Five Frugal Things
by Katy on May 12, 2025 · 18 comments
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I want to watch the second season of Apple TV’s Severance, but feel the need to rewatch season one to refresh my memory. My goal is to binge season two within the borders of 7-day free trial, which would be a stretch were I to watch both seasons. Instead I put the first season on hold through my library and now have a full three weeks to catch myself up before starting a subscription.
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I hosted my kids, mother and step-father for Mother’s Day and served a fairly simple meal of salmon, homemade bread, rice, broccoli and ice cream for dessert. It wasn’t a crazy cheap meal, but it was certainly less expensive than any restaurant meal would’ve been. My husband had to work, but I made sure to save leftovers for him.
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I printed a 8″ X 8″ photo collage for my mother using a 50%-off Walgreen’s digital coupon. It’s perfect for her fridge and features her with each of her four grandkids, plus my sister and I. The total cost was $2.24.
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My husband and I are planning a three day trip to Seattle to celebrate his birthday and I’m researching fun things to do that won’t break the bank. Our hotel and Mariner’s baseball tickets are a splurge, so I hoping to balance it out with some cheap food and activities. My sister’s family lived in Seattle for a few years while her now ex-husband was in grad school so I’m pretty familiar with the city, but I want to find a discover a new thing or two.
I’ll accept any and all suggestions!
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I’m not decimating the nation’s safety net to enrich my morally bankrupt friends and family.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m always trying to save energy, it’s one of my biggest challenges. I have my energy bill on a budget plan, where I pay the same amount every month. It’s recalculated once per year. Right now it’s at $99.00/mo. I’m working very hard to bring it down further, or at least maintain with rising energy costs. On to the frugal things…
#1 – I cooked a delicious, fresh dinner last night and saved leftovers in 4 individual boxes to use as lunches for the week.
#2 – Reduced dryer usage by separating my laundry by things that need to be machine-dried and things that don’t need to be machine-dried. Put my racks on the back porch to dry in the sun. Saves on my energy bill and carbon footprint.
#3 – Avoided all yard sales over the weekend. There isn’t anything I could possibly want right now!
#4 – Purchased the last of the faux flowers for my wedding party’s arrangements on sale at 40% off. Not much of a sale, but I’ll take it!
#5 – We put in our air conditioners in on May 10th last year. It’s now May 12th. I’m going to push it for as long as I can! Saves us on our energy bill and carbon footprint.
What u good idea to put the drying rack outside. I’m not sure why I didn’t think to do that before (face palm) I always put mine near an open window.
That photo collage is a really nice idea for a Mother’s Day present. Mother’s Day in Ireland was in March already, it’s funny that it’s not the same date all over the world!
* We have had really good weather and I made Nice cream by blending frozen berries with a chopped up banana and some cream. Soooo yummy and a very healthy and cheap treat.
* I am using a 5 Euro off 25 Euro voucher to shop in a local grocery store once a week. The same grocery store also offers 10 off 50 Euro vouchers, however, most things apart from the basics are more expensive than in Lidl or Aldi for example, so I only get basics that are the same price as in Aldi/Lidl in order to reach the 25 Euro. Milk, cheddar, eggs, cream, yoghurt, ketchup etc. I also shop from their reduced produce. With every 25 Euro that I spend (well, 20 Euro really, because the 5 Euro voucher is deducted from the total) I get a new voucher for 5 Euro. Theoretically, I could use the new voucher on the next day already but there are only so many basics that we need!
* One of the teens accidentally dropped 5 cotton pads on the bathroom floor and then refused to use them for facial care. I proceeded to use them for oiling two squeaky door hinges.
* Recent favourite library read: The last romantics (Tara Conklin)
* One of the teens sat on a biro in the car which resulted in ink stains on the upholstery and the pants! I was able to remove them *almost* completely by using hand sanitiser.
1. I found a penny on the floor at the dollar store.
2. I moved my indoor plants to the front porch. Nothing frugal about it except that it “dresses up” the porch without spending money.
3. There’s a gorgeous blue sky with no clouds here in Massachusetts. That means the plans I have to hang laundry outside today will be happening.
4. DH climbed a somewhat close by mountain yesterday (free exercise) while I spent the day with DS, DD and two of my grandchildren. DS took me out for lunch and the rest of the day was spent here at home just being together.
5. I did not look like a deer in the headlights when questioned by Congress where in the he#* is the 2026 budget proposal from the FBI.
Katy, if you haven’t used it before, check out AirBnB. I have had great luck finding nice AirBnB’s with full kitchen that are significant less expensive than hotels, AND you can bring your own foof and prepare your own meals!!! A few years ago, friends of ours wanted us to go “glamping” with them and their dog in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. My husband and I would have had to sleep on the floor as there was only one bed. It was going to cost us $1,000 per couple and that was just for lodging for 5 days (4 nights). I said I can do better. Found an AirBnB with 2 bedrooms, full bath, full kitchen, washer, dryer, AC, tv…all the basic ammenities and pet friendly near Lake Erie for $200 per couple for the same length of time. Taking our own food saved us a bundle! We only splurged on sundaes one evening. You want to look for “Superhosts” with high ratings.
I have a problem with AirBnBs contributing to the housing crisis, and for that reason I won’t use them. I’ve used one once and did have a positive experience.
I’ll keep an eye on your Seattle plans since we are also planning a Mariners-related trip! I lived up there when I was young and poor, and the cheap things that amused me were things like people watching, the fish ladder, and hiking.
Hope all my NCA pals who are mothers and those who serve as mothers to all had a lovely Mother’s Day!
1. Hosted my SIL and her two daughters this weekend. Went to the New York Hall of Science and had two Frugal things from that:
1a. A lady saw me in line with the two kids and asked if I was paying for my tickets. I said yes, and she gave me a voucher to get 4 people in for free, saving us over $50.
1b. We went to the Science Playground (attached to the museum) which had an extra fee, but because we were within 1.5 hours of it closing they let us in for free, saving us another $30.
2. We got breakfasts out but otherwise fed the kids and ourselves at home.
3. We did not buy the kids any gifts or toys at the hall of science or the zoo the next day.
4. We also did not buy my SIL a mother’s day gift, instead helping the kids craft for their mom and then taking the kids for the morning so she could have a grown-up day. I applaud single moms but truly do not know how she has the resilience – it’s so hard.
5. Back to grown up life – made spicy tostadas fully out of the fridge and pantry once they went home since there was no 6 year old to tell me it was too spicy 😉
Fun random things in Seattle:
Waterfall park (free): https://pioneersquare.org/businesses/waterfall-garden-park/
Walking onto the ferry is relatively cheap and a beautiful way to spend an afternoon. If you take the Bremerton ferry, the Naval Museum right at the terminal is lovely and free. Bainbridge (different ferry) is also lovely and fun to walk around the downtown area (also walking distance from ferry terminal)
Other free museums: Klondike Gold Rush, Ballard Locks history center, and Seattle Cental Library (has a free audio tour- https://www.spl.org/hours-and-locations/central-library/central-library-highlights/central-library-tours
1. My daughter and SIL hosted Mother’s Day dinner. She grilled out burgers, chicken & veggies. It was delicious and much appreciated.
2. My daughter gave me two tomato plants that were given to her by a co-worker. He was given too many by a friend. So the three of us benefited.
3. I picked up a large storage container from a free pile. I’m going to use it to store some clothing.
4. I signed up for a Circle-K membership. It’s free and I will receive 25 cents off per gallon on my next five fill-ups.
5. I found an electric teakettle for my youngest daughter at a garage sale. It was one of the BOLO’S for her new apartment.
1. Ate my Mother’s Day leftovers from breakfast this morning, and as I thought, French toast reheated in the toaster oven was just fine. The syrup was a homemade simple syrup loaded with strawberries, so I piled on the strawberries and saved most of the syrup for something else. Will most likely make pancakes tomorrow.
2. Learned that DIL is getting a nice promotion and raise, much deserved and much needed. Not frugal for me, really, but eases my mind.
3. Made an appointment tomorrow for an oil change and will go armed with two different coupons. We’ll see how that goes.
4. Key ring fell apart — and I fixed it!
5. Started using a tiny shoulder bag for carrying keys and phone on my walks. I bought it at Goodwill for a gift, but decided to gift myself instead. So much more reliable than pockets.
#3 I always say the worst they can say is no. But last time I got my oil changed they were trying to find me a few different ways to save a few bucks which was very nice of them.
Some Seattle recommendations that are NCA-friendly:
The sculpture garden just west of Seattle Center is free. Spectacular art by well known national artists such as Richard Serra, with a bonus view of Elliott Bay.
The ferry is a cheap alternative to a harbor tour and you end up going somewhere! Walk on passengers pay when you board in Seattle but you don’t pay on the way back. There are two routes on the big ferries. If you take the boat to Bainbridge, you can walk to the Bainbridge Museum of Art, which has free admission and a lovely collection of PNW artists. You may even luck out like we did on our last trip to Bainbridge on the ferry, and see Orcas 🙂
If you’re walking to the stadium, consider eating or picking up your food before entering T-Mobile Park. There are usually a lot of vendors competing for your food dollars on the walk into the park and prices are competitive. And make sure to read the guidelines for what they allow in the park—they’ve gotten strict about size of bags/purses, and which ones need to be clear/see through. You don’t want to have to pay last minute for a clear tote bag that a vendor will happily sell to you outside the stadium.
There are some decent happy hours in the downtown core if you enjoy them—my personal favorite is the Alibi Room in the market. Super old school Seattle with good pizza. Right next to the (gross) gum wall!
Just wanted to say thank you for the tip yesterday about looking for doll clothing lots on eBay, I hadn’t even thought of that and found so much!
Yay, I’m so happy for you!
1. Brought several CDs to Half-Price Books. Made $4, bringing the total there to $54. Now that our CDs are confined to one shelf, if we happen to acquire a CD, we’ll have to de-acquire another one.
2. Picked up check from home consignment store. Made $140, bringing the total there to $482. We don’t miss any of the stuff.
3. Made a fruit smoothie using coconut milk as we were out of yogurt. Now I prefer it.
4. Made pumpkin bread using canned pumpkin from the pantry and the addition of ground cloves since I have a large spice jar full.
5. Used up almost the rest of a restaurant gift card. Took home the sandwich picks to use as cake testers for muffins and quick breads.
Katy, I’m curious how do you prepare your salmon? I’m looking for new salmon recipes. Thank you in advance!
The photo collage gift is brilliant! But don’t be surprised if your mom decides to have it framed!
1. Preparing for my showdown with the idiots — er, tax appraisers –who think my home is worth 61% more than it was 5 years ago, I found some articles on MSN (“30 Things that Devalue your House”) and printed them out. Helps to have evidence.
2. Enjoyed a “frozen hot chocolate”. That is a drink, not an oxymoron, and I got it free while substitute teaching.
3. Downloaded 2 free audio books. These are Christian books by the Voice of the Martyrs (Christian martyrs, that is). For those interested here are the links: for “When Faith Is Forbidden: 40 Days on the Frontlines with Persecuted Christians, vom.org/ListenWFIF and for “Hearts of Fire” (true stories of women who over came adversity to become ministers in hostile countries) vom.org/ListenHOF. (Note: I am not trying to evangelize, proselytize or offend anyone, please pardon me if you are not into this; but I thought some Non Consumers may like some free audio books so I am passing along the links. )
4. Did not observe Mother’s Day. I ate at home and went to work at the store.
5. Did not make myself beholden to a Middle Eastern kingdom by accepting their fancy Palace in the Sky airplane, as I know the U.S. Constitution forbids government officials from accepting gifts and bribes.