Five Frugal Things
by Katy on April 14, 2025 · 50 comments
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My husband and youngest had a soccer game last night and unlike last week’s rainfest, the weather was perfect at a balmy 65°. I walked the track a couple times and picked up five returnable bottles and cans, which’ll net me a schweet fifty cents! I also picked up garbage to dispose of, but that was for free.
Please enjoy the continued use of my free-box sunglasses and my $2.99 Goodwill hoodie.
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I was sorely tempted to hit a restaurant afterwards and even had a plan, which would’ve kept the price under control. (Buster’s Barbecue — split their half chicken plate with the husband, ordering two baked potatoes as our sides.) Unfortunately, (or fortunately) my husband was tired, so we drove home and enjoyed cheesy grits with sautéed peppers, spinach and eggs. Very yummy.
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Someone from my Buy Nothing group was giving away extra tomato starts and I’ll be picking up a couple for myself this afternoon! Good thing I have all that free potting soil!
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My husband and I finished watching the third season of White Lotus though my parents’ HBO account. Hoo-boy, was that a doozy!
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Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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Five frugal things from this past week.
1. I carpooled my daughter and her boyfriend home from the school dance. Then on Saturday his mom picked her up and took her to the movies with his family.
2. I baked 2 loaves of sandwich bread and gifted one to my brother in law.
3. My husband’s birthday was Thursday and he doesn’t like cake or spending money on dessert so I baked him 3 different cookies that I had ingredients on hand for.
4. I borrowed a coffee grinder to finally grind up a bag of coffee beans I received as a gift for Christmas.
5. My daughter needed some storage to organize her drawing supplies, so I bought her a wood organizer with baskets as drawers on Facebook marketplace (it is real wood and sturdy, I’m keeping it out of a landfill, and no tariffs!)
Not exactly frugal but we’re going out for half price pizza tonight before our bowling league
I disagree, as “half price pizza” sounds very frugal!
1. Used some recycled jars to hold various dry goods that were in open packages. I clip off the nutritional and cooking information and tape it to the jars.
2. Made a pot of use-it-up lentil-kale-potato soup that was outstanding. It used up the last two bouillon cubes, the last of some onions and kale from the freezer, the last bit of a can of tomato sauce, and four potatoes too small to make good baked potatoes.
3. Bought the lentils from the Hispanic section of the grocery store, where they are $1.99 a bag, as opposed to $3.99 in the dried beans section.
4. Used up the last two cups of some reconstituted dry milk to make pudding for dessert last night.
5. Discovered that the shower cleaner spray languishing under the bathroom sink because it did not clean well does a great job on the sink and toilets. I am trying to use up all the less than successful cleaning products in the house.
That soup sounds very good, yum!
Ruby, thanks for the tip on buying lentils. I’ll check out my store.
Yay on the free tomato starts! My Buy Nothing shares garden plants and supplies, too. someone posted onions enough for 2 households to share yesterday and I’ll be posting walking onions (named for the way they spread), which I originally got from Buy Nothing, soon.
I’ve mostly been saving money by staying home, but in the past week:
1) Bought books at the library book sale, great deals benefitting something that has been tremendously valuable to our family and community.
2) Son and I went to the local bin store (appears to mostly be overstocks, returns, or food near or slightly past best by date). I bought $32 worth of food, a $12 value digital scale (we use one multiple times a day for food portioning and the current one is wearing out), and a $20 lid that fits 2 square pans I already have, approximately $68 worth of items for $15.
3) Husband made a recent purchase which went on sale shortly after. Because of the short time after he was able to get a refund of the difference, which was a large percentage of the purchase price and well worth the time to do so.
4) Also used a gift card purchased quite a while ago at a discount to by 2 secondhand books which a little relative will love.
“Walking onions,” I had to look that up!
I love it when I’m able to get a price adjustment when things go on sale, Costco is really good about that.
Yes, Costco is where the price adjustment was at!
Love them!
1. Went on a weekend girls trip to a pricy town this past weekend, but we only ate 2 meals out. We also stayed in Friday night and spent no money.
2. I’m currently reading a library book.
3. I had a few things that I “needed” and were in various online shopping carts. I waited and figured out that only one item was a need, so I deleted everything else.
4. Eating leftovers for dinner tonight.
5. My friend and I have season tickets to the touring Broadway shows at our local theater. They’ve released the lineup for next season, and there are only 2 shows we are interested in seeing. So we’ve decided to skip buying the whole package.
You have a very fun friend group!
1. Went to church early on Sunday and was served a free breakfast of a kolache (Czech-style hotdog) and coffee.
2. Got a book from a Little Free Library.
3. Didn’t buy gas until I checked with Gas Buddy. Saved 10 cents per gallon by filling up near my workplace instead of close to my home.
4. Saved remainder of the “wooden” (luxury vinyl plank) threshold that was installed this weekend (they had to backorder it so it didn’t get put in with the rest of the flooring.) Will be able to use it on the half-bathroom reflooring project.
5. Didn’t ruin the entire world economy due to absolute stupidity.
I had to look up “kolache,” and it looked yummy!
@Fru-gal Lisa — I’m itching to know what TX town you live in…I’ve lived in northern California for 21 years (tomorrow!) but grew up in a small, Czech town in north Tx. My dad still lives there…..
Lindsey, would that be West, TX? I have a Czech friend who has relatives from there. They also sell kolaches in West.
@Texassilver – I’m from Ennis, but West is another Czech community and I’ve been there a few times. There’s also Eglin,, near Austin, that I’d visit when traveling that way.
I’ve been to Ennis too.
In West, I went to a wedding with my friend at the Fraternal Hall. We danced the polka & ate Czech food. Polka band was great! This was long ago when I was a teen ager.
Waco, 30 minutes from West.
1. I made a pan of lasagna and fed my whole family besides the two that live out of town. There were leftovers so my mom didn’t have to cook the next night.
2. I trash picked a pail for my daughter to use in her new apartment.
3. I helped my daughter shop for a decent sofa for her new apartment. She found one on marketplace that she liked. My son-in-law and middle daughter went with her to get it using their pick-up truck. It’s a beautiful barely used sofa that folds out to a bed. She is overjoyed.
4. I sold the trash picked pet gate on marketplace. We’ll use the proceeds for a pizza night.
5. I found a nice selection of clearance alcohol at Meijer the other day. I purchased a bottle for each of my kids for Christmas stockings. They are adults and it’s something they would enjoy receiving. One bottle was non-alcoholic for my daughter who gets migraines from drinking.
1. I went to CVS and using my Extra Care card with $10 off each month, $2 off a product, .21 in Extrabucks, a BOGO 50% off and a BOGO 40% off and 30% off my entire purchase, my bill went from $58.30 down to $22.99. All staples.
2. I returned to CVS a couple of days later to use more offers. This time I scored a bag 30 0z. bag of Brachs Jellybeans for $2.09. Looks like the Easter Bunny will be visiting DH this year.
3. DH and I took a walk on a nearby nature trail where the state is reconstructing an area where there was a 4- train crash in 1891. When it’s completed, it should be like a free outdoor museum. If anyone is interested in reading about it, it took place in East Thompson, Connecticut.
4. I took what I would estimate to be about $80 in groceries to my friend’s daughter. This was provided by my church who came by the food from a veteran’s shelter who had no place to keep it the overflow. Her and her spouse are both on disability and have 3 teens so I thought of them when the food became available.
5. I did not threaten 60 Minutes with a lawsuit for speaking the truth.
Katy, I am trying to find the website to purchase refurbished phones. Trying to reduce my cell phone bill by 75%, but know I have to replace my 12 yr old Samsung. Lost my note with the info. Can’t find the original post either. Help please.
Hmm . . . I’ve never written about a website to buy refurbished phones. We’ve bought ours from local businesses.
@AZ Lynn – we use Backmarket for refurbished phones and have had good experiences. They have a 1 year warranty for any phone you purchase, and we actually ended up using it for a replacement/repair.
1. Buy Nothing is the best! Received numerous, fabulous items over the weekend: an entire pickup load of river rock, a winter coat, an ottoman, two Duluth Trading shirts for my husband, and a king-sized quilt. Also gifted several things and fulfilled a group member’s request for an item.
2. Called Renewal by Andersen to repair a couple doors under warranty.
3. Reorganized our mechanical/storage room using bins and shelving we already own.
4. Continued to scour the house for money (i.e., items to bring to the consignment store). Took in six items last week and nine more this week. Looking at our stuff in terms of cash makes it easier to part with something that is no longer worth keeping. If something was originally from Buy Nothing, I regift on that site rather than take it to consignment.
5. Accountant finished our personal and business tax returns. Paid $1,900 in Federal and will receive a refund of $800 for state. Ugh, but could always be worse.
That’s about what our taxes were as well. And hooray for repairs under warranty!
5FT, catching up edition:
1. I had a burning desire to buy cinnamon raisin bread at the Grocery Outlet but I resisted and made my own loaf. So so so good. Even my husband liked it.
2. We were gone over the weekend and I took flowers from my own yard to my sister as a thank you for letting us stay there. She fed us dinner and breakfast and off we went. On this trip I got my Meyer lemon tree gifted from a new friend who no longer wanted the variety, and she also gave me a cold-weather-tolerant olive sapling. We made new friends and got two trees = 100% Frugal
3. We took snacks along on the trip and ended up buying a really nice dinner out because we had scrimped on our lunches. Driving home, I ate the remains of our amazing charcuterie board pickings as I drove. Now that is fancy.
4. My seeds are sprouting and nothing gives me greater pleasure than strolling around my garden in the mornings with hot coffee and looking at my little seedlings. FREE = Frugal
5. I did not destroy democracy in America with a cabal of like-minded villains. I wish I thought this was funny but it actually makes me want to cry.
Charcuterie dashboard?
1. Husband drove a single elderly friend to Anchorage for heart surgery. It is about a 7 hour drive, one which an 18-wheeler did not make without skidding off the road in the mountain pass. She was not supposed to eat so I packed the husband a bland lunch that would not tempt her. There was one place to stop about three hours into the travel but it is expensive and mostly fried foods, so free and bland it was.
2. Did a small mystery shop that gave us milk, mushrooms, and Sumos. No need for any other groceries this week.
3. From my food bank shift I brought home a knob of cheese where the name had been obliterated, so not fit for selling. It turned out to be so oniony that it really cannot be consumed unless followed by chaser of industrial strength mouthwash. I cut it up into cubes and froze it so I can mix it into milder cheeses when making mac and cheese.
4. While husband is gone today, I made caramel popcorn with almond bits. A favorite that I will be putting in his Easter basket. Also very inexpensive to make.
5. Library for books.
That is very kind of your husband.
1. This is Week 10 of my retirement and I decided it was time to start using the Libby App to borrow e-books for my Kindle. Eventually I will cancel my Kindle Unlimited subscription but the books I placed a hold on from the library appear to have a 7 week wait. I can read a book in a day or two so I always need something in the pipeline. I have a vision problem so I need to be able to increase the font size and thus my preference for a Kindle.
2. One of my three dogs suffers from chronic gastritis and the Vets finally narrowed it down to a poultry allergy. She’s been doing well on a venison-based wet food that is extremely expensive. We recently found a prescription kibble her GI system can tolerate and she enjoys it so I can cut back on the wet food.
3. Collecting returnable cans and bottles – 5 cent deposit in Massachusetts – I earn about $3 a week and it goes into the yard sale fund.
4.Applied on-line for the MBTA Senior Charlie Card and I will help DH78 to apply for his. Boston has so much to offer and we are only 10 miles from Downtown. We can take an Express Bus or the train. Spring is almost here and I have the time to do things!
5. Turned the heat back OFF today. It had been off for at least a month but a cold snap recently convinced me to turn it back on for a few days. I just could not get warm. I set it for 65F during the day and 62F at night. Its no surprise to me that Massachusetts has the second highest utility costs in the U.S., with Hawaii being first.
Poor pup, happy that your vet is figuring out what’s going on.
1. Went to a master gardener meeting and came home with 6 free basil starts and a shortbread cookie for my husband.
2. Looked up the low cost vaccine clinic for our cats routine vaccines
3. Mended 2 items and made some progress on upcycling a shirt into a blouse.
4. Received magazine boxes and masks from BN
5. Eating leftover lentil and mushroom shepherds pie (day 2). Repeat for my husband’s dinner tomorrow, he’s working late and needs to take lunch and dinner
I love shepherd’s pie, yum!
Whoo boy, it’s been a week. DH was laid off on Wednesday (thanks to DOGE and effects – ugh) and all we’ve done is be frugal since. So here’s five things:
1) made a list of what we need to make to cover the basics – mortgage, food, etc. It gives us a bottom line number for now.
2) I work full time, and so was able to put DH on my insurance. I hate HATE hate that health insurance is tied to employment which you have no control over but was so grateful to be able to cover it. My already small paycheck got smaller, but no insurance isn’t an option.
3) I started piling stuff around the house to sell on ebay and fb marketplace. Made $60 cash today and have already listed six more things today.
4) While the lay off was a shock, it wasn’t a total surprise given the general state of things. We had already started to tighten up, figuring at least food would get a lot more expensive. I canceled all unnecessary subscriptions (Netflix went up again!), stocked up on household basics at Costco, checked our go bags, got more dog food and extra coffee, etc.
5) Trying to remember that DH is a good employee, knows lots of people, that we’ve lived through much worse, that we have more than we ever had then, and that there is lots of good around us. It’s hard sometimes.
I’m sorry to hear of the job loss. Best wishes for a new job soon.
When we got married, unemployment was 25%. Inflation was high, interest rates were high (but at least CD paid high interest too). We’ve weathered a few more down turns since then. We’re well prepared, no make that prepared, for this one.
A life event can be a life saver. I was able to add a kiddo for a few months, up my FSA since a “life event”. Had to drop kiddo, another life event, another FSA adjustment.
Those who’ve lived below his/her/their means are better prepared than others.
Is your husband in IT? With “dinosaur” skills?
Whitney, I’m sorry to hear of your husband’s job loss, especially considering the circumstances. Best wishes as you navigate the future.
Whitney,
Tell your husband thanks for his federal service, and that I hope he finds the best job of his life real, real soon. Federal employees are often unsung heroes, working hard to make things better for the rest of us, and they certainly do NOT deserve to be kicked out of their jobs like this!
1. My partner and I had to spend 6 hours at a hospital today. My partner [sincerely, unintentionally] charms people. Today, he was so charming to the woman at the information desk that we got our parking for free (saving $18). We knew that we were going to be there for a long time, so we brought a cooler with our lunch and coffee from home.
2. I was able to get some steak tips, boxes of pasta, pierogies, and kielbasa via FlashFoods.
3. Partner brought home a free case of citrus, including kumquats, meyer lemons, and blood oranges. I’m trying to figure out how to use them.
4. I picked up mystery shop (easy burger/fries) that had a payout of $18. I had it for dinner, while partner ate leftovers (he had no interest in the burger/fries).
5. I batched errands today, and filled up gas at BJ’s, that was along the way for $2.65 per gallon. Got some potting soil with a gift certificate (so not quite as free as Katy!).
BettafromdaVille,
This is one of my absolute favorites salads! It will use up some of your citrus.
https://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2011/04/beet-blood-orange-kumquat-and-quinoa-salad.html
Enjoy!
Ooh! I have all of the ingredients; thank you very much!
1. Accepted some food by visitors who can’t take it with them on their flights tomorrow.
2. Ordered a free sample of cerave moisturizer. Hoping it comes with coupons as I’ve been using this brand.
3. Composted. We used a bunch more compost in an old tub turned into a raised bed, so I gotta keep composting our scraps more.
4. Sanpped a picture of my mother-in-law’s receipt for fetch rewards.
5. Enjoyed sitting outside watching the bright orange sunset
4.
Yay for sunny weather!
* My son brought home a free 5 kg bag of lightly salted peanuts from his workplace. They were slightly out of date but still very good!
* Staying with the peanut theme – just licked my plate that had some peanut butter on it. Does that count 🙂 no peanut butter was wasted 🙂
* I won a metal water bottle at work which I gave to my daughter for her school lunches.
* I have been able to use herbs from the garden for cooking again! Hairy bitter cress, oregano, parsley, chives, wild garlic etc. There are also young nettles that I use instead of spinach.
* My son cut open an avocado that turned out to be rock hard. I cut it into cubes and added it to a marry me chicken sauce, it did not fully soften but was okay to eat with the sauce.
Frugal fail: I wanted to spotclean a stain on a hoodie with the nailbrush I normally use for this job and did not realise there was zinc oxide cream on it (how it got there I do not know – I blame the teens of course!). I have been unable to get the resulting white stains out and I tried everything from vinegar, baking soda, soaking in Oxyclean for days, adding Oxyclean to the washing powder to even carpet stain remover. Nothing worked 🙁 My daughter will still wear it at home but that’s not what it was intended for, it was her team hoodie to be worn after matches and for team outings.
Hurray for free potting spoil. It is pricey!
My 5 frugals:
I collected shower warm up water to put on my spinach and lettuce plants.
Supplemented iceberg lettuce salads with a few sprigs of healthy garden lettuce and spinach. My garden plants aren’t producing enough, yet to make a whole salad.
I washed some windows with a vinegar/water mixture instead of ammonia/water mixture as I was out of ammonia. Used my handy squeegee and old t-shirt rags for drying.
Washed guest room drapes on cold and air dried. I will get one more year out of them. They were inexpensive and the blackout material was painted on. They stuck together in the wash. It was a bit of a trick to pull them apart to dry.
Spring cleaning and an inlaw visit prompted me to deep clean the guest room.
Freezer spelunking and cherry picking grocery store sales for my visitor stay menu.
Happy frugaling to all.
1) Prepped extensively for a couple of interviews today. Getting a job would be very frugal, as we are about to start paying $3k/month for health insurance, otherwise. If it does come to that while we are still job searching, we have money in our HSA to cover us for quite a while. Thank goodness for financially conservative earlier me.
2) DS18 is on spring break, but working a lot & unable to go places with friends for most of the week. Today he’s going to a national park that is a day trip (Pinnacles) with friends, packing snacks & bringing his national park pass. The park pass was an 18th birthday gift from my parents.
3) I let DS18 choose one dinner “out” for spring break, and he wanted Greek food. DH picked it up, to save on delivery costs, and I added some extra gyro meat sides, so it can become multiple extra lunches. We will get 3-4 extra lunches out of the leftovers.
4) Received our Costco rebate of $354. I remove the cost ($130) from the total, leaving us with $224 to add to our side hustle total for the year.
5) Started our plants in the garden this weekend. Especially exciting as we have four volunteer red lettuce plants already growing!
I didn’t want to keep all the decorations from my daughter’s book themed shower, and she just wanted a small amount of the paper roses, so I offered them up on Facebook to see if anyone would want to buy them. I made $80! And I still have a lot leftover. There is a local shop that has days where vendors can come in and sell, so I contacted them to please keep me in mind for any book themed days. I can make up a lot more items with a few days notice, so I hope they have one soon. My son is between jobs, so we are covering his bills, and it adds up quickly.
I went to the grocery store at mid-morning, which is when a lot of the markdowns happen. For $20, I got bananas, a box of dishwasher soap, a pound of mushrooms (marked down to $1), a half gallon of milk (marked down to 68 cents – doesn’t expire until the 23rd), 10 ounces of grated Asiago for $1.58, 5 ounces of grated Romano for 99 cents, tofu ($1.19 with coupon), 2 bags of discontinued Tostitos nacho cheese chips (99 cents each), 4 cooked thigh quarters for $3, zucchini, broccoli, and ginger. I think that’s everything. There are at least 5 frugal things in that list. I’m pleased with myself!
WOW! Great haul!
Thanks! It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a great haul, now that everyone else is on the frugal train and competing with me.