the freezer and pantry.
3. Cleaned out a bathroom vanity that is used by guests and found a lot of partial products that have been left behind. I will incorporate them into my bathroom supplies.
4. Finally found a couple of sweaters that had been stored away underneath some sweatshirts. I kept seeing the sweatshirts and didn’t realize that the sweaters were in the same basket. It’s still pretty chilly here so I will get plenty of use out of them before it’s time to put them away again. This year I will be sure that all sweaters are stored together or I’ll label the container.
5. Still having trouble posting comments. This is a second attempt.
1. On a very restricted diet due to a recent health issue so eating at home and saving money! We usually do anyway, but eat out occasionally. On (temporary) current diet, can’t eat fruits, vegetables or fiber, so what’s the point of going out?
2. Worked most of weekend, so low spend. Hubs and I did splurge and go see Black Panther last eve — worth it and definitely a “big screen” show.
3. Going to family’s for Oscars, bringing a salad, low cost!
4. Have enjoyed free love from friends and family with recent health issue — two different bouquets of gorgeous flowers and a Starbucks card all gifted — lovely friends!
5. Went for a hike yesterday with dear friends, so nice to be out after being laid up and cost = $0!
I love that table. Its feet are similar to the ones on my dining table, which was my best Goodwill find ever. Several years ago, I happened to be there on 1/2 price day and bought the table for $ 25. The top needed refinishing but the legs were perfect. It seats 8.
I don’t have a lot of frugals this time.
1. I have a cabinet that really needed some sprucing up. We are using paint left from the kitchen cabinets so it will match them and my handyman found hardware that matches the rest of the kitchen on sale for $2. He is also patching up a water damaged area and adding rollers to the bottom so I can pull it out to clean behind it. This is not frugal in that I could have kept using it as it, but it will look like part of the kitchen when it is done. I remind myself that I have already used it in its present condition for probably 12 yrs and I got it off the side of the road to begin with.
2. We really really like live theater and have agreed that we would much prefer to see several college or community productions than one big professional play with expensive tickets and far away seats. We just went to a performance at a community theater we had not tried before and it was great. We got tickets for 5 more shows for less that what one ticket for one person would have cost at the downtown venue.
3. Got more free firewood, hiked in a free park while we were in that area and discovered a great restaurant for lunch.I got a sandwich as big as my head and had it for 2 more meals.
4. Frugal fail: We went to the nearest Aldi to stock up and found it closed for remodeling. Went to the next nearest and it was also closed for remodeling. I will be checking their website to find out when the stores open again.
Glad I’m not the only one who shows up for work when I’m not supposed to be there. I have not came to work when expected and that’s far worse. I had to reload and this is only 2, well 3 now, sentences and I don’t type that slow.
Katy, I’ve shown up for work a day early a few times, but I never managed to get them to let me stay and work for a while! Must have been a lot of babies on the way. 🙂
1. Continuing to eat from the freezer. Healing from hiatal hernia repair means my diet is limited, so those lasagnas are coming in handy. I can start eating more fruits and veggies, as long as they are well cooked and cut into extremely small bites or mashed, and have the green light to start eating more chicken and turkey, also in tiny bites and covered with some kind of sauce. For fruit, the nurse suggested the little cups of diced peaches or pears you buy in a 4 pack in the store….um, no. I have plenty of cans of fruit on the pantry shelf that were gifted to me or purchased at a bargain price, as well as home canned fruits. Much more frugal and use fewer resources in the processing.
2. Walking for exercise and company in my neighborhood…I didn’t find any coins on the last walk, but one of my walking buddies found a penny and a dime! I think I’ve converted her, lol.
3. My TOPS club is paying my registration fee for SRD(State Recognition Days) in Spokane next month, saving me $30. I’m riding along with two members of the club and we will split the cost of the hotel room 3 ways. The two of us riding with the 3rd member will pay for the gas, since she’s putting miles on her car and driving us.
4. One of my neighbors called Thursday and told us he was cutting up some trees and to come and get the wood! Bless his heart. We got enough to cover the 8′ bed of our pickup, and he said there would be more coming. We heat with wood, so this is a blessing.
5. I did over-do things a bit picking up rounds of firewood and am still feeling the sore tummy muscles, so I’m resting more. Nothing weighed more than 15 lbs, but the doc probably wasn’t expecting me to lift 10 pounds over and over… While I’m resting, I’m mending mittens and gloves. It’s something productive I can do while sitting down.
6. I can’t lift a gold-plated anything right now. 😉
1) My daughter and I went to the A-Z Discount store yesterday to pick up OTC meds and supplements for $1 per bottle/pkg. I spent $20 and will have what I need for at least 3 months or more.
2) We ate polish sausage and kraut Saturday night and I made chicken fajitas tonight from the meat my in-laws sent us in the Omaha Steaks package. I didn’t have to buy meat at all last month. I think we still have enough for 2-3 more meals.
3) I bought two books at the Community Thrift store yesterday, 49 cents each and my granddaughters a couple of baby blankets for the dolls – less that a dollar. A small portable doll house for the youngest was 2.98 and my daughter bought the girls some pants and spent a total of $5. It was fun & frugal trip.
4) It’s been warmer during the day and evenings, so the heat is only coming on during the early morning hours. I love saving fuel and electricity during the Spring and Fall months.
5) I have one more birthday gift to bestow this month, then we’re done with birthdays until August. Winter is rough around here with Christmas, since we have 6 birthday during the months between December and March. I don’t buy expensive gifts, but it’s nice to get a break for awhile.
Wanted a prickly pear cactus of variety which has glochids but no thorns. It should be easier to harvest for nopalitos. Upon entering local T J Maxx, noticed a planter bed filled with such. I don’t go around stealing cuttings for my own garden , but did find a three pad section broken off and lying on the ground. Knowing that it held no value to the store, I put it in my bag with expectation of starting a large beautiful plant in my own yard.
Received $! bill from the Nielsen ratings folks.
Went to local grocery for monthly stock up. Started by picking up script at pharmacy. Received several coupons for in store use. Turned out to save $9.50.
Am delighted to find that scallion seeds sown rather thickly in a large diameter pot are up and running. No need to purchase any for months to come. Also cutting down potential for waste as I often need only one.
Accepted gas money from friends who rode back with me from a ladies’ conference.
Blogging, foraging, no spending days, home cooking and more blogging.
Great blog, Franny and Danny!
1. Kroger had great deals this week on triple zero yogurt, 32 oz of block cheese, salad dressing, and macaroni and cheese, so I stocked up…maybe a little too much:)
2. I bought a pair of yoga pants, a shirt, and two nice children’s hardback books all for under $8 at the thrift store this week.
3. We have been feeding our Guinea pig lots of clover this week that is growing like crazy in our yard
4. Quit buying expensive coffee creamer again…maybe it will stick this time!
5. After cleaning out my son’s closet I realized he will not need any new spring/summer clothes this year because he has only grown taller over the winter
Bravo on all of the Goodwill finds! Isn’t is nice finding just what you were looking for at the thrift store? 🙂
This week:
1. I’m having surgery on Friday and we have to pay everything in advance. Today I’m calling the doctor/hospital to see if they offer a cash discount (or any other kind of discount, for that matter).
2. I cooked homemade gluten free and low sugar blueberry pancakes today for breakfast. Bonus: I only used pantry ingredients that were on hand.
3. Our garden is growing like crazy! It’s warm here in Texas and spring is already in full swing. I’m hoping to get tons of squash, cukes, and melons. We’re already eating lots of cilantro and green onions.
4. I’ve been using a fitness tracker to track my steps, sleep, exercise, etc. Staying active and healthy is quite frugal. 🙂
5. I’m going to be out of commission next week after the surgery, so I’ve meal-planned everything in advance. I picked up smoothie packs and cups of soup for me to eat while hubs is at work just in case. Hopefully it all goes well!
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
1. Sold my first item on ebay and shipped it out! Made only a small profit, but with time, I’m sure I’ll learn the ins and outs. Shipping costs seem to be the area that I have to learn more about. I have the Ebay app on my phone and it was fun to listen to the “cha ching” sound that it makes every time someone bids on an item. It was even more fun when there was a small “bidding war” on an item! It’s kinda like a reminder that I’m making money!
2. Since my parents are in town, we went out to Sunday dinner at Cracker Barrel. My in-laws also joined us. (they get along great) The frugal part of this (for me) was that both offered to buy us lunch. I let them fight it out! Zero dollars spent!
3. Took my parents to Costco (I have the membership for the lower gas prices) and I only ended up purchasing one item. Free samples to munch on and free lunch (parents treat).
4. After the trip to Costco, we visited the goodwill. This trip ended up being an Ebay buying trip. I found some nice items that I think will turn a profit. I’m trying to stick to selling larger (XL and larger) men’s clothing items. I also found two of the food service quality mixing containers. These are square containers that restaurants use for mixing liquids. I have been wanting some of these to make the Pioneer Woman’s iced coffee recipe. (these containers are shown in the online video for this recipe). We’ve also though about purchasing these in the past since my hubby works in the food service industry and tends to make things in LARGE batches. We never seem to have large enough mixing bowls. Problem solved for $3!
Frugal Fail: Daughter came home from from daycare with the dreaded Lice letter. Grrr…sure enough Sunday rolls around and I find her itching away! $29 later at Rite Aid, I bring home the shampoo and some spray to keep them off of everyone else’s hair. One small frugal win of this was that the sprayer didn’t work and I plan to take it back for a refund. (There is no way I’ll keep quite about a broken sprayer for something I paid $12 for!)
I have been recovering from an illness, so my FFT are not particularly exciting. I had a “no spend” month forced on me. During this time I realized I had everything that I needed. Gratitude is good for the soul.
1) I having been reading two books from the library. Both are bestsellers by popular writers, and I had to wait months for them. I am so glad they came in when they did! I also watched several things on YouTube and Netflix, and chatted with my friends and family.
2) Since I have not been comfortable driving, I have been staying close to home. On Saturday, my husband and ran errands together. The first stop was Home Depot to purchase mulch which was deeply discounted this week . Then we headed to the grocery store to buy a few odd items that we needed and to stock up on A few BOGO deals. I also used a coupon for $10 off of a $50 gas card. Although this was not a very exciting date, it was nice to be out of the house.
3) Two of my older listings sold on eBay over the weekend. I will be packaging them this morning and calling for a pickup. Until I am back 100%, the dog will have to forego his car ride to the post office. This saves gas, but it makes for an unhappy pooch.
4) My doctor gave me samples of my medication. He had been told it was a hassle to have it approved under my particular health plan. Since he didn’t expect me to be on it long term, he didn’t wasn’t me to have the stress of dealing with the situation. I wanted to hug him!
5) My husband an I have been using an HSA for 5 years now to pay for our medical needs. Since my illness included a trip to the ER, it was nice to know that we have the money set aside…. one less worry.
Bee I so enjoy your posts and hope you feel better soon. Sounds like you are taking good care of yourself — and have a great doctor.
Thank you for the kind words and wishes. From your comments earlier, it sounds that you also have been under the weather. I hope you are 100% soon.
I hope you feel better soon Bee!
That table is gorgeous! . I am in the throes of dealing with a semi phone failure. This will not be frugal. Will detail later…lol
1) Drinks out with a coworker, who picked up the bill. The discussion included some details about this year’s management bonus – which I don’t get – and I did the math and figured out that earlier that week he’d received a bonus the equivalent of my entire years’ salary. I ordered an extra appetizer and drink without a moment’s guilt and considered it dinner.
2) Related to #1, I am working on my resume. I’m a frumpy middle-aged woman in a technical field so I’m accustomed to being overlooked for loud-mouthed men of questionable competence, but this weekend was the first time I’d realized quite what the financial difference turns out to be. There are no words to describe how much I don’t want to job hunt, but it’s clearly time for a change. Frugal because I’m doing it myself and because a new job is likely to pay more.
3) Worked all weekend and have two more rooms in the house we want to sell within spitting distance of ready to stage.
4) Lots of time this weekend texting and messaging the kids, including the older ones who don’t think they miss their mama . . . until they do. Frugal because we pay the same amount for our family cell plans whether we communicate or not, so every message is a more cost-effective use of the plan.
5) No Lear jet, no gold-plated toilets.
Your #1, and #2, especially the part about being a frumpy middle-aged woman dealing with loud mouthed men of questionable competence, is the story of my life currently.
There’s just something about hitting this age that has made me realize competence is never going to win out, you know? For years I figured it would even out someday, that the incompetents would be found out. Apparently that’s not how it works. I’m so sorry you’re dealing with it, too.
I’m right there as well. Frumpy, middle aged women unite!
I’m with you girls!
Had a ski trip this past weekend which led to some creativity:
1. Bought this ski vacation in OCTOBER when price for 3 days skiing and 2 nights accommodation was only $350 per person. Doesn’t seem frugal–but for a weekend trip it was a real steal.
2. Definitely did not want to make lunch for Sunday’s skiing but then realized how much chicken tenders at the lodge cost and sucked it up and made the best turkey sandwich I’ve had in a while.
3. Got home from said ski trip and realized I was starving. instead of falling into the bad habit of getting pizza, I thawed some soup and had a nice warm lunch instead.
4. Used work pool car to get to and from meetings more than 10 minutes away instead of putting miles on my car. We get reimbursed for mileage but it’s a real hassle, so this is a lower stress option.
5. Dove back into my closet to see if some dresses still fit before buying new ones
1) We had guests for dinner Friday and Saturday evening, and Saturday for lunch. I cooked relatively simple stuff.
2) Am switching dog food brands and decided it would be easier to buy one locally before getting a big delivery. The bags were each $5 off and cheaper than those online. So I bought 2.
3) I’m cleaning out my desk after getting tax return together. We remembered the social security folks saying I couldn’t file for spousal benefits and let my own continue to grow until I switched to mine at age 70. My notes from the conversation in 2014 say that I can’t do that until I reach full retirement age. Here I am!
4) The queen fitted bed sheet grew a new hole yesterday. I patched it before bedtime and will visit the thrift shop when I help a friend with a drop off tomorrow.
5) Eating at home.
1) Got a coupon for $2 off a personal pizza at Blaze Pizza, so I ordered the cheapest pizza (cheese only) and paid about $3.50, then realized I had a free dessert reward in the app, so I got a chocolate chip cookie as well. I live in suburbia but this restaurant is located in a little downtown area. I decided to park 0.7 miles away on a side street to avoid paying for parking and enjoyed the sunshine which is rare in MI at this time of year! Also found 2 “peenies” hehe
2) My husband and I drove 3.5 hours each way on Friday to rescue a dog. We took my Focus instead of his truck and I packed lunch to eat so we wouldn’t eat out. The dog was $100 which obviously is much cheaper than from a breeder and they gave us a 3-lb bag of his food which had a $5 coupon on it for the next bag. Regardless of how “frugal” he is, we love him!
3) I was supposed to go out Friday night with a friend but because of the new dog I asked her if she could come over and hang out instead. We played a board game and drank wine – much cheaper than going to a bar/restaurant.
4) Chewy has a $15 off $49 deal for new customers – but we are not new customers. However, my sister has never had a pet and never will so she was willing to order the items we needed to her house and will just give them to me next time I see her. Due to another first time customer offer, we ended up getting $51 worth of stuff for $31. And I am making do with so much other stuff that we already have.
5) I used my free appetizer coupon at Noodles & Co that came from me taking a survey on my previous receipt. My total was $0, but when she handed me the receipt I realized that there was ANOTHER survey, so I took it and will now get another free appetizer. I wonder how many times I can let this roll? I get the 10 BBQ Korean Meatballs which I put over rice & veggies for a nice dinner for my husband and I.
You got a bargain on your dog. Our rescue pooch cost almost $300 plus he developed health problems. Love him regardless! Also loved your use of surveys and appetizers at Noodles.
Coleen, We had the same Chewy’s offer. My husband made his first order and they rewarded him with a new customer coupon that they wouldn’t let him use on his second order because he was no longer a new customer. Makes no sense to me. We set up an account for me so that I was the new customer to get the discount. Congratulations on the new dog.
1. I won some free nail skinnies from a friend that sells Jamberry, while I don’t like spending that much money on nail art, I’ll happily take some for free. 🙂
2. I won some more points from My Reader Rewards, haven’t cashed any in for books yet though.
3. Dusted with just a rag and water. I did use a cleaner for the sinks, toilet and floor, but the window frames, desk and book shelf, just needed a wet rag to get the dust off.
4. Frugal entertainment for the day, reading to my kids, checking my favorite blogs and soon I might watch a show.
5. I got free and productive exercise today by cleaning up the leaves in the yard…my favorite exercise is one that is multitasking like that, I know have a clean yard, got my body moving and spent $0 on equipment or gym fees.
Birthday edition of five frugal things!
1. Got my free birthday burger at Red Robin Saturday. They were so understaffed, we kept being forgotten. Food was great but didn’t leave as large a tip as usual!
2. Ate tonight at bd Mongolian grill for my free stir fry. Enough left for two lunches tomorrow.
3. Did my usual birthday thrifting where I found a leather stone mountain handbag, a thirty one tote and a pottery barn table runner. Good day thrifting!
4. Took my lunch but did splurge on a McDonald’s coke and three cookies.
5. Watched a library movie with my husband after dinner.
Perfect birthday!
Hey, we’re birthday twins! Happy birthday, shelia!!
1. For our weekly date night, we took advantage of our local art gallery’s First Friday’s this past weekend. Admission to the permanent collection is free and if you want to see the special exhibits, you just need to make a donation of any size. So for $2.50 a person, we saw some amazing exhibits.
2. We ate dinner and had a glass of wine at home before heading to the gallery.
3. The sub woofer for the speakers in the office was making a rattling noise. In the past, my partner would have trashed them and bought new ones. Instead, he took it apart, tightened some loose components, and it now sounds much better!
4. I had some bits of cotton yarn from a lot of yarn that had been gifted to me so I made a dishcloth.
5. Brown bag lunch date with a friend today and another friend invited me to a healthy cooking class that she has an extra ticket to. They’re normally $25 but since she works for the company that sponsors them, she gets free tickets every now and then
Happy birthday to your stepfather! Do you have a good recipe for chicken adobo? It’s on my list of things to make in the near future.
There’s a link in the blog post.
I really need to try your adobo chicken recipe. That is such a pretty table!
We just got back from a not-so-cheap vacation (although we tried to save money whenever possible), so I’ll be trying to save lots of money in the upcoming weeks. The first thing I did this morning was pay off all the credit cards we charged while on vacation (we use credit cards strategically to collect the cash back bonuses and I normally pay them off daily, but that wasn’t possible while on vacation). I hand dried two loads of dishes from the dishwasher. I hung up two loads of laundry to air dry and, of course, I washed them in cold water. I made a huge batch (about a gallon) of marinara sauce from scratch to go with the meatballs I’m making tomorrow. Yesterday I made a batch of washing soda in my toaster oven from baking soda (I use the washing soda instead of dishwasher detergent).