Five Frugal Things
by Katy on February 24, 2025 · 94 comments
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My husband and I share a single car, which is only possible because he rides an electric bike to and from work. (It also helps that I no longer have an 18 mile commute!) Our monovehicular status is an occasional issue, but mostly not. I’ve hired a Lyft three times over the past year, which is decidedly cheaper than owning, insuring and maintaining an extra vehicle.
It saves us a tremendous amount of money, plus it gives me the occasional excuse to laze about hunker down at home. Today is one of those days, as my husband needed to get from Portland to Vancouver, Washington for baseball practice. We’ll probably get a second car at some point, but we’re good for now.
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The backup key fob for our youngest’s Prius hadn’t worked for awhile, and the story was something about it being programmed incorrectly. I decided to do some troubleshooting and was able to get it to function by simply replacing the button battery. I did watch a two-and-a-half minute YouTube video to figure it out, but I’m still inordinately proud of myself. The best part was that I already had the battery on hand, so no money was spent.
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I helped my 26-year-old file their taxes, which was free due to their income level. I didn’t actually do anything beyond serve as a sounding board, but it’s always good to have someone there to answer questions, even when you don’t have any.
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My husband switched from deli meat sandwiches to grilled chicken over rice for his work lunches. This is cheaper, healthier and I imagine a more enjoyable meal. He works 12-hour shifts and needs to pack both lunch and dinner.
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Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 94 comments… read them below or add one }
So nice of you to help with the taxes! I’ve put it off longer than usual this year.
My frugal five…
1. Groomed the dog myself. While I loved supporting our locally owned groomer our pups anxiety was increasing. This way I save, and he stays relaxed.
2. Went to lunch with Mom for her birthday. We shared a meal and enjoyed a walk afterwards before heading home for some card games.
3. Enjoyed two family board game nights with the pre-loved, thrifted games we already own.
4. Shopped a local farm for our weekly produce.
5. Continued to use ALL the library services possible…. checked out physical books, Hoopla books, Libby books, and registered for free classes. Supporting local public library programs are of the most importance right now.
Laughing because we do the bath battle at home with our dog. He’s either a night mare to do it at home, or nightmare and expensive to do it elsewhere!
We’re a one car couple too and like you said, it works out most of the time. Occasionally I need to ask a child or grandchild for a lift, but it is very rare, maybe once or twice every year.
1. DH and I plus my friend’s daughter attended an outdoor Nordic Festival which centered on the book Beowulf. Our tickets were comped by King Rothgar aka my stepson who played him during performances. The tickets being $30 each, this was quite a savings.
2. We parked away from the venue and took a shuttle bus to the event which saved us $20 in parking fees.
3. We did buy pizza and hot cider as we want to support them.
4. Walking up to get the pizza, which was served in a barn with seating, I found a 5-dollar bill blowing in the wind under a picnic table. No one was sitting at the picnic table, so I kept it. Into the found change jar it went as soon as we got home.
5. I did not send federal employees a particularly insulting and cruel letter asking them what they did last week for work.
1. Was supposed to make jerk chicken to go with Jamaican mac and cheese. Kept putting making the marinade, which should be overnight, off. Instead we just ate Jamaican mac and cheese.
2. In the eternal downsizing, I found two very nice antique embroidered runners that i’d forgotten about. I’d also forgotten or never knew they had brown staining. As it happens I have a specialized cleaner for antique linens that took almost all the stains out in the first five minutes. I’ll let them soak a bit longer, but they’re about 95% perfect already.
3. Benadryled the puppies before clipping their nails. Sheesh. I’ve had one dog in 40 years of owning dogs who hasn’t been a nutcase about it. The cat also acted like I was committing a war crime when I furminated his very long hair.
4. Also in downsizing/decluttering I found some books I’d forgotten about and am now rereading some after 20 years or so.
5. I don’t work for the federal government so I couldn’t be fired by Shmelon Schmuck when I told him where exactly he could stick his bullet points.
Rose, you’re not the only one struggling to clip doggie toenails. Our dog Ruby will let us do it, but isn’t happy about it. Our granddog Freya, however, has to literally be pinned down by Grandma, while Grandpa clips. She struggled so much that we finally gave up on the back claws. (They weren’t as bad, anyways.)
We lavishly celebrated Husband’s birthday by: going to a terrific pizza place, then a nearby Amish bakery for fried pies. (Then to the Amish grocery store, because we were nearby.) Finally on to a nearby hot springs resort, where we saved by using the senior discount (yay!), but splurged on the adults-only ‘greenhouse’ area (boooo… but it was Husband’s specific request, and only cost $4/person more). The weird part: the greenhouse felt like a singles bar — but with swimsuits.
Katy, as always, you are a dear. And I enjoy even the pickiest of savings. Smart you, to figure out the car key issue.
What are you using to get brown spots out of old linens? My go to is an Oxiclean and boiling water soak. If there’s something easier, I’d love to know!
https://englesideproducts.com/product/restoration-fabric-restorer/
I mean, there’s old linens and old linens. Mine are 120-130 years old and quite valuable. I wouldn’t use boiling water or Oxiclean on them.
Sadly most old linens are not valuable and unloved (I hate how women’s work is devalued) so boiling water and Oxiclean is fine. But I’d always test for colorfastness with a Q tip first.
Thank you! The oxiclean treatment is usually for mass produced tablecloths. I recently bought one at a garage sale that I hope to repurpose as a curtain. I do have some handmade items, like a coffee stained wool hand-woven runner from my grandmother, that I’ve been hesitant to put in boiling water, so this is helpful.
I bought a vintage tablecloth with some stains at an estate sale and wondered aloud about getting them out. A women there said “put it out on the green grass in the sun.” And by gum, it worked.
A lawn to bleach laundry is a very very old method and also 100% correct. To be honest I’m surprised anyone but nerdy old me knew that, but delighted. Yay!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grassing_(textiles)
I live in Oregon, so I won’t spread my linens on the moss to catch the occasional brief burst of sunlight between showers. Hahaha. Maybe I’ll try grassing in the summer. 😉
Rose,
Thank you for this. I’ve used Oxyclean + cold water soaks for old linens that I have – not particularly valuable, as you say, but so much prettier without the stains. The only thing it hasn’t worked on was a red and green cotton doily that was absolutely filthy (rescued from a hoarder house that had not been lived in for the past 7 years….yes, it was just as bad as you might imagine.) It’s now very clean, but the stains didn’t all come out. I still count it as a win.
1. Made a batch of gluten-free cupcakes at home for my husband’s birthday. Just the package of mix, which made 15 cupcakes, was a dollar less than one GF cupcake at the bakery. Aldi GF cake mix for the win!
2. It took some fiddling, but I put the library Hoopla app on our TV last night so we can watch 3 free programs per month.
3. Ironed some fabric for a sewing project and then ironed the fold lines out of the paper pattern pieces while the iron was still warm.
4. Used a scrap piece of Contact paper to make some simple self-adhesive labels for the canisters and jars holding sugars and dried fruit in the cupboard. The old vinyl labels were brittle and did not want to stick any more after 10 years.
5. Sewed a patch on the canvas privacy panel on our back fence, using some fabric I rescued from being sent to the trash about 15 years ago. It was a partial giant roll of off-white muslin and has been useful for so many projects. There’s only a couple feet of it left.
Bonus: I did not conduct any disgraceful shenanigans with a chainsaw.
Bonus O’Bonus: Deleted my Amazon account and some other accounts associated with the Orange One’s Billionare Bros Club. If money is all they care about, they won’t get one shiny dime of mine.
I sewed a unique pillow my mother gave me a few years ago. I sewed a small hole in a pair of my son’s pants. I have another pair I want to mend, but I will get there.
1. Husband is finding our new-last-summer mattress to be softer than he likes. I put the lid of a large Rubbermaid under-the-bed box between the mattress and box spring on his side. He said it was a little firmer. I had no large heavy cardboard or plywood sheets– any other ideas for firming up a mattress?
2. Sending a book from a three for a dollar yard sale box to a friend who misplaced his copy. Re-using old box and packing material.
3. Local grocery chain is celebrating remodeling of some stores, though not mine, so they sent coupons in the mail. Berries are very good prices, especially as I don’t think they are in season, and I am freezing extra blueberries from Mexico.
4. Have not filed taxes yet but did the calculations. Although we owe this year, I think I have deductions figured out right so we should about break even next year, depending as well on what if any changes are made to tax brackets for the less affluent like us.
5. I appreciate the energy of people making good choices for themselves and their family and friends, and for the country and the world! as people post on this blog. Slava Ukraini!
#1: How about a blanket on the floor?
#2: So thoughtful! What a good friend you are.
#5: Ditto and amen.
Thank you!
He doesn’t need the bed as hard as the floor, fortunately. And we have both reached the age where getting up off the floor looks sort of like loaded camels, rising rear end first, so the floor has different challenges.
https://www.vermontcountrystore.com/bed-saver-board-in-2-sizes/product/64738
These work well if you don’t wanna go the plywood route.
Thank you– We had a similar one in a sagging yard sale couch for several years.
Katy, good job on the key fob.
1. haven’t grocery shopped for 3 weeks, however had to get a few things this AM because I was out of salad stuff. Found a large plastic tub of baby mixed greens for 1.81 marked down!!!!
2. still drying all laundry on the racks although I did have to loosen some things up in the dryer with a couple spins.
3. staying out of the 2 local stores that openly advertise their love for tRump.
4.repaired some spots in the drywall that needed some help.
5. made new covers for 5 bed pillows and restuffed them. The material was from an old mattress ticking….Blue and white stripes.
6. will not spend my money in support of “them”. I would rather do with out.
Re: #3 …. I have done the same. Most of our locally owned businesses are openly supporting. It’s disheartening.
Most economists (real ones that is) can’t understand why small businesses supported t-Rump. His policies are going to hit them hard. But my mantra is you voted for him so I have no sympathy.
Your husband sounds like a creature of habit as I recall many years of you talking about his lunches of sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, etc. The fact that he’s switched is a game-changer, I’m sure!
Here’s my 5FT this week:
1. I’m still staying away from Target, which I wish was not as big of deal as it is. I had made a weekly habit of visiting the store for one or two grocery items that I couldn’t get at Grocery Outlet, but it always ended up that I’d buy things mindlessly that were on sale. I’m choosing to spend my dollars differently this year.
2. I visited the newly expanded $ tree a bit further from my house and was rewarded with a knock-off version of the $12 conditioner I purchased at Target. It was $3. Also bought box of pasta for a chicken noodle soup I was making.
3. Bought some Converse sneakers for my son via FB marketplace. This involved driving 15 mins to the next town over, but the shoes were worn once for a wedding and they looked brand new. Saved $30 vs buying new.
4. We are fostering a 6-week-old puppy with a broken leg, who we’ve decided to keep. I don’t know how we thought we could give him back! This is a frugal thing as all of his medical care, food, and toys are covered by the rescue. This is the rescue where we got our dear pup, Maple, who died last month at the age of 6 from an aggressive Lymphoma. We started volunteering to help heal from the loss and here we are. 🙂 He is bringing a lot of joy to our lives,.
5. We are planning our twin sons’ 14th birthday party for this weekend. They chose to ride the train (free for youth) to the next town over, go to a bike/skate park, and we’ll treat the group to pizza and treats (homemade brownies and cookies, per their request). The cost will be the pizzas and our train tickets (2), so less than $100 hopefully.
Your #5…sounds like a perfect party for your 14 year olds and friends. Happy Birthday to them! Under $100 is not bad for a party for two kids.
#4: I’ve never made it more than 4 (joyless) weeks between dogs. Sounds like a match made in heaven.
Converse sneakers for a wedding???? Really? LOL! Wonder what the theme was…basketball?
Glad you scored the bargain.
Tell your twins Happy Birthday, and I wish I could ride the train with them and their buddies. Sounds like fun!
And I hope Puppy-dog gets over his broken leg real soon, poor baby! Glad he’s found a good home, and that you’ve found a good cuddle-buddy.
Around here it is a trend with young people to pair Converse with formal wear. Perhaps it is not common in your area.
For Christmas dinner out this year I wore a black velvet dress and pale amethyst Converse. Any excuse not to wear shoes.
I changed into white platform teva sandals at our reception. The Colorado version of converse at your wedding lol.
That’s wonderful about your fostering the puppy with a broken leg! And it’s beyond wonderful that your rescue place will pay! My wonderful (now, late) cat older cat that I adopted, “Junior”, broke his leg. It cost me $7000 (yes!) to get it repaired. I still can’t believe what it cost! Or how I got the money! The vet said she could amputate the leg for less but I put my hands over my ears–no! She said, Okay, I just wanted to offer you that alternative. But Junior lived a happy life (I think!) after his surgery and he seemed as good as new after he recuperated. I hope you get as much pleasure from your dog as I got from Junior!
1. The sales at my local Publix weren’t that inspiring this sales cycle. Instead I went on Aisle rebates and found several things for free after rebate at Target and bought those items and was refunded within hours. The items included a pizza, watermelon drink, date brownies, a protein bar, and puffy snap pea snacks. Three of the four items are gone already and I’ll probably eat the pizza tonight.
2. I was able to cash out points on Shopkick for a $10 digital gift card at Target that allowed me to buy eggs with no money out of pocket, and apply the rest to the rebate haul. In total I made $4 after all rebates coupons etc.
3. I skipped Publix and bought just what we needed at Aldi. I was able to buy chicken at 50% off! My grand total for this trip was $33 for groceries this week. Can’t do it every week, but feels great when you have a light week.
4. I picked up a yard work job for $100 on Sunday.
5. I needed a pair of black work pants and a good friend let me borrow a pair helping me avoid the cost.
FFT, Crossing the Rubicon with NDN Edition:
If I’ve been a little quiet this last week, it’s because her other close friend (CF) and I have been helping my 86-year-old next-door neighbor (NDN) through some tough decisions.
(1) After our visit with NDN to my own law firm’s office on 2/13 to get the gears grinding on her end-of-life legal paperwork, she got a packet of material from the firm this past Saturday. I have just finished guiding her through this and helping her complete and sign everything. In addition to the basic package, she’s signed up for the firm’s “No Probate Plan” option, at my, CF’s, and her nephew’s urging. In fact, I plan to purchase this option myself, to grease the skids for my own (non-familial) executor when the time comes.
(2) After CF gave their shared PCP a nudge, the PCP arranged for a visit to NDN’s home from a rep from a local home care agency. CF and I were both present for this visit. NDN was resistant to the idea of any in-home help at first–but after I pointed out that CF and I are both pushing 70 pretty hard and that she needs a wider safety net than the two of us, she agreed to a 4-hour trial of “companion care” from one of the agency’s aides. We’re keeping all digits crossed that this will work out. (CF walked the rep out to her car, and the rep said, “She needs a LOT more care than she’s agreed to.” CF replied, “You’re preaching to the choir!” You can see why CF and I get along so well.)
(3) OK, on to more mundane frugal things. One is that I’ve discovered a great new way to buy bacon: My Price Chopper supermarket packages the tail ends of the excellent bacon it sells behind the premium meat counter, and sells these for $3.99/lb. on Saturdays. This way, I get great bacon and not too much of it at a time.
(4) After 3 weeks of brutal February weather, I nipped out on several errands this morning, including a stop at the Salvation Army superstore. Didn’t see a dang thing I wanted. $0 spent.
(5) And I’m taking hope from seeing a few cracks emerging among the current evildoers in DC (Musk vs. others). Let’s hope that more infighting on that side and the growth of some spine on the other side may come to something.
I am happy to hear that NDN is moving in the direction of the helps she needs! How wonderful of you and CF!
I am hopeful of your #5 as well A Marie!
A. Marie, as hard as all this caregiving has been with your neighbor, it seems like you stepped in at exactly the right time, as she is still agreeable and capable of what needs to be done but is showing unmistakable signs of needing help to an outsider. You and her friend are the best folks.
Bless you and CF for doing your best to see NDN get what she needs. When my father started showing signs of mental decline, we did the best we could until he was in a car accident and couldn’t remember why he was there (it was a town somewhat far away where he had no reason to be). When we finally talked him into an assisted living, I remember telling the admissions officer about his accident and so on and what she said. She said: ” It’s always a crisis that brings people here.” I hope NDN can go on her own accord when the time comes.
You and your friend are angels in older lady disguises…
A. Marie, your kind and hard work with NDN is an example to us all – and a reminder that community is where the real connection comes. I know you have had to be your most persuasive self, and look at you, taking action to ease the process for your (far in the future) executors!
As we have continued to discuss here, the need to get financial and health paperwork in place isn’t limited to end of life – everyone needs a will and would be advised to get a Power of Attorney (even if it sits with a lawyer until you really need someone to take over your financial affairs). Having some kind of health care advocate paperwork is a challenge if you struggle to think about the questions you ought to answer for said advocate – and I urge everyone to at least begin the process. I my experience, even with commitment, it can take a while to slog through it all.
A. Marie, getting the lawyer visit on the 13th and the paperwork filled out on the 23rd is moving at light speed! Kudos to you for sticking with the process until it was done.
Thank you all for the compliments. But I should clarify my (1): We’ve still got several steps to go in NDN’s legal process. The paperwork she’s just signed includes her “letter of engagement” with the firm, her choice of the No Probate option, and her payment form. The firm can now go ahead and draft her DPOA, will, etc., based on what she told them on the 13th. After she’s approved the drafts, the final documents can be drawn up and signed.
Hoping hard here for your #5! Meanwhile, I’m telling everyone I know or meet about the 5Calls app & website, and getting activists and activists-in-waiting on Signal. And calling my ridiculous representative daily.
We should all get Signal downloaded before t-Rump signs an EO (ordered by apartheid andy). Signal chats are not traceable. A lot of federal employees are using it.
1. I used discounted gift cards to buy dinner for my family Saturday Night.
2. I used a $10 reward at Michael’s to buy a new throw pillow. It was already 50% off so it ended up being $5.
3. I made a batch of blueberry muffins with berries from the freezer and a chunk of almond paste wasting away in my refrigerator (leftover from a cake recipe).
4. I’m making dinner to take to my mother-in-law’s house instead of picking up take-out. I’ll be using up a partial bag of baby potatoes that have been in my pantry too long. I also made some copycat cheddar biscuits using items on hand. The cost to feed four of us is probably less than one take out meal.
5. I took advantage of Meijer’s $1 sale to buy two five pound bags of potatoes for $1 each. One bag for me and one for my daughter, who doesn’t usually go to Meijer. I will also share a bag of onions with her. Neither of us can use a whole bag before they sprout. I also refilled my stash of tissues for $1 a box. We used up a few boxes with our covid adventure.
1. I needed some things, but instead of supporting Trump’s economy, I went to garage sales and found everything I needed for little cash!
2. I went to Costco with my husband, so he could order new glasses. We managed to get out with no impulse purchases.
3. Fred Meyer is discontinuing one of my favorite loose leaf teas, and it’s marked down from $7.50 to $1.67. Yes, please! I now have a one year supply of tea.
4. Tonight’s dinner will be homemade soup with homemade bread.
5. I didn’t fire anyone for “poor performance” in order to avoid paying them severance.
Li– Good move on the tea!
The jars of Lipton tea mix my husband prefers seem to have disappeared from stores. Is there something going on in the tea industry? Or instant tea industry? (Or as Sheldon Cooper calls it, leaf soup?).
I have no idea, but the prices do seem to be going up. Tea used to be super cheap!
Tea is generally imported. There is a tea plantation in South Carolina if you want ‘locally” grown? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_Tea_Garden
Hawaiian Kona coffee is the only coffee grown “here.”
I think tea is one if the things that got hit with those stupid tariffs.
Might be. But this tea has become more scarce over the last year.
Maybe it is affected by being sold in bulk in glass jars, rather than charging a premium for little tiny wasteful packets.
1. We went to Grocery Outlet to see what they had for cheap snacks for DH to share at his office. I added some jars of Once Again Almond Butter so I could use a store coupon. I pay more for Once Again products since the company is 100% employee owned and comes in glass jars. I had an extra coupon so I shared it with the couple behind us in line.
2. We took advantage of warmer weather and walked on the local trolley trail. We stopped at the local Breadery and bought a loaf of half price bread. It is locally owned.
3. I switched back to using Freecycle to give items away. I know it isn’t as widely used as Facebook Buy Nothing but I like that it is not Facebook. I will resort back to Facebook if necessary. So far so good.
4. We continue to watch Ted Lasso on DVDs borrowed from the library.
5. I hung laundry outside this morning to take advantage of warmer weather.
K D, how do you find freecycle? I thought it was on fb.
It is Freecycle.org:
https://www.freecycle.org/home/dashboard
I think it has been around longer than Facebook Buy Nothing Groups. Buy Nothing has become popular but I have recently managed to get rid of a fair number of items using Freecycle.
Sadly, our local Freecycle group shut down due to inactivity, because so many had moved to using FB’s Buy Nothing groups. I have given away things friends didn’t want by posting them on Craigslist.
1. My inexpensive dinner party (olives, stuffed peppers, taralli; lasagna Bolognese with kale and radish salad; panna cotta with citrus compote and cookies) I estimate cost $14, as I was to cobble together sale on olives, gift of stuffed peppers, mystery shop for free pork, beef, eggs, milk, carrots, onion plus free CSA for radishes, kale, and citrus. AND, we have left over lasgana for 2 more meals. Having the dinner on Sunday also means that folks drank less alcohol, so I only bought one bottle of wine, and the guests each bought a bottle, and we only drank 2 bottles. The cocktail was garnished with pieces of rosemary from our indoor plant. I also shared the free citrus with my guests, which felt generous.
2. My partner and I did a mystery shop for lunch out today. We had heard good things about the restaurant, but it was only meh, so we won’t go back. It cost $4.75 but we had a bit of an adventure so we still counted it as a pretty frugal win.
3. Partner finally cancelled Hulu, now that football season is over. He is currently making stock from scraps.
4. It was warm enough yesterday that I could turn off the heat for a while and open the doors to get some fresh air, which felt like a frugal way to freshen up the house.
5. In my mystery shop yesterday (delivered groceries), they sent an extra pound of ground pork and I was not charged for it.
Wow, your dinner party sounds impressive. A great spread for an incredible price!
1. This week I’ve got some fun, frugal stuff coming up. I won a laser facial worth hundreds of dollars (crazy) in a raffle and my appointment is this week. I belong to a local social group on Facebook and there’s always people creating events. Someone from that group is hosting a baking class and providing all the ingredients needed. There’s also a ladies Gen X dinner that meets monthly and this month we are having a Mexican buffet that will only be about $13 per person. And finally my friend and her husband are turning 50 and throwing themselves a big party with food, dessert, live music, and wine and bourbon tastings. I don’t really drink anymore but have several nice bottles of wine. I will probably gift them some of those.
2. I’ve been using the library for all of my book club selections. I’m in 3-4 so it’s a lot of books. I learned recently that if your local library doesn’t have the book, you can request that they search other libraries in your state and transfer them to your library. I’ve received many library books this way.
3. Gave away a bunch of items on my buy nothing group and also picked up a pair of waterproof, fleece lines boots that will be good for walking the dog when I need a lower pair of boots.
4. My friend was in town for work and wanted to meet for dinner somewhere near her hotel, which is downtown. Normally parking at night downtown is around $25. Somehow the lot that I parked in, when I went to leave, the arm was up and you could just drive right through. Score!
5. My husband and I have been eating the food in our house. He did a small grocery shop this weekend to top off some stuff but we’ve been having “use it up” meals. We spent money on that food, I’m not going to waste it by not eating it and spend even more by going out to eat.
1. My sweet former roommate (not the bad one I usually post about) sent me 2 big boxes of chocolates: one for Valentine’s, one for my Feb. birthday, from clear across the country! But there is no way I can eat all that! So I took the Valentine’s candy box to church and put it on the coffee bar there. Lots of folks got to enjoy some. Might not have saved money, but I saved some calories, LOL!
2. Watched, for free, a couple of hour-long videos on the JFK assassination. Back in 1974, a history professor told me “Oswald didn’t shoot JFK, but Oswald was part of the plot, and was set up as a patsy.” Guess what? The professor was right!
(A guy named James Files confessed to it….he was on the grassy knoll and shot JFK in the right temple….and there were more shooters, too.)
3. Went by the used book store. They have a box on the porch of books they can’t/won’t sell, and they let you take them for free. Hauled off a half-dozen or so large print books! Much easier to read, post-cataract surgery.
4. Re-used a dry cleaning bag as a trash bag by knotting the end where the coat hanger hole was.
5. Did not agree to be a Russian operative, code name Krasnov, back in the 1980s. Nor did I falsely accuse Ukraine’s president of starting the war and then shutting him out of peace negotiations.
Here are the five (or seven) things I did last week to justify my frugal job:
1. I took part in free activities, like commenting on this blog and The Frugal Girl’s blog. (Elon, will there be some kind of extra recognition for performing this task more than once during this all-important one-week look-back period? Asking for my fellow frugal friends.)
2. I donated blood and declined the gift of an Amazon gift card (because… Amazon) and because I didn’t want the American Red Cross to incur the expense.
3. I stocked up on nuts at the bulk bin 25 percent off event as “nutso” is the theme lately.
4. I did 100% of the things expected of me as a law-abiding citizen who does not violate the Constitution, thereby avoiding taxpayer-funded fines, legal fees, etc.
5. When engaging with fellow citizens at the discount food store, I managed not to give anyone a Nazi salute. Nor did I nominate myself a Queen, or even a Princess, although I may be a pauper yet.
6. My husband’s attendance at the Daytona 500 did not cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars for a brief, unnecessary and wasteful political photo op.
7. I created this list before today’s 11:59 p.m. EST deadline in order to keep my frugal job, but refrained from emailing it to HR@OPM.gov, although I was briefly tempted to help overload their email account to underscore the absurdity of this exercise.
I love all 7! Shows the absolute absurdity in what President Musk expects from our federal work force. So denigrating. What has he done besides flit about in front of cameras weilding a chain saw with his two sidekicks Moe and Curly egging (yeah, that’s another thing…the co-president Trump said he’d bring down the price of eggs) him on like two middle graders.
Loved your cheeky list. And your #3 is spot on. Nuts is sadly the current theme.
This must be why I had the urge to buy nuts with my latest 10% off coupon at Ollie’s. Great minds run in the same direction. 😀
Love this!
I’ve been the support person for my kids’ taxes many times too! 🙂
1. Made lentil soup with 1/2 an onion left from when my DD housesat, some limp carrots, two single celery ribs that I bought specifically for this (celery always goes bad before I use it if I buy the whole big thing), my own home grown garlic, a can of diced tomatoes from the very back of the pantry, and some less-than new little potatoes. And spices of course. I had no stock so just used water. Very thick and very filling, and cleaned out the fridge a bit.
2. Signed up for the free seven day Crave/Starz subscription to finish watching Nurse Jackie, which I started years ago. I think Edie Falco is fantastic. I also started season 5 of the Handmaid’s Tale, but it’s so dark and depressing I don’t know if I can continue.
3.DH and I are sick with this cold (me, still!) so not going anywhere but the grocery store. Not spending, not using gas.
4. We are dog sitting for our previous tenant. She has gone to Costa Rica for a family holiday for two weeks. We love her dog, and she loves us. She is keeping DH company while he nurses his cold. Not frugal for us, but frugal for our friend.
5. I have had some success with putting my cottage on homeexchange.com. I have had one couple stay twice, and are booked for another stay in March. Another couple are coming in April. I’m accumulating points slowly, so hopefully we can go away in the summer somewhere nice and not have to pay for accommodation. Unfortunately due to the new strict short term rental laws in our area, I will likely have my listing removed from the AIRBNB platform in June. So doing home exchange won’t generate income, but will still allow us to travel at a discount, possibly.
I dice my celery and freeze it so that 1) I can buy on sale and 2) none goes bad.
I got that stupid email over the weekend. I also got an email from my *actual* leadership at my job saying to take no action. Sheesh, what a world we live in.
I’m so sorry you and your colleagues are going through this b.s. I think we should have a national day of action centered on “I love my Civil Servants”. Immediately if not sooner!
This is one of my favorite activities lately, Katy, so I thank you for regularly allowing us to share.
1. I didn’t recklessly fire people from critical jobs. I did, however, send many a letter and email to my 2 senators and my useless Congressman. I found a video of constituents booing him as he vowed to “investigate waste” and basically nixing California’s high speed rail plan. WTAF?? I laughed at him but it’s a crappy thing. (Free)
2. I posted all my recent frugal wins on my Substack, for giggles and follows. (Free)
3. Just put some un-frozen chicken thighs into the oven, marinated with wrinkled up lemons, last night’s leftover champagne, and lemon pepper. I made a random pilaf using up shredded carrots, frozen celery and peas, and the rest of a box of orzo plus rice, in my cast iron small skillet, and it’s cooking alongside. Funny story about the orzo: It closed with a flap, but it somehow fell out of the pantry onto the floor, spilling half the box. The laundry room floor is not sparkling clean, so I swept it up and tossed it into the green waste can. A few days later, after the rain, I opened the green bin to see “maggots” everywhere — but it was just plumped up orzo. YICK. The joke was on me.
4. Nerve test with a doctor today involved electric shocks and thin needles, and the diagnosis is the beginning of carpal tunnel for me. He said to wear a brace on my wrist at night, and luckily, I already have two of them. So: No extra cost.
5. I drove my non-Tesla electric vehicle around and did not feel a whit of shame. I charged it with clean electricity and did not spend any money on gas. I got my free birthday coffee from Dutch Brothers, because I ditched Starbucks right after getting my birthday drink last week. Bye-bye, anti-DEI apps!
Julia,
I did one of those nerve tests for both arms/shoulders/hands. Not painful exactly, but definitely uncomfortable getting zapped!
Good job on all your civicminded activities.
1) Continuing my quest for less animal products in my family’s meals and just generally going for more whole plant foods , I made a favorite casserole but subbed in brown rice for white, little tofu cubes for the chicken and half dairy milk and half soy milk. It was devoured by both kids so a win!
2) My friend left another bag of hand me down clothes for my daughter (her daughter is about a year and a half older than mine). We dogsit for them for free a few times a year so seems like a good trade.
3) We have a big family vacation planned for April that involved a house rental. We needed to shift the dates a few days earlier and fortunately my husband heard back from the rental and there is no charge to shift the dates.
4) We went on a short trip with some friends. They had brought a dozen eggs and only used 2 of them and were going to leave the rest in the rental because they couldn’t fit them in their cooler. Even though we don’t eat eggs, I couldn’t leave them there, especially if the cleaning crew may have just thrown them out. I gave them away on buy nothing.
5) Made my monthly meal plan for March. Allows me to plan with my weekly produce box customization and reduces the chances of getting takeout if I already have a plan!
I had that nerve shock thing for peripheral neuropathy in my arms and legs. I felt like someone was trying to play me like a record.
Want to share your substack handle?
It’s JuliaParkTracey.substack.com.
1. Took the nail grinder to the dog’s front paws. Due to encouragement from other folk posting on this blog, I decided to pay once for the grinder (cheaper than ONE visit to the groomer) and then feed the dog kibble while I do it myself. She doesn’t love it at ALL, and yet we get the job done. Hind legs next, and then scissors to trip the hair between her pads. This is all to enable her to get up and down the steep stairs to my bedroom, as she is adamant that she will remain 10 feet max away from me when I am home.
2. Ate home grown chicken eggs for breakfast – I have hens, yet haven’t been eating eggs (I share with my friends and family). I love eggs, though. I need to eat more protein, now that I am a woman of a particular age lifting heavy weights. I’ve been pre-boiling half a dozen at a time, and finding that there IS something to eat in the fridge when I am peckish.
3. Found 2025 dated garden seeds for 38 cents a package (!!!) at my local dollar store. SCORE. I picked up a lot of seeds, for what I would normally pay for 2 packages.
4. While at the dollar store I picked up some hair care items – after carefully determining they were made in Canada. I put down a number of food items as they are USA imports. I am finding that my patriotism has risen to a level where I am voting with my wallet – and reading all the packages in order to avoid US products. Sorry, folks, but when my country is threatened as Pumpkinhead has threatened Canada, I am joining many fellow citizens in boycotting.
5. I unearthed some pots that I’d planted with spring flowers – I’d overwintered them under some free spiralized bamboo that a local garden centre was giving away (packing material for big statues, I think). Anyway, the stuff kept my hens out of the pots, and now there are daffodils and tulips standing tall – no flowers yet and clearly they will be here soon. I’m slowly moving pots around on my front steps and around the entrance; I garden in pots so I can rearrange as the seasons progress. If the rain holds up tomorrow I will suit up in sturdy pants and gloves and really haul pots around, Past-Ecoteri planted lots of spring bulbs last fall, and current-Ecoteri wants to enjoy every single flower.
6. Picked up a hard-sided freezer pack, a colander, and two cotton men’s short sleeved button up shirts at my favourite thrift store. The shirts are rather nice, however my intention is to use them in the garden this summer. I get really hot, but stripping down to a tank top isn’t doing my skin any favours. Wearing a cotton shirt and hosing myself down will help keep me cool and not burnt by the sun. I suspect #2 daughter might hightail off with one of the shirts, though, it is really quite attractive and she loves to wear oversized clothes.
I also picked up a really nice zippered 3 ring binder. There wasn’t a price on it and the gal at the counter gave it to me for $1 – I think this brand sells for over $20. Bonus, it came with almost a full package of lined paper and two pens. (never know what will show up at the thrift store). I am so pleased to have manifested the binder, almost immediately after deciding I needed one to make a tidy holder for my knitting needles.
7. Inspired by the adventures that others here have posted, I pulled in to an estate sale close to my home. I left having spend $0, and shaking my head about the disconnect between the perceived value of a sad old household, and what anyone would be willing to pay. I looked for cleaning supplies or things like tinfoil but none of that was on offer. I did offer $2 for an umbrella and when the seller said $5 I decided that there weren’t any deals to be had. Sad to see how unreasonably priced things were, but that was their problem, I decided, and kept my money for another day. There were quite a few people there but we all were muttering about what they were asking for old worn out things.
The grinder works great on my older dog, who is a very sweet, very nervous girl. I put treats in my pocket for her and she gets those and a lot of praise when we’re done. She doesn’t love it but does not fight it.
I was investigating trash put on the curb before trash pickup day. I found a large box with many small boxes of ostomy bags. I took a few boxes to school as I thought the students could practice placing them on our manikins in the lab. I went back a day later to retrieve more but they were gone. Who trash picks ostomy supplies? What are the odds that the person who finds them has a need for them? Maybe Katy could do a topic on the weirdest thing one has trash picked or otherwise found. I have submitted my entry.
I’m 70 years old and retired but in solidarity with Federal workers I did email hr@opm.gov my bullet points.
1. Took my neighbor, who suffers from a past stroke, to the grocery store.
2. Cleaned my garden plot. Prepared it for spring planting.
3. Did my laundry.
4. Played with my cat.
5. I was a good human being. I did not try to overthrow the American government. Did not belittle and humiliate Federal workers. Did not needlessly create chaos.
Y’all are inspiring me! This fun mischief reminds me of the reports that the majority of the calls to the ICE “tips” hotline were to report Elon.
I’m borrowing your #5 for my next blog post, couldn’t have said it better myself!
Worked weekend shifts. Managed to keep 100,000 plus people from getting cholera. Incompetent government worker that I am, probably could’ve done it cheaper with robots, but how would they react to aging infrastructure that constantly requires trouble shooting just to function? We literally experienced a power blip that took out all communications to one third.of our system. Humans were called out to remedy the situation. Stick that in your bullet point, Pee-on.
Worked ot yesterday. Required training to keep my licenses valid. Hit Aldi while I was in town for fresh fruit and veg. Paid my vet bill on the way home.
Received some nwot underwear from a friend decluttering.
Giving up 2 days off this week to cover shifts and attend traing. New coworker is particularly offensive. He is bug into conspiracies. Ignores me when I share information but is happy to acknowledge the same info from male coworkers like it’s golden. Im supposed to be training him! Referred to a high-school kids who killed himself as a “looser “. Wow, what a dixk!
Ds will ride the bus home from school today. Won’t have to drive to pick him up from daycare and more time for him to play
Line drying laundry. Cooking from scratch.
Composting like a boss.
Paying down the farm note so that I can quit my straight job. It can’t come soon enough some days!
Did not buy a king ranch dually.
Laura: Thank you for keeping people alive.
Yes, thank you! I’m so sorry for what you’re going through.
2.25.25
I haven’t posted in awhile, due to my 91 yr old mother’s falling and breaking her hip keeping me busy and making it a little tougher to concentrate.
1. Purchased many needed items at thrift shop and marketplace, including a NWT swag lamp for her and some beautiful blankets, towels, chairs, etc., for my own house. I also found many nice tops for my mom to wear at hip rehab.
2. I’m sanding and repainting her aging bathroom vanity. After ordering a Costco replacement, realized the original gave more room to turn with a walker, so canceled Costco, and am sprucing up old one instead.
3. After buying a nice table off Marketplace so that she can entertain downstairs (high ranch has dining room upstairs), I let it slip and chip while loading. The seller felt so bad they wanted to refund my money, but it was my fault, so I said no, I’ll fix it. They then offered me some beautiful, like new room size rugs, which I accepted for my friend who has just ripped up her old wall to wall carpeting and refinished her bedroom floors. She loves them!
4. When picking up two wooden armchairs for said table at another marketplace stop, the seller gave me 3 very attractive over the door racks (for towels, clothes, etc.) and I accepted them for another friend and her roommates, as she had mentioned they needed them.
5. We babysat my mother’s dog for a week when my brother was away, saving on boarding, and keeping dog happier. We discovered that my husband is really really allergic to labs, which was a good lesson for us.
I have some pizza crust rising for tonight’s dinner, been cooking from scratch throughout all the chaos, and feeling grateful for the support of friends and family. I have been a faithful reader, but happy I can post again today.
1) Cashed out $20 I made doing user studies (Prolific)
2) Made a “use it up” dinner last night, with each of us finishing off some leftovers.
3) Made banana muffins out of all of the overly ripe bananas in our freezer. It was a double win of creating more space, and having muffins on hand for DH.
4) Lined up rides to/from the airport for myself & DS17 this weekend, as we’re doing college tours. Fingers crossed we will have a decision soon. I can’t imagine it will be anywhere other than Boulder, but I’ve been mistaken before.
5) Worked on our taxes, helped both teens track down their tax forms, helped dS17 with a job application. Helped dS19 figure out how to cash a check on his phone.
That battery swap is so satisfying! Hoping my next FFT involves at least one similar task I’ve been putting off.
1. Still eating out of the freezer – frozen dumplings for dinner last night. Cozy and delicious.
2. Picked up an embroidery project that has been sitting since the last time this presidential administration was around. Learning new stitches keeps me off my phone.
3. Also picked up an old beloved video game (Animal Crossing, for those in the know) that is low stakes but still fun. Plenty of joy still to be had at no additional cost.
4. Changed our duvet cover out for a different one, which makes the whole room feel different and updated!
5. It’s warmer than last week – which means the heat is back off! I can already hear our utility bill breathe a sight of relief.
LB, you might be interested in the Tiny Pricks project if you haven’t seen it already. A satisfying blend of needlework and pointed quotes or responses.
Ooh – thanks for the lead, I’ll check it out! 🙂
When we retired we also went down to 1 car.Saving SO MUCH MONEY on registration,tires,repairs, gas, oil changes etc etc . I LIKE staying home a lot of days,so it’s never an issue. I make a note every Sunday to let hubby know what days I “need” the car.
This week: Wednesday need car for lunch date with friend, 11-2:30ish
Friday need car for hair appt 9-11.
I will need to car to grocery shop one day but I work around when he needs it, not important to do it at any particular time.
WORKS FOR US. In the past 10 years have had to use an uber maybe twice? We just plan and stay flexible.
Continuing to eat down the pantry and freezer..i have a lot of dry beans for my covid stash,need to use them more often.
We also went to one shared car once both of us retired and we moved cross country. Works for us and we simply coordinate appointments , etc.
1. Yesterday I planted some lettuce seeds my son gave me from his stash and picked up some black plastic pots at the recycling center for creating a small container garden. I did have to buy seed starter mix and probably will have to buy some soil although I will check out the city’s free compost pile first.
2. Trying to make sure we spend our money to match our values including shopping and eating more locally. I checked out the nearest farmers market this morning. Got a large lovely cauliflower, yellow beets and organic grapes. Will try to go every Tuesday and buy as much as I can there.
3. Successfully substituted ground flaxseed for half the eggs in a muffin recipe. They came out great and I will reduce the eggs even more next time.
4. Used a CVS coupon for 25% off to buy facial tissues and some canned soup at a decent price.
5. We started monthly donations again and are picking both local and national organizations that support our values and not the current administration’s.
I love you, Katy and I love this blog! Your fixing the car doodad story is super-inspiring and I liked comment #5 too!
My husband and I share a car also and like you, we just make it work. My husband had a company car and when he retired and had to return the car, obviously, we started our car sharing. And, also, like you, I enjoy the hunker down days to myself. As long as it’s working, we’ll keep doing it.
My husband and I have been a one car couple since 1997. It takes co-ordination and has gotten more complicated since he stopped driving much because I need to drive him to most everything. Yet another reason I’m happy we moved to a retirement community where so much is within walking distance.
This is not a new thread, but I wanted to let you know about parking insurance for cars. I live in the (exact) middle of nowhere, and while my husband was alive and/or there were more folks living here it made sense to have two cars in case of a home-alone emergency. My insurance agent told me that for under $100 I could put parking insurance on my car that would protect it from a tree falling on it or whatever. Its best feature was that it could be activated for short periods of time. When I went West with the car, DH had a car here. When one broke, we had backup.
Since we only used it a time or two a year it worked well. Worth checking out if you are isolated as we were or have other random uses. At this point, I’d just make sure I had a junker to get me to the road – or an electric bicycle. Anyone tried that?
Thanks, Katy and crew, for a place I can feel at home!