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I made a double recipe of kale pesto for the freezer as we finally used up the last batch. I normally buy a single head of kale, but noticed that Trader Joe’s had bags of washed and chopped kale for a buck-ninety-nine; and who am I to turn down convenience? I hadn’t planned on doubling the recipe, but the first batch turned out super garlicky, (so much so that the taste of my own mouth woke me out of an otherwise deep sleep!) Luckily it was just a matter of scooping the garlic-tastic pesto back into the food processor and adding in a second batch without even a single clove of garlic.
Fortunately I had enough scavenged Bonne Maman jars, which work perfectly for pesto. Thank you, neighbors who put the occasional jar into your recycling!
Here’s my recipe.
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Like many American library systems, Multnomah County offers a limited number of free “Cultural passes” to local museums and such. They can be an amazing money saver, but you have to be crafty to actually score them.
It turns out, I’m one hell of a crafty lady.
I know that they release them once a month, so I made sure to stay up late on Saturday so I could log into the My Discovery Pass website at the moment the clock struck midnight on September 1st. I wasn’t sure if my plan would yield results, but it actually worked a dream! Not only were there passes to Rose City Comic Con, but also tickets to the OMSI, (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, The Japanese Gardens, but also The Portland Art Museum, which is what I was hoping to find.
I was able to score a pair of tickets to the Portland Art Museum, which would normally cost $25 apiece! The tickets are for a specific date in November, but that’s okay as I like having things to look forward to. I also got a pair of tickets to see Connie Chung speak as part of the Literary Arts Festival, which I’ll attend with my friend Lise whose mother worked in television news. The venue is a beautiful historic theater and it’ll be fun to get dressed up and hit downtown with a friend. Again, these tickets normally start at $25 apiece.
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I went for an evening walk and came across a hefty fuchsia plant that someone had just dug out of their yard. Mercifully it was just a couple blocks from the house, as the plant was rather unwieldy. It’ll be the perfect addition to my shady backyard and it fits quite nicely into my non-existent gardening budget.
Good thing I’m both muscular* and difficult to embarrass.
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• I added a handful of leftover parmesan cheese packets to the pesto. These were leftover from the takeout pizzas a couple weeks ago.
• I’ve been super tired this week and you and I already know that there’s nothing more frugal than going nowhere and doing nothing.
• My friend Lise and I went to IKEA and indulged in free cups of coffee. I did splurge on a $1.15 veggie hotdog, but I guess I was feeling flush that day.
• My adult son got invited to join his friend’s family vacation to Montana and is currently enjoying time at a gorgeous lake cabin. Lucky guy. -
I didn’t garbage pick any Lear Jets.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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* Not even slightly.
{ 81 comments… read them below or add one }
Can I ask please what kind of kale you use for the pesto?
1. We are almost done painting the kitchen and laundry, an endurance test, once a decade task that we refuse to pay a professional to do, not least because we have 14ft ceilings and the cost would be exorbitant. Nights and weekends up a ladder is a lot at our age. We have four ladders going. Two evenings and I reckon we will be done. Probably saved about $5000 on labour alone, with ourselves and roping in our two uni students for stints. I have to say it looks great.
2. Sudden burst of unseasonable warmth followed by just as sudden cold sent my cabbages into seed but I’ve managed to salvage enough leaves for soups and stews.
3. We switched electricity providers and last bill was 20% cheaper
4. I got a free electric juicer from the buy nothing group.
5. I gave away a heap of big boxes on buy nothing to a couple who were moving house.
It’s just standard “kale.”
Hooray for DIY and a kitchen refresh!
I wish there were choices here for electricity, but there’s just the one company.
We get offers from different “suppliers” – aka the “luxury” of having electricity infrastructure at our home doesn’t change but per Kwh *might*. Same with natural gas supplier. The offers *might* might be a penny or two cheaper than the almost monopolies, *might* that is. Plus there have been a couple of lawsuits where said electric/natural gas suppliers refused to honor their contract with the homeowner. IMHO, it all comes out in the wash over the years. Reminds me of T-Mobile and a few other internet/cell suppliers. Somehow they get to piggyback off the infrastructure some other company paid/is paying for. Another buyer beware – a neighbor purchased a T-Mobile hot spot. Did not work well. “Upgraded” their unit, still did not work well. Come to find out, our neighborhood is on the edge of T-Mobile’s coverage area. Yet the neighbors are stuck with their contract. An expensive way to pay a few bills online and check account balances.
Your kale pesto looks fantastic.
A few things on our side:
1) Camped for the first time with our teens, and used some gear picked up from BN. (As a disclaimer, we also had new gear, as that was DS17’s Christmas gift, and he wants to try it out ahead of a spring trip. All of the gear, new & free, worked great).
2) DH replaced the brakes we for the car he picked out for my special needs aunt. My parents are going to drive the car from CA to WA, so it definitely needed to be done before anyone could drive it. He’s a hero, and spent a day on it. She will just need to pay the cost of the parts.
3) Used up some garden goodies over the week, including lots of lettuce & herbs. Unfortunately, we are at the end of fresh tomato season, which makes me sad.
4) Listed a bunch of stuff on eBay yesterday, and sold a few things last week as well.
5) When I was first laid off from my job, I signed up for a consulting firm. You typically get called for an hour or two, and they pay your desired hourly rate, which can be set quite high, as you’re just getting paid for 1-2 hours. I have my first call this week, so that will be cool.
Thanks, the pesto is very yummy!
Best of luck with your consulting gig!
Thank you for normalizing going nowhere and doing nothing. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one who does that.
1. Took a cutting of a nice plant at my son’s house (I was invited to do so!).
2. Watched an early soccer game om tv with all 3 of my kids, 2 spouses, 2 grandkids and a friend. My daughter (on a budget) made baked oatmeal with toppings, which was cheap and festive. We brought fruit.
3. Taking several bags of stuff to sell home from my
son’s house. So happy to return money to them in the place of stuff.
4. I’ve discovered that an item I use every day can be cut into eighths and still serve the needed function. I’m always on the lookout for what can be decreased
5. Frugal for my son-I helped him remove a fireplace insert and take it out back. I provided about 2% of the effort since he estimated it weighted 400lbs. Thankfully he keeps in shape. I giggled that he usually got me into some sort of project like that and he said “they’re just part of life, it’s got to be done.” He’s a worker for sure.
I put a lot of effort into making my house comfortable and just right and we pay a mortgage — why not enjoy it?
Can your son sell the fireplace insert for scrap?
I’ve mentioned that to him! We will see.
That pesto looks beyond delicious!
1. I found a dime on the floor at the dollar store.
2. It got hot again so I froze a rotisserie chicken carcass to make soup when it cools down.
3. DH and I are working at the state primary elections tomorrow. Extra $$$ and doing my little bit for the state.
4. I bought a frozen, on sale, store brand $3.99 pizza to have when we get home from the elections. It’s always a 14 to 15 hour day and I know I will not feel like cooking when we get home.
5. A friend invited me over to have strawberry short cake for lunch. Can’t imagine a better lunch.
Happy Labor Day all!
Thank you for working your local elections. We have a harder time getting people to be election officials, and much more so since politics have gotten so ugly even at local levels. When I first started, it was volunteer. Then it went to $14 per hour, but we had to raise it to $20 per hour due to lack of willing bodies.
I truly wish we would make $20 an hour. We are at $15 which is still a nice little side gig.
The country is very divided now to the point where I have considered working at the polls maybe a safer issue. We do have an on duty police officer there from opening to closing and the polling place for our town happens to be across the street from the police station so we hopefully don’t have anything to worry about. November 5th I may feel different about. We’ll see what the mood of the country is by then.
…”safety issue”…darn autocorrect correct…
Yeah safety is on my mind too come general election. I’ve seriously considered getting a taser. Sad to say I am in magatville *but* we have a few voters who I deem not particularly stable. Haven’t seen one since his mother passed away (at age 101 I will say – woman made sure she voted) but IMHO, he’s a few bricks short of a load. Bigger issue I have is a few judges who just can’t shut up. It was tough getting judges before 2016 and is even worse these days. A number opted out once laptops were used. Then we went back to paper – UGH. Last refresher class I attended one judge was hell bent on dealing with illegal immigrants voting. It is not an issue here (or in the majority of states – all I can say is most here sans papers don’t want to bring attention to themselves). When told multiple times he could not refuse to let a registered voter vote, the guy walked out of the class. Some people have just lost their minds I think.
And to be clear, I’d be a judge even if I didn’t get paid. A former judge at my polling place complained we didn’t get paid as much as they did in Chicago. Well we’re not in Chicago that has far more polling places than our area.
Some people just don’t want to play by the rules. We’re instructed to not discuss the candidates or questions on the ballot with the voters as to not sway their decisions. I happily comply. Today I had two voters try to engage me in conversation regarding the candidates. I told them right off the bat as a poll worker I don’t do that. Long day but happy to do my bit.
While i don’t have a frugal list I do want to thank you for making me laugh out loud twice while reading your post. First was the garlic taste waking you up and the other is that you are difficult to embarrass (I totally relate to this one)!!
You found a dime? I guess you “recently came into some money!”
I recently saw a hack where you can simply cut a wedge or two from a frozen pizza instead of baking the entire pie. The guy heated it in his air fryer, but you could also use a toaster oven.
And hooray for organized elections and a bit of extra money!
Great food hack about the pizza. Since it’s just the two of us, cooking part of the pizza would be more cost effective. Thanks.
Katy, I especially loved how you used the parmesan packets in your pesto.
1. Sister took me and my husband out to lunch for our birthdays. Leftovers aplenty.
2. I have joined the Medicare ranks! My gym membership is now free through my Medicare advantage plan.
3. Finished the red lentil pasta that was given to us. Oof, not a fan.
4. Borrowed a power washer from a neighbor and cleaned our patio, garage and front stoop. Made him cookies as a thank you because he wouldn’t accept anything else.
5. Took advantage of a sale on bulk nuts and froze some for future use.
Of course I used the packets, what am I a Rockefeller?! 😉
Hooray for a free gym membership, I bet a lot of people don’t realize this is an option.
Just watch your current plan-next year’s plan information. My husband’s plan had it and now does not. Not a game/plan changer for him.
1. Dh changed the oil in my car. He also replaced the brake light in dd’s car and is changing her oil today. We stopped by her work (a coffee shop) to grab her car and she made us both cold brews for free. Yum!
2. Dh is mowing the grass and I am weeding the patio and flower beds. Paying for yard work is expensive and while we don’t love it, we are capable of doing it ourselves for free.
3. I went to several grocery stores this weekend to shop the best sales in an effort to keep my food bill low this month. I don’t always have or make the time but by combining errands I was able to get some great deals like 24 Activia yogurts for $6.50.
4. Walking with a friend today – yay for free exercise! Dh and I are also participating in our local fall hiking spree. We did 2 hikes this weekend and it is so nice to be outside in the woods.
5. I canceled several subscribe & save items due to major price increases. I had skipped them a few times hoping the price would come down but it just kept going up. Now I don’t have to worry about it anymore. S&S is a great way to save money, but the prices can change quickly so you have to babysit it some as your ship date gets closer, which is a pain.
It’s a very frugal thing to have a garden be as low maintenance as possible. One of my neighbors has so many plants (non-edible) that she has to hire someone to water it when they travel. My other neighbor has a more straightforward yard and I’m happy to spend five minutes or so watering it when they’re out of town.
That’s an amazing tip to moniter your “subscribe and save” subscriptions on Amazon and such!
We use a Subscribe & Save at Chewy.com for a prescription canned food one of our cats needs. Their price is always less than anywhere local that sells it, they send me an email well in advance to check the autoship (can skip, cancel, or send right away), AND I get 2% back via Ibotta.
1. After my handyman has procrastinated for weeks now, I contacted someone on Craigslist who says they will haul off scrap metal for free. They are happy to get my old refrigerator and I won’t have to pay a dime!
2. I’m gutting the old fridge and will use the various bins and shelves for other uses. Why buy fridge organizers when you already have them? I’m already using the larger fridge’s ice bin to house the bag of ice I bought…which should last me ’til New Year’s.
3. Decided to change from the big bank to a credit union. I will have to do this tomorrow since today is a holiday. (Even though it will be a pain in the you-know-where to call all the utilities and tell them not to do automatic draft from that account anymore.) But I’ve had enough! This is the umpteenth time the bank’s ATM has been on the blink, and I can’t get the 800 number system to take my cc payment over the phone. I then had two different customer service people say they can’t help me bc I don’t have a cell phone and I don’t recall the dollar amounts of random purchases I made over a month ago.
Why did I open an account with this stupid bank? I didn’t. I opened an account with a local bank the year I graduated high school; they offered all grads free checking for life. But the bank was bought by a national bank; it was bought by big multi-national bank –and then yet another bank bought out that one. I didn’t move my money but the ownership changed and the service has been Pretty Non-existent and Crummy ever since. The local tellers are nice and I will miss them….but one came to my store/cash register lane once and wrote a check that was from another bank — so even the employees don’t use PNC!
4. Almost bought a case of soda pop — 24 cans for $9.99, a great price — until I remembered that the last time I did this, the soda tasted flat. Besides, I don’t need that much. Although this comes out to about 41 or 42 cents per can, it’s not my favorite brand; besides, our store’s employee break room has a machine that sells my favorite soda brands for 35 cents a can. And a lot of the teacher’s lounges where I substitute teach have a stash of snacks and soda that’s free, courtesy of the PTA.
5. Signing up for as many substitute teaching gigs as I can get, plus I’m working more hours (after-school, weekend and holiday shifts) at the store.
Hooray for free handymanning!
You might want to check if the credit union has a referral program. The one I have my HYSA in did, which earned both me and my friend an extra $100!
I switched from big bank to credit union about 15 years ago after the bank sent me a notice that they would be charging me a monthly fee for my checking account when my balance dropped below $500. The credit union offered free checking with no minimum balance requirements, so it was an easy decision. The change was not too difficult to arrange. I am not missing the big bank at all.
1. I borrowed a page from Katy’s book and power washed a rug that was gross! It looks much better now. Thanks for the inspiration. I also power washed my bins and a corner of my cement driveway that gets no sun and was very green. I used my Mom’s power washer which she so generously loaned out.
2. My daughter foraged some chicken in the woods mushrooms at work the other day. She made a delicious soup using these and other items we had on hand. She used the rest of some weird dumplings we purchased at the discount grocery. It’s so nice to have someone else cook for a change and so inexpensive.
3. I mixed up some more homemade weed killer. Gardening vinegar, some water, a handful of epsom salts and a squirt of dish detergent. It works great. I use it on my stone path and patio as well as the driveway cracks. It works best on a really hot day and of course when there isn’t going to be any rain for a couple days.
4. I moved several volunteer plants and divided some others to fill in where I have empty spaces. I too am making an effort to use free plants in my yard. I’m hoping to do less weeding. I’m getting older and it’s not getting easier.
5. My DD#3 and I are going to my Mom’s house for a cookout. I’m bringing steaks that were near their sell by date and discounted by 50%. The grocery store in the tiny little town my DD#2 lives in often has great discounts on expiring food items.
I’m curious if you’ve ever used straight boiling water for the weeds in your driveway? I’ve seen that others do and don’t have the need to try this hack myself.
Gotta love discounted groceries!
Got to ask: How do you “forage chicken?”
Me, I’d love to forage chicken myself–but I think that Jill A is referring to the mushroom known as “chicken in (or of) the woods.”
Meanwhile, the neighbor’s yard at the end of our cul-de-sac is sprouting its annual crop of puffball mushrooms, and I’m having my annual debate with myself about harvesting these. Just call me “chicken about the mushrooms.”
And this, of course, brings up family memories of Red Cross swimming lessons, which my brother fought against tooth and nail. His other two merciless sisters and I used to call him “Chicken of the Sea.”
Puffballs require the “perfect” timing of harvest. Our forager friends don’t bother with them. We have them, we pass on them. More fun to kick them lol.
Yes, A. Marie is correct. These were Chicken of The Woods mushrooms. They were really good. They do actually taste a little like chicken and they are a very meaty texture. I’m a little chicken too about mushrooms. My daughter is working as a steward at a local nature center. She works with some seasoned foragers. We haven’t died or gotten sick yet. She also found oyster mushrooms a couple months ago and those were delicious.
I have tried straight boiling water and it didn’t work as well. I felt like I was just watering the weeds.
Thanks for replying, I’ve always wondered.
Today has been all about the frugal at my house, as I inventoried our little upright freezer, then cooked lunch for us from things that needed to be used: baked garlic chicken thighs, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and cinnamon baked apples. There was a small ear of corn, half a chicken thigh and a potato left over, which I turned into a little pot of chicken corn chowder.
Made a short grocery list, attached the coupons to it and then jotted down a meal plan, using what we have on hand, for about 30 days worth of our main meal, which usually is lunch as we old folks aren’t hungry in the evening. We are attempting a very low spend September due to an upcoming home repair bill, so we can pretty much eat from the freezer all month as part of that.
I’m impressed with your freezer organization. Mostly because the freezer in my fridge is an example of chaos theory, but without anything theoretical. It’s on my long-tern to-do list and perhaps today needs to be the day to tackle the project.
It sounds like it’s going to be delicious month!
This is a fantastic idea!!!
FFT, Labor Day Edition:
(1) I found 60 cents in the coin machine at Wegmans on Saturday, bringing my found-money total for August to a whopping $21.07. (That $20 bill I found in a storm drain a week or so ago was the big contributor.)
(2) The rescheduled “Buy Nothing” event at one of our local libraries is about to be rained out again: The forecast for Saturday 9/7 is for over an inch of rain. So I’ve reluctantly decided to cut bait on this altogether, and am currently picking a few things I’ll be keeping after all out of the rest of my load, which I will drop off at one of our local thrifts.
(3) I will be taking my semi-annual batch of clothing I call “thrift shop mistakes” to my local Clothes Mentor tomorrow. Anything CM doesn’t accept will go to the thrifts, along with the discards from (2).
(4) The Bestest Neighbors are arranging to purchase 30 lbs. of beef from my 1/4 steer–some for themselves and some for Dr. BN’s daughter and her family, whom they will be visiting next week. We’ve had good luck in the past with packing the traveling beef into a foam cooler (the kind Omaha Steaks uses for shipments) with ice and ice substitutes.
(5) And I do this so often that it seems like “old hat” to mention it, but I’ve just hung yet another load of laundry on my three drying racks (one in the guest room, one in the upstairs hallway, and one in my bedroom). I rack-dry everything except sheets, for which I don’t have space.
I’m still in awe of you figuring out how to get that twenty dollar bill out of the storm grate!
And I feel like “Traveling Beef” would be a good band name.
Well, there’s a family tradition of going the extra mile to salvage big bills. On a family vacation in St. John, US Virgin Islands, many years ago, my SIL (DH’s sister, who was not a confident swimmer) was timidly dog-paddling along the snorkeling trail in Trunk Bay when she spied a $50 bill on the bottom. She mastered free-diving about 15 feet down in the blink of an eye!
As for Traveling Beef as a band name, I suggest that their first hit song might borrow a line from the old, old TV Western called Rawhide: “Head ‘Em Up, Move ‘Em Out!”
This brought up images of The Blues Brothers…
When I was a resident I used to do laundry in the basement machines very early on a weekday when I would be on call for the night. Lacking racks I draped things around my apartment–the flat sheet went over the sofa and the fitted was draped over two kitchen chairs. All was dry when I got home 36 hours later.
I salute you on your homemade pesto efforts! Nicely done over there! And gosh, aren’t those Bonne Maman jars SO cute! I really love those, too.
The cutest!
As if we needed proof that you are one crafty lady, Katy. No one is ever going to doubt your crafty credentials!
1. You can grow apples in northern Alaska (well, until you hit the end of the tree line north of here) but they are very small and terrible eating apples. Husband’s golf buddy gave us MANY grocery bags full of them, knowing I don’t turn down free food. All day yesterday and this morning, I have had two slow cookers going, making apple sauce. So far, four quarts and still more apples to go. It is a pain but in mid winter we will be thankful to have these to dig out of the freezer. I used to can but it is easier and I think tastes better if frozen instead.
2. Traded cabbage and carrots for eggs with neighbor who does not garden.
3. Spent hours sorting through jewelry I no longer wear (not that I ever really did but somehow gifts and inherited stuff filled a drawer). I set aside the gold pieces to take in to a gold dealer to sell, as well as costume jewelry I am adding to a friend’s garage sale next weekend. The gaudiest stuff will go to the local drama association for their costume department. What remains is a small box of loved pieces. My grandfather was an amber carver and I don’t really care for it, nor do I have good memories of him, so I still need to figure out some place to get rid of several amber necklaces. This was a chore that will yield some money and decluttered my dresser.
4. Did 2 grocery mystery shops that gave me a total of $60 free food.
5. Did a pizza mystery shop that scratched the itch for take out.
Thank you to the person who recommended the roast chicken with schmaltzy cabbage recipe from Smitten Kitchen. We had it last night and it was delicious! Between this and the two other cabbage recipes readers recommended, we are enjoying the excess of cabbage sitting in the garden.
“Fermented “Vegetables” by the Shockeys has a recipe for lemon mint kraut that is fabulous. Many of the recipes are fabulous.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the Smitten Kitchen recipe! It is a favorite at our house and super easy.
Thanks for library pass reminder and my first frugal:
1. So I now have a ticket to the California Arts and Sciences Museum in late October in SF. If I go on a Wednesday the Japanese tea House is open for free. it will be a nice city trip and i’ll visit my elderly aunt who lives there.
2. Went to my new favorite thrift store for $10 a bag hour. My bag contained all basically new stuff: two white long sleeve shirts, LL Bean leggings; a puffy vest, lavender; gray joggers for winter; new NYDJ crop pants ( a little tight but I’ll get there); and a fluffy coral cashmere sweater. I soaked the cotton pieces in an enzyme to remove thrift smell and shaved the cashmere sweater.
3. I chose Chinese over sushi for a dinner out. It was half the price and with leftovers.
4. I sold my first EBAY item. This probably isn’t my gig but I wanted to see how it works. It was a Wedgewood dish I bought for $4.00 and sold for 7.50. I thought I had listed it for $30 so something went wrong. Whatever. I just did it for the experience.
5. I figured out my new monthly budget with my new pension and the new rise in my health insurance premium. I spent all morning wondering if I should by the cheaper premium. I made the best decision I could with the facts I have. Still, with my 22 yo on the policy, the premium will costs me 20% of my gross pension check.That is AFTER my district puts $1,000 to subsidize. Wow!!! I have decided acceptance is the key to all my problems and choose to remain grateful that I can still pay it; still get excellent med, vision, and dental coverage; and still be retired.
@Mary Ann – tickets to the Academy of Sciences is also my favorite way to use “Discover & Go”. Just last month, I scored passes and took my son for his 15th birthday. He loves the Academy as we’ve been taking him and his brothers since they were very young.
I hope you enjoy your day in the park. I always feel so much gratitude that we live near enough SF when we visit GGP!
1. We had a huge yard sale this weekend. Sold a lot of stuff and a couple of bigger items, too. The final total made it feel worth all the effort. Some very kind friends came at the end and packed up all the items for donation and hauled them away, which was absolutely brilliant. I did keep a few bits which I will list on market place for a wider audience. A lot of the items at the sale were originally destined to be inventory for reselling. I have had to accept that I cannot maintain being a reseller in this season of my life. Feels good to have let stuff go.
2. Continuing to water the garden with saved rainwater.
3. gifting blueberries to anyone who will have them, and walking onion bulbs. The blueberry harvest this year has been phenomenal.
4.The yard sale has kick started us for our move next year and Husband is listing some large items we wont use between now and then.
5. Yard sale proceeds means we have now paid off the final part of massive New Zealand trip from earlier in the year to see the new grandchild, and all the prebooked stuff for our house hunting trip to the uk starting in November. Living frugally on our modest income has also been a huge factor in getting this done.
Nicola, I would be thrilled to have walking onions! My originals came from e-bay, and were still walking all over the yard when I moved out of that house. The ones I saved got pitched (I think) when I moved. I live in NE Kansas; is it doable to mail them to me? I will pay postage.
Free Montana vacation at a cabin? Yes please!
there’s nothing more frugal than going nowhere and doing nothing. Love it!!❤️
As long as you don’t have an online shopping habit!
Well Katy you made me think of one plus of rural internet service. No high speed available *and* ancient infrastructure means it isn’t consistently reliable. Nor is satellite internet (storms – rain and/or snow-sleet). Nor is broadband (point-2-point) – trees (which is also a solar downer). It was bad enough reading your blog on my phone the other day much less trying to shop.
I haven’t had anything interesting to write for a while.
1. Found a penny, so I too have come into money.
2. Wrote a short review for an item I purchased and received a $5 off code to use on my next purchase of anything.
3. Made still more bread and butter pickles for a total of 25 pints. The rest of the garden was pretty disappointing this year but the cucumbers just wouldn’t stop.
4. Husband saved .30 a gal on gas . We have been eating at home more, hence grocery shopping more, resulting in more fuel points.
5. Picked up 2 elaborate metal bar stools from the side of the road. Husband and I loaded them into the car in the rain. It was an impulse grab and when we got them out at home , I wondered what I was going to do with them. Fortunately my daughter said hers needed replacing so these will be going to her house. They need new seat covers , but otherwise they are great.
Your super-garlic pesto reminded me of a cooking misdeed from a few years ago. I was making a vegetable bake and added one small red pepper. At the party I noticed people furtively scraping my offering into the compost bucket. I tried the veg myself (tiny portion). Way too hot. I put the cover on a put it in the hostess’ fridge. Once home I used the veg bake as tiny hot garnishes for other food.
1. I get catsup packets on Buy Nothing since I have only a couple recipes that call for a tbsp.
2. Today I canned the last of my 98 jars of tomatoes. Things got out of hand. I’m exhausted–next year I’ll buy two boxes of tomatoes every second or third week. Three weeks in a row was a killer. (4, 3, and 2 boxes)
3. I went back to water bath canning. Many fewer times that have to be measured and not any longer total timewise than pressure canning.
4. I was given a water bath canner/lobster pot from Buy Nothing.
5. Besides the 98 jars (72 qts, 21 1.5 pts, 5 pts) we have had five meals from tomatoes that didn’t make it into jars–or didn’t seal. I bought all Romas this year–easy on my hands and they make great sauces.
A trophy to you for all the canning!! I used to be a big time canner so I know what it involves.
Wow!! 98 cans of tomatoes. That’s great. Do you eat that many in a year or do they last longer than that?
I’m afraid I overdid it. I had 73 jars last year and ran out in early June. 80 would probably be plenty. But I was on such a roll. And they do last for at least two years.
Good job on snagging your free museum tickets!
1.It was drizzly in my city today but I forced myself to go walk. I saw a new Hunter ceiling fan in a box. I think it is missing a light kit but everything else is still in the cello wrapping. It is dark brown with wrought iron attachments for the blades. I sent the husband to go retrieve it.
2. I found around 15 cans of Bartlett Pears in a Dollar Tree dumpster. I also found 12 energy drinks and around 6 salted caramel expresso drinks. Who knows what they will taste like. There was also 6 strawberry flavored sparkling waters.
3. Found 2 large cans of popcorn. The can has an assortment of cheese, caramel, and plain flavored.
4. I think it is likely I’ll take most of the canned pears to the homeless shelter. I don’t think we can eat 15 cans. I do have some fruit pectin. Maybe I could make preserves.
5. I went out to eat with my niece and her family. Usually on Sunday there are no lunch specials. I was happy to see a senior could get a child’s plate for 1$ more in price. It was just the right amount of food & didn’t break the bank.
6. On one of my scavenging adventures I found a Taylor Swift coloring book, Pokemon book, and a coloring book of abstract type circles & spheres. These made a nice gift for my 10 year old great niece. I had some fleece sleepers my BFF gave to me for the new baby. I also had some thrifted shorts for baby also along w/ toys that BFF granddaughter had out grown. New mama got a lg box of sanitary pads. (The box was torn so they were discarded.) Gifts for all at no cost. Next visit I’ll have to get the dad something.
Scaveneged maxi-pads? You win at frugality!
Love pesto! Never made it with kale before (only parsley, wild garlic and basil), thanks for the inspiration <3
Five frugal things:
* Recent favourite library read: “Sorry I’m late, I didn’t want to come” by Jessica Pan. So funny!
* I repaired a broken shower caddy with a metal clothes hanger. Not pretty (at all) but it will keep on doing the job.
* I found a gift card that I thought I used already in my glove compartment, turns out I did not use it yet (and it is still valid)!
* The latest wild blackberry haul was big enough to make 2 jars of jam. That is all the jam we need, only one of the teens eats it. Everybody else prefers the fresh berries or the frozen berries in smoothies etc.
* There is a particular pair of jeans that I really like, it fits like a glove and I do not need to wear it with a belt. I wore those jeans literally to death! When I wanted to buy a new pair I found out that this specific style/cut has been discontinued. Fast forward one year and I spotted the exact pair in my size in a charity shop, brand new looking and only 4 Euro! I snapped it up immediately 🙂 This was definitely my favourite charity shop find this year.
GK, I loved that book. Best title ever!
The title made me pick it up! I loved it too, really funny and also interesting and (for me – I’m rather introverted) very relatable.
Also, who cares if your shower caddy is pretty. I can’y imagine that it’s the first thing people see when entering your house.
Hooray for cheap replacement jeans!
That‘s true about the shower caddy, thankfully it is hidden behind the shower curtain. I‘m just hoping the clothes hanger part won’t get rusty. I had tried to „glue“ the broken off plastic hook back on by heating the plastic to melting point, it worked initially but broke again pretty much straight away.
1. I love free library passes. I just booked one at a farm out East to take my kids and my cousin’s kids for some thrifty Fall fun. We will pack lunch and drinks of course to take with us.
2. Saturday Hubby and I drove to my parents house(3 hours away) to help them with chores. My dad(81) has had a bad knee for years and it is now bone on bone. He hopefully will have surgery before the end of the year. I did a ton of work in his vegetable garden and flower gardens. They sent me home with lots of veggies that they weren’t going to use, 2 zucchini, a cabbage, foot long beans, a bag of bush beans, a garbage bag of oregano, and countless cherry tomatoes. I brought lunch(lasagna) and dinner (chicken parm heroes) so my mom(78) didn’t have to cook. I left them all of the leftovers for easy meals. I gave them a jar of homemade pickles, and applesauce, 3 cucumbers since their plants all died, 2 containers of sauce, a container of chicken noodle soup, banana chip muffins and brownies.
3. We fixed one of their garage doors that had broken the week before. They have a lofted garage ceiling and we didn’t want they to even try to fix it. Hubby had it fixed in less then a 1/2 hour. I was in charge of holding the ladder and passing tools. My dad supervised. Hubby then mowed their huge lawn on their ride on mower, and edged.
They have rugs all over they house. Hubby and I moved some furniture to straighten several rugs and then returned the furniture to where it belongs. Hubby nailed down carpeting in several places where it was coming loose or had a bump. Hubby changed light bulbs and I cleaned their dishwasher filter. We also played cards for a little while. We got a lot done while we were their and saved them from having to pay for help.
4. On the way home we stopped at my oldest sister’s house to celebrate her birthday that was earlier in the week. She asked if hubby could look at her dishwasher. It was a loose wire so he fixed that. I then cleaned her filter too. We played with the dogs and then hit the road. It was a long day.
5. Sunday I made another huge pot of sauce, dehydrated all of the oregano my dad gave me, made more pickles, made coleslaw, paid bills online.
Whoah, you band your husband are an amazing team!! I stand (or sit) in awe!
1. One of my sons broke the screen on his Amazon kids tablet. I was able to do a live chat with someone from Amazon and found out it they’ll try to repair it or replace it if it’s less than 2 years old. Thankfully, we’re just shy of the 2 year mark. They emailed me a shipping label and I’ll be sending it off this week.
2. Saturday was the last day for my kids summer jump pass at the trampoline park, so we took advantage of one last jump (they went Friday too with my husband since they had no school.) They visited the park a total of 9 times over the summer, making each visit about $7.22. Well worth it for the rainy and super hot/humid days.
3. The trampoline park is on the other side of town so I batched that trip with a visit to a different grocery store for loss leaders and also a visit to McDonalds to redeem points that were about to expire. I was able to get a free happy meal. We don’t get McDonalds often, so the kids were excited about it. I opted to just eat at home and didn’t buy anything other than a second happy meal.
4. My regular grocery store sent me a $10/$50 coupon, so I was able to redeem that when doing my regular weekly shopping. I also grabbed a bar of cheese that was free after rebate on Ibotta.
5. I’ve been trying to clean up our freezer so this weekend I grabbed all the random bread items in there to make a big batch of croutons. This included one bagel, 2 sub rolls and a couple of bread heels. I also used up a sheet of frozen puff pastry and half a block of cream cheese to make everything bagel pastries using this recipe: https://joshisbaking.com/everything-bagel-pastries-with-cream-cheese/
Bonus- a few months ago I found out I was going to be coming into some money after finding my name on the unclaimed property list for the last state I lived in. I was able to claim a $5 check. There was a second entry on there for $3.50 but I have no proof I ever lived at that address. I decided to email the treasury department to see if there’s any other way to claim it. I’m hoping since it’s a small amount, they’ll just let me claim it. I figure the worst they can say is no.
Frugal fail: I forgot to clip one of the e-coupons for the loss leaders I mentioned in #3. I added the coupon and went back to the store to get my $3.06 back. After a $1.50 Ibotta rebate and my refund, my total was $13.15 for 1 large tub of ice cream, 2 bags of Cape Cod potato chips, 2 lbs of butter and a free bottle of Body Armor (which is like Gatorade I think?)
Wow, you are making the absolute most of your dollars and purchases, well done!
1. I made a special trip to the dented grocery store for butter. It was $4 a pound, which I had passed up the day before, but for Labor Day weekend, all refrigerated food was 60% off! I bought enough to get through Christmas, at least. The woman behind me in line asked if you could freeze butter, so she’ll know that for next time.
2. I got gas, since I was going past Costco anyway.
3. I finally scrubbed the rug from the back of the car, and every time I open the back, I feel happy. So I found an old bottle of armorall, and wiped down the dashboard this weekend. This morning on the way to work, the shiny, not-dusty dash made me happy.
4. I took a part-day subbing job. There are a lot fewer jobs at the beginning of the year, and I haven’t been working much. I’ll use the rest of the time to run into the city to do a couple things at me other job.
5. We took my daughter to the farmer’s market for bao, before she went to the airport. We brought dented-grocery pita chips and carrot sticks, and bought the super yummy hummus to stretch lunch. We’re having leftover hummus, pita chips and carrot sticks for lunch again today, so that $20 is stretching much farther than $10 a plate bao would have.
Not frugal: when my daughter’s car broke, we borrowed a car from my dad. Sunday we were going to return it to him after church. We dropped it at the park and ride (to save gas) and planned to pick it up when we passed there on our drive up to his house. And then completely forgot about it, until about a half hour after we passed the car. So my son and I will be driving up Wednesday, to drop off this car for real.
Oops . . . “what car?”
That’s amazing price on butter, I would’ve stocked up as well!
Having a clean car is such a mood booster, I’ve learned! 🙂
1. I got a $40 bonus for installing and using the Capital One Shopping browser extension. I redeemed it for a gift card to Chewy and applied it to my next autoship.
2. I replaced my old, banged-up, musty-smelling dresser with a hand-me-down from my family. It’s old too but in much better condition than the one I had. My father and brother helped me move them. Total cost = free.
3. I was very tired of cooking everything from scratch, especially since work is picking up now that summer is over. I splurged on store-bought gluten-free bread and snacks and some canned soups, chili, and stew. It’s still much cheaper than takeout or even frozen dinners, so I’m counting it as frugal.
4. After learning about several books that sounded good, I put them on hold at the library. One of them came in pretty quickly and I’m now enjoying it for free.
5. I didn’t buy anything from the Labor Day sales. I looked but didn’t see good prices on anything I needed.
Oh yes, you need some grab-and-go food on hand to stave off pricier options.
Going nowhere and doing nothing are my favorite weekend plans.
1. I have been stalking Marketplace for awhile looking for a bedframe that’s both queen sized, nice, and nearby, which was slow going. Finally someone posted a Crate & Barrel Tate in a beige tweed, 30 minutes from me. It had a couple small marks that came right out, worth it for paying $200 for a frame that would be $1,800 new.
2. We had a meeting at work and two different people brought in enough bagels for the entire office, so I took a few home.
3. I have been picking up stray receipts while on my walks to scan into Fetch. Helps with litter and gets me points. Plus, nosy me likes to see what other people are buying and it feeds Fetch fake info.
4. I signed up for Hulu during the Black Friday sale and pay $0.99 monthly. Happy that Only Murders in the Building has a new season out.
5. I happened to be loitering in the right area at work when they decided to order Thai for lunch and scored myself a free Drunken Noodles.
While i don’t have a frugal list I do want to thank you for making me laugh out loud twice while reading your post. First was the garlic taste waking you up and the other is that you are difficult to embarrass (I totally relate to this one)!!
FFT, COVID edition! 🙁
1. We were scheduled to go on a beautiful trip to Portland, Maine this weekend when I felt a head cold coming on. I went to urgent care to see if it was a sinus infection and begin antibiotics well in advance of our trip. Imagine the surprise when the COVID test came back positive! Stay safe out there, folks! [frugal element: I now have excellent health insurance and the copay was very reasonable!]
2. With the cancellation we now will not pay tolls or travel costs.
3. With the cancellation we will get our half of the vacation rental back as our friends are having some other folks take our room.
4. With the cancellation I will not buy any candles from the store I love or the little oyster earrings I have been planning to buy and have thought about since we were there last year.
5. With the cancellation I will not splurge on beautiful, fresh, local oysters.
I’ll be looking at these bright sides for the next few days as our pals send photos of all the lovely elements above and I eat chicken soup and paxlovid. Stay health, frugal pals!
I recently came down with COVID too. And, like you, I had to cancel some plans. They sat that”Life is what happens when you had other plans.” Sigh…Take care and get well soon.