Five Frugal Things
by Katy on October 21, 2024 · 65 comments
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My husband is in Las Vegas all week to play in a baseball tournament and I’m torn between committing to extremely productivity or the full hurkle durkle experience. (Somehow I think the answer is “both” and “neither.”) Either way, it’ll be a frugal week for me. Or . . . maybe just the opposite. I kind of like that the week contains nothing that I “need” to do.
Time will tell.
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I switched the ceiling fan in my living room from “summer” to “winter” so that it’ll spin clockwise and push warm air down instead of drawing it up. This was actually a bit premature as I only run the fan while actively using the furnace, but I know that chilly days are right around the corner.
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My husband and I added pretty much nothing from his parents’ estate into our home as A: We’re established adults with everything we already need; and B: We’ve worked hard to establish a clean and organized home. However, there’s an unfortunate number of their random things that snuck into our basement in the rush to ready their house for sale. One of those items was a kitchen shelving unit that I realized would slot just so into a small niche across from our chest freezer. It was pretty filthy, but it cleaned up nicely after I took soapy wet cleaning towels to its many nooks and crannies. It can now hold infrequently used kitchen items and backup pantry supplies.
Removing these large items from other basement shelves freed up enough space to then shelf the handful of items that lived on the floor.
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• I walked my stored up “clamshell” plastic over to New Seasons Market for their free recycling.
• I put It Lasts Forever and Then it’s Over on hold at the library, after seeing that it won the 2024 Ursula K. LeGuin Prize for Fiction.
• My husband is sharing his AirBnb with four teammates and his rental car with a friend. They’ll mostly cook at home. Luckily my husband is not a gambler.
• I put together a bouquet of backyard hydrangeas for my mother.
• I made a big pot of chicken soup using a half eaten Costco rotisserie chicken that I’d thrown into the freezer a couple months ago. It was more chicken than I needed, so I’ll use the rest for fried rice.
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I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
The kitchen shelve unit looks to fit perfectly and holds those roasters like a boss!
I know, such a perfect fit!
Congrats on the house selling!
1. The glasses we ordered online from Zenni turned out perfect, the best my husband has had! Prescription glasses for $10!
2. Ate the wilted salad from the fridge, refreshed with enough crisp lettuce to make it edible. I had added salad dressing, so it went south without being bad. It rounded out an odds and ends dinner when my husband wasn’t hungry.
3. Made it to a moderately cheap showing of Wild Robot Sunday. And I found out the theatre has half price movies Thursday! In the future, we’ll get our theatre itch scratched for cheaper.
4. Went for a walk on the beach Saturday, at sunset. We even watched dolphins playing and surfing in the waves. Was better on the beach than it would have been at a restaurant set farther back, and we got some exercise. Which will be handy to counter the stocking-up-for-winter tendency my winter dresses have revealed.
5. Washing jeans tonight, and hanging them outside overnight. No chance of rain, and I really don’t want to have to machine dry jeans because we run out.
I love Zenni and also Goggles4U. Have never had a bad experience and I am always spreading the word about them.
What an amazing deal on the prescription glasses!
Zenni is the BEST! I have ordered around 50 pairs from them so far (Yes, 50) and I have never had any problems with them. I am totally sold.
Thanks for the tip about the eyeglasses! I just got a new RX on same and will check out this Zenni site. And Goggles 4U, as per Lindsey’s post.
Being able to see dolphins in person is amazing for most people, so cool!
We’ve also been very happy with our Zenni glasses.
Did your mom get to go home this weekend?
1. Went to an “everything free” yardsale and brought home a microwave and office chair. The microwave has already sold and the chair is listed. There wasn’t a lot there and it went quickly.
2. A friend brought over 2 bags of fresh basil. I’ll wash it and put it in net bags to dry in the garage.
3. I’m faithfully working through my sell pile, which is large thanks to the friend whose house I helped clear out, and my son and daughter-in-law. Things won’t sell if they aren’t listed, and I am not a storage unit. I’ve gotten ruthless and have a good sized donate pile ready to go too. Things have been selling, including a twin bed frame with trundle and 3 bar stools over the weekend.
4. I helped at a Master Gardener event yesterday. I ate a free apple there, and picked up supplies for 4 different crafts to do with my grandson. Fresh air, good company, service to the community and not a dime spent.
5. Chased a couple of refunds, went over bank and credit card statements, figured out the ream of paper from the insurance company, and generally tidied our finances.
Yes, my mother was discharged last weekend and is enjoying being in her own home again.
So cool that you helped out at a Master Gardener event, especially since you now get to do craft projects with your grandson.
Thanks to all the posters who chimed in on my Low Budget New York trip I leave tomorrow. I have a pretty organized plan tailored to what is important to me.
I have submitted my names in in the lottery system for Broadway tickets. I have left myself free enough to accommodate a win!
In the Sacramento 1917 River House renovation, some frugal wins:
1. My mom gave me a brass drum chandelier very to similar to the reproduction we just bought. I will return the latter and restore the former.
2. We are going for simple on back splash. Standard 4 inch countertop mimic. This avoids extra tiling costs. There are some incredible ideas but we are letting the house itself be the show piece for a lot less money.
3. I have started collecting antique brass switch plates and will over time use only those.
4. The vanity mirrors will all be second hand framed mirrors. I have enough wiggle room to accommodate a variety of different sizes. There is a wonderful home consignment shops which normally prices these from $10 and up.
5. Many of the rooms have pairs of brass fixture reading lamps. We are rewiring them to be able to keep them.
6. When I get home NYC, I will start listing tons of pulled out appliances and cabinets priced to move quickly. I haven’t had a successful facebook sale yet (just EBAY and Poshmark) I would love for any tips on making these two platforms work.
The framed mirrors as vanity mirrors sound great. However, just as a matter of taste, please do not buy showy switchplates. Decorative things should be reserved for innately lovely items, which switchplates are not. They’re utilitarian. The most discreet, plain switchplates are the best taste.
By brass I mean the original brass plates from 1917.
Oh no, Rose! Decorative switchplates are very classy and classic in an older home. I brought my grandmother’s old brass switchplates from her estate to my present home and they look spectacular. Every time I see them, I thank of Grandma and it fills my heart with joy.
Plus, brass (and all copper alloys) have antibacterial properties. Brass switch plates are touched often, by many people, and are a great choice!
You might find an architectural salvage store in NYC that could inspire you, (or mentally overload, if it was me). They might have the brass plates or other easy-to-pack items for your home.
Have a great trip, and how fun to gather the brass light switch plates. I’;m sure they’ll look great!
1. Volunteered at the Assistance League fun run yesterday
2. Received a $50 check for participating in health activities
3. Got flu shot $5 United Healthcare reward
4. Mailed birthday gift from my stash
5. Purged tshirt drawer and have 3 tshirts to donate
I am SO HAPPY for you that the house sold. Whewwwwwww.
Yes, they got an offer almost immediately. However there were issues found on inspection that needed to be addressed which threw a wrench into the works. The house closed and the money’s been received.
Yay!
Yay indeed!
1. I went for my yearly gynecologist appointment. Staying healthy is frugal. I don’t have a copay so there is no reason not to go.
2. I am working all day tomorrow so I prepped everything in the crockpot today. Hubby will put it on for me before he leaves for work. I wrote a giant note so he doesn’t forget. I already packed leftovers for tomorrow. All I have to do is put it in a cooler with an ice pack. I made muffins and hard boiled eggs for easy breakfasts.
3. Hubby went to a free car show with his brother Sunday morning. I opted to stay home and be a bum with my dog and my son’s cat. It was wonderful.
4. We visited my in-laws. They are thinking about downsizing. We were given some tools that we will pass on to our kids, a giant pot and propane burner for canning and a homemade blanket that my MIL made. We gave them some figs.
5. Windows are open, heat is off, food is prepped for the next 3 days since I’m working. Laundry was hung up to dry and now is folded. The house was vacuumed and bathrooms were cleaned. I work the next 3 days so not much will get done at home.Getting lots of kitten snuggles while my son is away.
Even if you have a copay, annual gyn checkups are a must! The life you save may be your own!
Prior to Obamacare/ACA, my uninsured friend was going to skip her woman’s exam, but then someone told her that Planned Parenthood could perform this either free or cheap, I forgot which. Anyway she decided to go — and it saved her life.
Turns out she had Stage 3 cervical cancer. The nurse practitioner caught it and my friend was referred to a gynecologist oncologist, who performed the resulting necessary procedure at a greatly reduced price based on my friend’s income, and my friend was allowed to make installment payments. So it was really affordable for her.
The doc told my friend that had she not had the exam, or waited several months to a year for an exam, chances are her cancer would have grown undetected into a Stage 5 and that would pretty much be a death sentence.
IMHO, people like to rake Planned Parenthood across the coals, but PP does things that other providers refuse to do, and in my friend’s case, they saved her life.
Anon, Planned Parenthood serves many important functions for women’s health. So glad that your friend benefited from their services.
I never knew planned Parenthood did wellness checkups.
What a wonderful resource
They’ve always done far more wellness checkups (female AND male from what I understand) as well as birth control. The a-holes trying to defund them have zippo options for providing these services. When you vote, vet the hades out of your candidate. Someone’s life may depend on it.
I would pay if I had to. My sister had to have a hysterectomy at 30 due to cancer. Sorry to make it sound like I only go because I don’t have a copay.
Staying behind and enjoying the home you’ve worked for is not being “a bum.” It’s smart. 🙂
Wow, you got a lot done to get ready for your work stretch, I’m impressed!
A sold house for the win!
I love the kitchen rack and we have twinsy Wagner ware roasters (love).
I picked a 5 gallon bucket of walnuts from my friend, blew off her driveway and raked the rest of the walnuts into a pile for her friends to easily pick up. I cracked them and they are roasting in the solar oven set up in the greenhouse.
Gave the neighbor’s dog a good washing after being skunked, he gave me fresh fish for my efforts.
Set up the winter clothes line under the covered patio to hang dry a quilt.
Put environmentally safe roof cleaner crystals on the comp roof before the big rains yesterday and set up the new to me rainwater barrel on the biggest shop.
A vegetarian family member gave me the roaster, as she no longer had use for it.
And yes, the sold house is a huge win!
1. I helped get the Christmas room ready at my church for our upcoming annual Harvest Fair. The person in charge told me to take anything (we have so much, mostly second hand) for helping. I chose a linen dish towel, a tablecloth, three ornaments and a baggie full of Christmas cards. The Christmas cards will go to my friend residing in a nursing home, who enjoys sending cards and mail.
2. I reserved two spaces for DH and I for a free talk on the Nipmuc Lithic Trail, Landmarks and Artifacts. The Nipmucs are our local Native American tribe. The talk takes place at a museum here in town.
3. I made a Shepherds Pie using the $3.33 lb. ground turkey I purchased awhile back and frozen. Flavored with onions and Adobo seasoning, it was hard to tell the difference between turkey and the hamburg I usually use.
4. My generous neighbor brought over a bunch of cherry tomatoes, which she said were probably the last of them for this year. DH eats them like candy.
5. Still hanging laundry outside due to the warm, dry weather here in New England, I used my great aunt’s old rug beater on my large braided rug hung over the deck railing…I’ve had lots of practice from my father having us beat the dust out of area rugs when we were kids, I returned my deposit cans for $2.40, stretching the freezer and pantry food due to a low cash week, reading library books for entertainment and enjoying the New England foliage.
I love shepherd’s pie, thanks for the reminder about them!
I also love home grown cherry tomatoes.
1. Did 3 gas shops, mostly because I have to buy 20 oz pops for those, and I don’t let myself get pop any other way but free. Also got 6 gallons of gas, but, really, it was all about the pop.
2. Husband and I went to a meeting and there was a bottled water by each place. We don’t use bottled water but we do have an earthquake emergency preparedness corner that we keep stocked with water and other supplies, so we brought our bottles home for that.
3. Took another load of newspapers, old towels, and toilet paper rolls to the animal shelter. It just cracks me up that they stuff the rolls with straw for hamster enrichment. I have told several friends about this and they save the rolls for me; the animal shelter staff must think we have a huge family to bring in 50 to 75 rolls on a regular basis. Doesn’t really save me money to do these donations but it makes me feel good.
4. The grocery store had bags of lemons in their marked down produce section. I use lemons every single day so I took four of the many bags—that is 8 pounds of lemons for $4, when the normal price would have been $28. I juiced them immediately in case they were about to go bad and froze the juice.
5. Filled out a state survey months ago. They do a drawing for five gift cards after the deadline and I won a $25 Amazon card.
Our late hooligan spaniels were wild about toilet paper rolls. Left unsupervised they would unroll the tp and eat the cardboard. For years our TP sat up high on a windowsill in the bathroom. I saved the rolls and cut them into rounds for treats. Scout and Beau loved them.
So smart to add the bottled water to your emergency preparedness kit.
Congrats on the sale of your in-laws home. That is great news.
1. I picked up two things to hang on a wall in our dining room at a yard sale. At least one of them had never been used since the hanging hardware was still covered up. We discovered the yard sale while walking Saturday morning.
2. I did not get glasses online but I did get two pairs from Costco and I am very happy with both pairs. They were inexpensive and the whole experience was pleasant. I had not had prescription glasses for at least twenty five years and was not ready to go the online route. I used our meager vision insurance coverage and the second pair was $50 off. I will use FSA funds for the amount I paid out of pocket. I ordered both sunglasses and non-sunglasses since I need vision correction for driving.
3. Meals have been cobbled together at home. We had pasta with sauce and chicken sausage on Sunday. I used the last of the spaghetti squash a friend gave me.
4. I gave away unneeded items via the local Buy Nothing group. Clutter out, peace in.
5. I skipped all the various church rummage sales and retirement community Treasure sale over the weekend. We don’t need anything.
The BEST news!
And respect for your “cobbled together” meals, that is the cornerstone of frugality. And realizing that you don’t “need anything” is a mindset that many people never get to.
1. I’m cleaning out one of my garages that houses all my husbands tools, tractor etc. I’ve listed several things on marketplace and have sold one, gave away another and one item is to be picked up this afternoon. Crap out, money in.
2. I have found a few things that I use regularly that were hidden in garage cupboards so I won’t have to purchase those things.
3. I found a rare Pendleton blanket at an estate sale that I will sell on Ebay. I’ve sold a few more things and once my garage is finished I will work on listing more.
4. Today I’m helping my mother to clean out her eavestroughs.
5. I finished another library book on my kindle and started another. Right now I’m reading Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano.
Sending eBay luck your way for your Pendleton blanket sale!
First, I join in the congratulations on the sale of Katy’s in-laws’ house (and I hope that Mr. NCA enjoys his well-deserved break at his baseball tournament). Also, I hope that Su Mama will soon be released from rehab, if she hasn’t been already.
Now, FFT, I’m Back from the JASNA AGM Edition (“simulcast” here and at The Frugal Girl).
I returned yesterday from the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Cleveland, thoroughly refreshed and very happy. I expect I’ll be posting more than one FFT about this, but here’s the first set:
(1) In an incredibly generous act, the JASNA friend with whom my JASNA Panera friend and I carpooled from their Central NY city to Cleveland refused any payment from either of us for the road trip expenses. We protested, but she said, “I’d have rented the car and made the trip even if it was by myself, and I appreciated your company. Just make a donation to JASNA or another JA-related organization.” I certainly will.
(2) I was glad that JASNA BFF (my hotel roommate) and I brought in as much of our own food as we could carry, since the options in the hotel were of course overpriced, and reasonably priced options outside the hotel were few and far between. At these events, BFF and I want to save as much money as possible for books, not food!
(3) The one big dinner that JASNA BFF and I had with friends outside the hotel was not cheap. But it was excellent (we always let one of these friends, who is well traveled and knows her food, pick the restaurant), and it yielded enough leftovers for two more meals.
(4) My costume for both the fashion show run by JASNA Panera (one of whose passionate avocations is Regency-era fashion) on Friday night, and the banquet on Saturday night, was the servant’s costume I put together back in 2016 (the last time I attended an AGM) for about $30: an ankle-length brown Flax brand linen dress with an Empire waist that I found at a consignment shop, and a white apron I found on Amazon. I borrowed a cap and fichu from JASNA Panera. (I should clarify that I was not actually one of the fashion show’s models; my role was to stand at the foot of the rather steep steps off the stage in case any of the models, especially the older ones, missed a step or tripped. Fortunately, none of them did.)
(5) On my solo return trip from my friends’ city to my own, I gassed up at the cheapest Thruway service area between there and here (gas is actually cheaper there than in my city), and I stopped off at Price Chopper on the way home for necessary groceries (consulting this week’s flyer for the loss leaders on my way into the store).
I had no idea JASNA was in progress here! Glad you had a good time.
What a grand adventure, I’m so happy you got to go this year!
My mother was released from her skilled nursing facility last weekend and is enjoying being back home. My husband is enjoying his baseball tournament, although he’s been homesick as he wishes I’d go with him.
1. Read a phenomenal library book: James by Percival Everett.
2. From Buy Nothing, I received an area rug and outdoor side table. In return, I gave away some of the many vintage Corelle dinner plates that I received recently.
3. Got the senior discount at Split Rock Lighthouse now that I’m old enough.
4. Before leaving on our trip Up North (as we say in Minnesota), where our rental doesn’t have Wifi, I checked the library for a mobile hotspot to borrow to take care of some important business on our laptop. The library discontinued that program, but the reference desk told me my phone may have a mobile hotspot. It does! And worked like a charm. This saved us the price of a beverage, at a minimum, since our alternate plan was to go to the nearby coffeeshop to use their Wifi.
5. Went to the discount fabric warehouse to buy fabric for reupholstering our dining room chairs myself.
Well, my library seems to have a run on “James” by Percival Everett – 146 holds on first copy returned of 24 copies. Oh, well, when it shows up I will be surprised and enjoy it at that time!
As for the hotspot on your phone, I do use that from time to time, however our mobile home plans up here in Canada aren’t particularly generous when we are talking about data, so whenever I CAN I use the free wifi – and save the hotspot for times when the wifi is horrible or non-existent. Has saved me a considerable amount of frustration, though, so that is, in my mind, frugal!
That shelf looks perfectly suited to the task. Way to go on the houses selling!
At my house, I batched errands after a medical appointment and visited Aldi and Goodwill. Stuck to my list at both places. Had a cooking day and made kibble topper for the dogs and frozen breakfast and lunch entrees for myself. All ingredients from the pantry and freezer, and were either discounted or home-grown.
Did buy a porch chair at a home goods discount store for half off the summer time price. Used the paints, stain, and brushes from my stash of painting supplies to finish the fine details on our new sun room. Pooper-scooped the back yard using the plastic sleeve from a pack of English muffins as a glove and the carefully cut-open wrap from a pack of toilet paper as the bag.
So smart to use what you have for your sun room! I do have to ask how you keep to a list at Goodwill when the inventory is random?
An item stays on the list until it turns up. I got lucky on this trip in terms of finding a flannel shirt and coordinating sweater. No luck on music CDs, fabric or a soup mug. It does take patience.
I like your system. I often have a running list in my head for things I need from thrift shops/ yard sales but a real list to consult when needed sounds much better. And like you say…patience is required.
Congrats on the house sale!
1. My husband fixed our doorbell system. We have two entry doors and didn’t realize they weren’t working until we missed a visitor who said they rang the bell. We went around and around about whether to get a Ring system, but I just wanted a basic, reliable bell. We already have a camera system so Ring wouldn’t add any value. A $30 doorbell kit and a few hours later, I have my basic bells back. 🙂
2. We hosted a football watch party at my parents house. Everyone brought something and we couldn’t make our team win but we had fun. My son is the only meat-eater in our home, so when I buy things that he doesn’t like, its hard to unload them. The party was the perfect opportunity to jazz up some frozen pizza he didn’t prefer and cook some frozen chicken pieces he didn’t love.
3. I cut my husband’s hair for him, thankfully it’s a simple cut.
4. I’m stretching out the time between grocery shops to be creative and use up some old inventory.
5. QUESTION FOR PEOPLE WHO PLAY BUNCO! 🙂 I’m hosting a second Bunco night with some friends. I’m making the cards and a friend is bringing decorations, so it’s been pretty frugal so far. I know the rules can vary widely, but I’m trying to decipher what ENDS a round. I’m seeing that “when the head table hits 21 points, the round ends” but I’m not clear on whether that has to happen in a single roll, if one player’s total equals 21 points, or if it’s a team tally that hits 21 points to end the round. What does everyone else do? Thanks in advance! 🙂
Kudos for the hard pass on a Ring system. You’d have no control over the release of any footage from your system.
How fun to host a party at someone else’s house!
Congratulations on having the house sold!
1. Did a batch errand – picked up a shirt from Buy Nothing, picked up shortribs from FlashFoods and free chocolate bars (on sale, used gift card from the 40% back-on-everything-anniversary sale at Ocean State). Niece specifically asked for chocolate on her Christmas list.
2. I put away the chocolate bars, along with swag (specialty food like bacon jam) that I got from a conference to be stocking stuffers.
3. Made a final batch of tomato soup using the last of the garden tomatoes, tomatoes free from CSA box that partner gets from work, and carrots and garlic from the same box. Ate it with a grilled cheese using free bread and cheese from mystery shop.
4. Halfway through the semester of teaching an overload class….
5. Brought in supplies to each a sandwich tomorrow and Friday at work, taking inspiration from The Frugal Girl, who took inspiration from Katy “I’m going to work to make money, not spend money….”
1. Today (Tues) on my walk after a long day at work I saw a bag of shoes beside a dumpster. There was a pair of Saucony athletic shoes in my size. They looked brand new. This is my preferred brand. I walk around 100 miles per month so my shoes wear out quickly. There was also a pair of New Balance. I’ll try those also.
2. I had a free breakfast sandwich on my Dunkin app with any purchase. I bought 3 munchkins for .99 plus tax. I’ll take the sandwich to work this week for breakfast/lunch to eat at noon on my long day.
3. Today was a long work day. I brought a beverage & food for lunch. I combine breakfast & lunch & eat at 11 to 12. I have had to cut out a meal to keep my weight down. It also saves $ to eat less food.
4. My BFF said she has some leftover spray paint. I am going to pick it up to use on my luminaries that I am making for X mas gifts.
5. I found a quarter on the floor at Taco Bell. I have not found much money over the last 2 months for some reason.
6. On a walk in my neighborhood I found a nice all wood shelf. It is around 5 ft long. It has pegs beneath the shelf to hang up decor or other things. It has a groove on the top to put plates. It needs cleaning up. This will likely be an Xmas gift for my sister. You never know what you will find on the curb during a walk.
Katy, that shelf fits perfectly in the space. Just what you needed. I have a similar shelf in my pantry to put items on.
1. Used credit card rewards to order a Lego set for my son for Christmas. Out of pocket cost was $1.01
2. Found a penny on the ground at work yesterday
3. I trimmed my hair yesterday (my husband helped me with the back). It’s been over 8 years since I’ve paid for a hair cut!
4. I saw some cute wall art for free on the side of the road. Like a previous commenter mentioned, the hardware was still covered in cardboard, so I don’t think it was ever used. It will look perfect in my bathroom.
5. Sunday I had some friends over for our annual fall get together. I made homemade macaroni & cheese. One friend brought buffalo chicken dip and pumpkin muffins and my other friend brought cupcakes for the kids and tiramisu for the adults. We ate, painted pumpkins and then had a camp fire in the yard. Good times with good friends. And tons of leftovers!
Hi Katy, Glad to hear that your in-laws home sold. From the listing it looks very clean and orderly. I’m sure it’s a great relief to be able to compartmentalize that and then move on to other things.
Estate sales and other meanderings…
I may have written about it once or twice on here; I offered to do an estate sale for a neighbor who is actually a hoarder. The sale wasn’t even for her whole house but items in her garage, which was so impacted there was a small pathway from the side door to the door to her home. I had never done an estate sale before but have wanted to try my hand at it for quite some time. Due to it being Summer when I started all my attempts at a yard sale were thwarted due to rainy days and hurricanes. In the last handful of months I slowly sold $1,200 worth of items off online or when inviting people to look at her milk glass collection, and they bought beyond the milk glass what was on the periphery of the garage we could see. I was finally able to have a full yard sale this past Saturday where I sold $600 worth of stuff, sent five vans to goodwill, and probably two vans of trash, and one of recycling. I cleared about 80% of the garage. You can now park a vehicle in there. Crazy news…she has a house in NJ and a condo near Tampa both are full. Her sister made her clear out the NJ house and she’s bringing things from there to here, and then the Tampa condo flooded and she’s bringing items from there to here too… Overall I learned I undercharged for my services, offering to split the profits with her. She also asked me to do other things for her constantly. I found that with estates sales the person running them typically only gives the owner 10-15% of the sale proceeds. Also, I would never do anything beyond the estate sale again. You have to have hard limits with people. Big learning experience. And, who needs three houses worth of ‘stuff’? Also, you will never get what you want financially on half the items you resell unless you have time to list, list, list, and then wait…and that’s such a long game….anyway, lots of perspective taken from the experience.
Some frugal fives…
1. The bf and I went to a new restaurant and on the menu they offered a free app if you joined their rewards club. You all are reading this news from the newest rewards member. Thank you!! Knocked our bill down by $10.
2. I made my weekly grocery list with bogos, sales, coupons, and rebates in mind and spent $36 and saved $58. I’ll get back about $15 in rebates and a free Peanuts tin from General Mills. =)
3. I found a 0% balance transfer offer and decided to take advantage of it. I am working very hard to repay debts and the 0% really makes a difference.
4. I brought some items of my own to the estate sale I hosted and made $35 selling my own items.
5. I continue to work on fixing the last hurricane shutter on my home. My handy neighbor brought over a hack saw and we hacksawed several rusted and painted stuck bolts with nuts off of the arms/tubes of the shutters. I am Frankenstein-ing some arms together and now need to have a vice and drill press….I will be inquiring with neighbors soon.
6. Bonus – I filled out my vote by mail ballot and will be dropping it in the box at my work which doubles as a poling precinct. I love checking boxes off on adult responsibilities.
7. Bonus – I remembered to update my cars registration and will be putting the sticker on shortly. I have forgotten before.
It’s been a busy couple weeks!
@Ashley Bananas – I really appreciate that you share your challenges as well as your successes. Who knew that doing an estate sale for someone would be so un-lucrative, and the boundaries you have learned to set sound priceless (although hard won!)
You are doing really well with your careful grocery shopping – saving $58 and only spending $36 is awesome. I find that sometimes it is hard to sit down and check the flyers (we rarely have BOGOs here, but often have loss leaders). Yet when I do, there is usually something worth picking up.
Congratulations on getting your voting done! Our election up here is still a nail biter, partially due to mail in ballots as well as people who voted at polling stations outside of their district. A number of ridings are not yet decided (one currently is only 20 votes apart on the leaders) so it is a real indicator that getting your vote in can COUNT!
I too need to update my cars registrations – that will happen tomorrow, I think.
Thanks @Ecoteri!!! It was a learning experience. And in some way I think relatable to the point of the blog with non consumerism, and second hand consumerism. I guess for people who do hoard, it’s often a form of second hand consumerism that just gets out of control. Although some people do hoard brand new items, it seems the majority of hoarders are enabled with second hand items to collect as much as they do with lower or free price points.
Get those registration stickers!!! I just put mine on today =)
Once when I was checking out at a thrift store, the clerk began asking the woman in front of me, who had a full cart, if she still had her room full of stuff. The shopper got this kind of stricken look and just nodded. Turned out she was a compulsive shopper who was filling up her house. She was an elderly lady and it was just sad how much money she was wasting.
I suspect a woman in my Buy Nothing group is a hoarder. There have been several clues, so I no longer select her name when she indicates an interest in one of my items. Just think how easy it would be for a Buy Nothing member with hoarding tendencies to become a full-blown hoarder – with nothing spent except time and vehicle usage.
Katy – congrats on selling the house! And sending well wishes to your mom.
1. I had signed up for a Thrive subscription using a friend’s referral link that was refundable within 30 days. The link got me $20 off an order and I only bought things I needed. I went to cancel it, and was offered another $20 to stay. So I placed another order, also for things we use. Yay for stocking the pantry! I then finally cancelled it, despite being offered a discount on the membership ($10 for the year instead of $60), and $40 in Thrive cash to spend. It just seemed too good to be true and I really don’t love shopping online for groceries.
2. I ended up getting assigned to chaperone a visiting author for a day, and really wanted to read his book before he came. I could not find it used or in our library, so I signed up for a trial Audible subscription, bought the audio book for $0.99, and then remembered to cancel the subscription.
3. I had purchased some items to use for a Halloween costume that I have ended up not needing. So I just started the return process and will get a full refund as soon as I drop the items off.
4. My partner just started a new job at a dairy company, and it comes with the perk of being able to purchase a variety of products, including french butter, yogurt, and lots of different cheese, at cost every Wednesday. We went a little wild the first few weeks in order to try everything, but now that we know what we like, this will save us a nice bit in the long run.
5. My partner’s sister and uncle were visiting from Germany for the past week. We have LOTS of leftover food in the fridge and freezer, and a well-stocked pantry. So hopefully no grocery shopping will be needed for a bit.
French butter!!!! Definitely worth the pennies! (I’m writing a book about butter)
A book about butter!? You must tell me more! This butter is so absolutely delicious. And I’m pretty sure he’s getting it for $1.50.
There are so many different types of butter. It is amazing. I wrote a comedy skit called Big Bob’s Butter Buffet where all they serve are different kinds of butter. lol
Hey Katy, thanks for the link to the Ursula K Le Guin prize. I just had a lovely 10 minutes watching it, and feel so much better about the world. Also I had to ask my library to order the book that won, they had some of the others so they are now on hold (which I wisely FROZE after putting on hold as I have. a lot of books on the go right now)