Five Frugal Things
by Katy on July 14, 2025 · 45 comments
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We’ve been really good about using up random food this week.
• This morning I used up spinach and cabbage for an okonomiyaki-ish breakfast.
• Last night we ate the last clearance shelf heirloom tomatoes on tostadas.
• Yesterday we used up the last of our Tillamook cheese and half a red onion in a frittata.
• We toasted up the last two English muffins from the $1 sleeve that I picked up at the Franz bakery outlet last week.
Our household is normally just my husband and myself, but we’ve had three extra people for almost two weeks at this point. Avoiding food waste has to be planned and deliberate, especially as we’re out and about almost all day.
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I bought a bag of brand new Command strip hooks for $3.99 at the Goodwill just up from Winco. Lowe’s sells an eight-pack for $8.99, so that’s a pretty good deal. Do I currently need 16 Command hooks? No, but me and my kids are now set for the rest of our lives. Plus, my purchase didn’t trigger the manufacture of brand new plastic items. Buying used for the win!
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My sister and I did a big Winco shopping trip and I mostly stuck to my list, (eggs, cheese, onions, tostadas, yogurt, flour, butter) although I impulsively bought a bag of cherries. Zero regrets though, as they were absolute amazing and a huge hit at the house.
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I made an urgent care appointment as one of my four-day-old yellow jacket stings seemed to be getting worse, not better. Of course it then began to show improvement, so I cancelled the appointment and saved myself at least the $40 I would’ve spent as a co-pay.
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I continue to repeat outfits and just wash everything pretty frequently. Decades of working in hospital provided scrubs meant I didn’t have to own very much, which saved me thousands and thousands of dollars. I still don’t own a lot of clothing, which has yet to effect my life negatively. Almost everything you own used to be money.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
What a helpful thought: Almost everything you own used to be money. I’m going to keep that in my brain forever. Thank you!
I like it too, Mand01. I’d even expand it a little: Since all of us whose last names are not Rockefeller, Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg, or Trump have had to earn our money, I think that “Almost everything you own used to be your money, time, and effort” may be allowable.
I enjoy thoughts of minimalism though I am not currently a minimalist and one thought very similar that I love is, “All this stuff used to be money and all that money used to be time”. That thought got me thinking how much time I worked to pay for stuff I thought I needed years ago. Ugh.
I struggle with the balance of thriftiness vs minimalism. But I have a long time to fight bc minimal I’m not yet.
That really struck me too. I remember reading “Your Money or Your Life” years ago and the author talked about how every penny represents your life energy – exactly A Marie’s expanded comment. I forget that all the time. The book recommended that we calculate our “true earnings” by looking at the true costs of working.
For instance, I earned a six figure salary but when I worked out my financial costs of working (train and tube costs, suits and other “necessary” clothing, dry cleaning etc.) and the number of hours I worked (14 most days, frequent overspill into Saturdays) plus the commuting time, plus the time spent shopping for clothes etc. , I discovered that I gave up my life to earn £19 an hour. But if you looked at my salary and my contractual hours, it looked like I was earning £46 an hour (post taxes).
I sat looking at the discrepancy and how I was volunteering to be exploited. Saturday working disappeared, I cut back to ten hour days (and reduced that to nine hours over the course of a year) and I stopped buying ANY new clothes.
My savings rate (pension contributions and cash savings) rocketed. I am keenly aware that I was earning money well in excess of what most people are able to get paid, but it was a salutary lesson for me about the fact that I was trading my life energy (time and money) for…what? I used weekends to convalesce, before doing it all over the next week.
Changing my mindset and work patterns didn’t make the sky fall in and I fully credit it with enabling me to retire at 55.
Those yellow jacket stings can cause an out of control welt and mine mimicked cellulitis. Wild.
Cooking with intention can really save $ and treating one’s refrigerator like a Chopped episode is kind of fun.
Our 300 garlic plants are getting close to being harvested. They are very popular among friends and family. And they make great hostess gifts. A lot of garlic is interestingly grown in China.
Laundry hung out, coffee at home, books ready to be returned to the library.
The Chinese love garlic. Hey, Wang Lung thought that a good roll of wheat bread with a sprig of garlic in it was a full meal.
That’s a great thought. Almost everything you own used to be money.
1. I took a trip up north with my mom. I chose a hotel that was clean but less expensive and had a free breakfast. It was a great savings.
2. We brought water bottles and a cooler with diet coke.
3. We shared meals at restaurants since neither of us can eat an entire entree.
4. We stopped at a garage sale and I bought a vintage accordion sewing box full of thread for my daughter who just started a sewing class. It was $5.
5. We visited my niece, her boyfriend and her son. They put us up in their AirBnb for a night. I thanked them by buying them breakfast.
Almost everything we own used to be money. Amazing! And we trade our short time on Earth for … money.
I’m the same with frequent washing of my very few outfits and have found that if I’m thoughtful about it, I can alternate my outfits so that people don’t see me in the same thing many times in a row. I know that what other people think shouldn’t matter, but let’s be real!
Working in a small office (8 of us) I asked , at the lunch table, for people to each write down what the others had worn the day before. Best effort was generic “ dark trousers”, one person remembered a band t-shirt because they owned the same one, two people remembered a particularly beautiful jacket because they had a serious case of the envy’s, Other than that, “ normal clothes” was pretty much it! “Jeans?”was also popular. In other words, it’s not so much what people might think as that they really don’t think at all!
Love that saying! Another phrase that has stuck in my head for decades is a coworker saying that her grandmother said “Houses are hungry things” which has proven true in the 5 different ones we’ve owned as we moved a lot.
I read Your Money or You Life long ago and reread it at least once. The concept of how many hours you have to work to buy something plus clarity on personal values (not to mention being raised by parents for whom the Great Depression and WWII were realities) had a big impact. Fortunately those parents not only modeled thrift and making do but we’re willing to spend when they could for enriching experiences and to support true personal interests.
That’s another good one. House’s are hungry things.
That’s a great phrase, Katy.
1. Made a mocktail of leftover tonic water and olive juice. An abomination. Do not recommend.
2. Found a poop bag and a garbage bag (both empty!) on a walk.
3. Used the sun to zap out stains on a shirt and bedspread, even though the stains were already set in by the dryer. Thanks to The Frugal Girl for inspirating me to try this! It’s a miracle, really.
4. Started adding a small plate of salad greens with a bit of dressing to whatever I’m having for breakfast. Some odd combos for sure but I’m glad to get another veggie serving in my day. I’m pretty sure I have The Frugal Girl to thank for this, too!
5. Cooked up a batch of wild rice to add to scrambled eggs, pancakes and salads.
Inspirating? New word there in #3!
When I worked full time as a therapist, I could wear my work clothes more than once a week as I same different clients each day. I changed clothes as soon as I got home so I could wear my work dresses more than once a week. It was actually one of my clients who taught me that. We all learn from each other!
My did this- her nurses uniform , her house clothes/ running around clothes and Sunday best.
I’ve been wearing the same 4 outfits to work for the last 3 semesters, although I did add a pair of summer pants to the rotation. I even asked my students one semester if they had noticed, and they had not. 2 of the pairs of pants are even patched!
1. We almost folded to the temptation of take-out Chinese food last night when I recalled that we had potstickers in the freezer ($5 marked down to $1.99). I added a side of stir-fried veg – and the Napa cabbage and zucchini were in free CSA box. So, dinner for less than $3 instead of $60.
2. Likewise, on Saturday, I thought about going to open-mic night at the local brewery that my partner had organized. I would have eaten dinner. I decided to stay in and eat a frozen pizza (purchased on sale).
3. I received a survey about climate change and education. They promised me it would take about 15 minutes and I would get a gift certificate for $20. They did not lie, and it was the best-paid 20 minutes of the week!
4. I ate lunch 4 days last week for free at work (although I got food poisioning on Friday). I also drank the free, crappy coffee.
5. I did not travel to the FIFA World Cup, only to be booed by the crowd.
This made me laugh. Thanks!
,I’d laugh even more if we didn’t all pay for it!
Nice find on the command strip hooks! I once bought a box of about 20 big bike hooks at a garage sale for fifty cents. My husband said we only needed two hooks, but buying a box for less than one hook seemed obvious to me and they have come in handy over the years.
1. I listed two wooden nightstands that I had gotten from a free sale, and they were picked up later that day for $60. I also sold a pair of moccasins and a shirt on ebay, both from yard sales.
2. Walked to an estate sale and found two Carhartt jackets and one Carhartt shirt for $4 total. This was the second day of the sale, and I was shocked they hadn’t been snatched up the first day. I also bought a nice Black N Decker level, a dog brush, and a good spray bottle. Practical stuff for cheap!
3. My neighbor put two rubber dog toys on the free table, which I took. She said her dog only like plush toys, so I gave her a handful of ours.
4. Found a receipt for Fetch on our walk this morning and two dog waste bags (obviously unused).
5. Wendy’s has a free Frosty, Frosty Swirl, or Frosty Fusion with any purchase in their app. So you can buy a cookie for $1.49 and get a $4.50 Frosty Fusion for free.
Let’s see, what did we do to save money?
1) Got in the pool with DS19, which was free entertainment. We choose not to heat our pool, so it takes quite a bit of time for the water to warm on its own. It’s finally that time of the year! We tossed the ball around & had some laughs.
2) Picked some of our green onions, and used them in the beef/broccoli dish I made on Saturday. There was one serving of leftovers, and DS19 polished that off for dinner.
3) DS19 is taking summer classes at the local community college, and… it’s A LOT cheaper than a university. He is really enjoying the class, and it’s a quick 5 weeks, which means pretty intense workload (same amount of work that’s typically covered in 10 weeks.)
4) DS19 picked up his GF & her family at the airport last night, saving them an expensive trip from SFO.
5) Picked strawberries from the garden, and had those as a snack.
Your #3 reminds me that I took summer classes every year I was in University, which allowed me to complete a 5 year degree in 4 years. We had both a spring and a summer session, so with a bit of effort could get 4 courses completed over the so-called break. Those extra courses gave me a bit of breathing room in my final year, and of course starting work a year early was nothing to sneeze at!
My daughter was able to take 3 University courses while still in high school (paid by her school district, no less) and got another two courses done the summer she graduated from high school – so she ‘started’ university with an entire term’s worth of courses already under her belt, which was helpful as her first year away from home was challenging and she didn’t take a full course load.
Flexibility in programming has been a blessing for all 3 of my now-adult kids, as well as me. Knowing we can ask for accommodations was key to a kinder University experience.
Great score on the command hooks.
Those suckers are pricey and as an apartment dweller,they frown on holes in the walls.
I love that phrase: Almost everything you own used to be money. I mean, it’s obvious, it’s simple, but it’s also mind-blowing!
I received a yellow jacket sting on Friday, when I was just trying to water my potted plant on the porch. I said a very unladylike word right out loud. LOL
We went to a u-pick flower farm on Saturday. It was $25 for a full cup, which was a good price, I thought. I really enjoyed the visit, and we went home to eat, so it was frugal in a way.
I took my neighbor, who happens to be my daughter and granddaughter’s family doc, a small bouquet of flowers from our yard in yet another glass pop bottle as a thank you for always answering my daughter’s afterhour texts. She seemed quite happy with the token and the thought.
Eating from the freezer lately. And when my daughter wants us to cook dinner for them, I’ve been asking her to bring what I may not have instead of making a trip to the store – this makes it frugal for both of us, and we get a nice visit with the baby.
My hubby found eggs clearanced – $1.80 for a dozen and $0.89 for cute little half dozens. I will be saving those egg cartons (the gray looking paper ones) for future crafts or decorations.
Alice – we know a few people with egg stands locally. Usually have a cooler out with the eggs in and they run about $3/dozen. Honor system payment. We save the cartons and return them so they can be reused. My sister uses very few eggs, so I cut one of those cardbord cartons in half, put 6 eggs in it and secure the cut end with a rubber band. I take her 6 eggs every othrr week and it works out nicely.
1) I have to hire a babysitter for my kids for the first time, which although that’s not frugal, they are 5 and 7 so considering I’ve never had to pay for babysitting before now, that’s a pretty good run. (To clarify, I did pay plenty for daycare and preschool when they were younger, just have never had to hire a babysitter to come to our house before thanks to lots of nearby family) I was going to hire my neighbor, who’s home from college for the summer but then remembered my friend said her 15 year old daughter was desperate for a summer job but couldn’t get a work permit since she was under 16. She has experience babysitting her 4 year old sister. So I reached out to her mom and she’s ecstatic, I’m so glad I could help her out and as a bonus she charges less than the college student.
2) We got back from a little weekend trip yesterday afternoon. I didn’t feel much like cooking so used one of my emergency meals I keep on hand: Trader Joe’s orange chicken, plus cooked some brown rice in the instant pot and steamed some green beans that had come in our weekly produce box. Simple to make and cost less than takeout.
3) Someone on here mentioned that there is a buy nothing app. I got rid of my Facebook account so have been missing my access to buy nothing. I downloaded the app, I can’t tell if it’s too active but I’m willing to give it a try, I have a backlog of items to give away (I have had some success leaving stuff out front with a free sign at least)
4) Like many here, I stopped using Amazon and I’m still getting used to having to pay for shipping though now when I order elsewhere. I needed to order replacement straws for my kids water bottles. They are such a small item but the shipping was exorbitant, I searched on eBay and found them on there for much less but for new items I worry about drop shippers (I ordered something else on eBay recently that arrived in an Amazon package) So now I found a store I can pick them up from so no shipping cost, a bit less convenient but I’m determined to stick with this.
5) I went through the kids picture books and ended up with a huge box that they are done with. There’s a little free library about a quarter mile from my house on a popular walking path to the beach, I’ve slowly been shuttling one stack at a time there. They are disappearing fast, a lot of kids walk on that trail and there aren’t usually kids book in the little library so it works out well for everyone.
I especially loved all your frugal items. I could really relate to all!
When a new grocery opened nearby, my usual grocery started occasionally emailing coupons. I had 18 off a 90 purchase. It expired today. I used it with some good coupons for dog food and other necessary stuff and saved $33. And now back to shopping the pantry and freezer.
1) Got all errands today completed in 1 trip…Walmart, gas, pharmacy, dropped 2 books at a little free library that were given to me (I am NOT a bookworm. I find reading terribly boring.), and filled our water jugs at my BIL’s.
2) The gas we got (Sunoco brand at a 7-11). My sister had 30 cents/gallon off with her grocery store loyalty card. Since she doesn’t drive, we use her gas points. Gaswas $2.97/ gallon, I got for $2.69/ gallon PLUS I uploaded the receipt to Upside, so I will get s few more cents back.
3) DH’s family reunion is the 26th. They hold an auction of items to raise money to pay for the pavilion rental, paper products, beverages, and meat for the following year. (DH is youngest of 9.) I’m donating 2 dishcloths I crocheted and a sandwich bag of assorted flower seed packs for the auction that were given to us. We make sure to not take any cash with us except $5 donation toward the cost in lieu of buying anything at the auction.
4) Our church covered the cost to rent a local “tourist attraction” (a paddleboat on the river). We went this past Saturday night and had about 50 people. Max capacity is 100 passengers. Was a nice night and an enjoyable evening. A couple of people organized an “Anything and Everything Auction” for Saturday afternoon at the church to help reimburse the church. I donated 2 dishcloths and 3 granny square Christmas stockings I had crocheted for the auction. We will NOT be attending this event. Lead us NOT into temptation to BUY ANYTHING.
5) Did buy a very lightly used glider rocker for $25 on Craigslist. It’s in nearly new condition and, to buy new would have probably cost $200-$250 at least.
Frugal Summer things!
1) I did not buy at the Nordstrom’s sale.
2) I did overbuy at the dented veggie store! My garden greens are now bolted, so only good for flowers and seed gathering now. I planned my weekly menu around the greens: making namuls (a cooked veggie salad, dressed with sesame oil and vinegar) salads and green smoothies. Given take out prices for food when it is this hot in Portland, the overbuy was a good deal. Plus I got eggs, yogurt, sangria, brie, and cherries as well.
(I spent $20)
3) Am wearing my summer clothing – again!
4) Am wearing my swimsuit when out at the beach- AGAIN!
5) Am still biking and using mass transit with A/C!
Well, on the other hand I can sell stuff I own and turn it back into money.
1. Somehow the biting flies invaded my house. Ugh. I coated myself with lavender essential oils and that seems to be repelling them.
2. Fixed two picture frames that fell to the ground and broke because my organization person hung them with Command Hooks. JUST USE REGULAR PICTURE HOOKS JEEZ.
3. The flies are kinda fun to zap with the bug racket.
4. finally did a home project i’ve been putting off since, oh, October or so.
5. Never believed Putin the first place. Weird, I figured a guy who man who invades neighbors, murders political opponents and poisons defectors with nerve gas was not that trustworthy.
Rose,
I attempted to hang a small kitchen-themed plate that had been my mother-in-law’s on the side of a kitchen cabinet using a Command hook. All was well, until about 2 hours in, when it crashed to the floor and broke in many pieces. My hubby was so sad, because it had been in every house his parents lived in when he was growing up. I *hate* Command hooks, though I realize they can be helpful in certain situations.
FFT, The Umpteenth Annual “Shut Up and Eat Your Weeds” Edition:
(1) In my gardens, it’s that happy time of year between when the spinach quits and when I plant fall greens that the healthful weeds are available. (Believe it, folks: The late Euell Gibbons had tests run on all of mine, and they outrank all conventional garden greens in nutritional value.) I get copious quantities of wild amaranth (aka redroot pigweed), lambs’ quarters, and purslane, and am about to put a salad spinner’s worth of all three into the shrimp stir-fry I’m making tonight. Here’s the recipe I’m using as a jump-off point (https://www.thelittlepine.com/shrimp-stir-fry/). I’m substituting the greens and some carrots for the broccoli I despise.
(2) The cilantro I thought wasn’t coming up in the spring has come up, so I’ll throw a generous fistful of it on top of the shrimp stir-fry. And I’ll probably make a curry later in the week to use more of the cilantro.
(3) I also pulled some green onions from the bunching green onions in my back 40 that just won’t quit for the stir-fry.
(4) Because it rained just enough yesterday to get me and my aching back and knees off watering duty today, I had a leisurely shop this morning at the Salvation Army superstore. I found a shirt and a pair of pants for myself, and a pair of pants for my JASNA Panera friend, for 99 cents each (green tags for 99 cents), plus a few other goodies with white and blue tags for 50% off.
(5) And I haven’t made up a bunch of lying excuses for why a lot more people died in the Texas floods than might have otherwise if FEMA and the National Weather Service had been up to full strength.
1. I found a large flat square of Styrofoam near the dumpsters. It was perfectly clean so I brought it home. I will use it to surround my AC window units, cut off those air leaks.
2. I made hummus today from scratch, my first attempt. It was too salty — my fault, I jerked my hand when measuring the salt. Otherwise good, and not too salty to eat.
3. I did two loads of laundry today in my building’s basement. I usually go up and down the stairs a lot, but today I carried both loads at once (in IKEA bags) and while waiting for the loads to finish I walked over to our nearby beach and read, watching the waves and the people frolicking in the water. Not frugal — cost was the same — but it was a much more pleasant way to do laundry!
4. I stopped at the little free pantry and picked up a bag of Dutch-process cocoa, a jar of marinated artichokes, and an onion.
5. Played board games with my son and grandson on Sunday afternoon — wonderful free entertainment.
1. Free lunch kits for kids at local libraries five days per week all summer long. Plus free books & cool air. Lifeline.
2. Found six cans on morning walk ($0.60 deposits), plus discarded but functional roller shade that will be hung over service door window to block hot summer sun.
3. Local grocer has butter for $1.49/lb, limit two. I will be sure to change my daily walk to stop in at least once each day this week to load up. Will make some “fancy” chive butter, with free chives sourced from yard.
4. Salvaged a neighbor’s discarded garage sale signs for the wire framing which I use to prop up plants in garden/yard with scrap twine if needed.
5. Rescued pair of perfectly good condition slide sandals. Saw them floating further out on water of neighborhood lake the other evening, they just needed more time to wash ashore. Will fit kids or pass on to others. Scrubbed & drying in the sun.
Wise words and I appreciate them.
1. So busy with gardens and veggie canning. 24 quarts of green beans canned on Sunday and more to come in the garden.
2. Found powdered dishwasher detergent at Ollies at a very good price. I make own but like to use it about every 4 washes or so.
3. Was able to find larger containers of my pickling spices for much less at the Amish store. It is in an inconvenient location and I forget about it.
4. Peaches from the mark down rack, baked 2 pies and put 3 quarts in freezer for future smoothies and ????
5. Hens are laying well and have been making deviled eggs for family, they are a great pick me up snack and on a cold plate.
* Did not show my ass at a sports match only to be roundly booed and making the winners uncomfortable on the podium. If his lips are moving he is telling another lie.
1. Freezer dinners this week as we keep chucking stuff in there when worried about spoilage. It’s FULL! Up tonight: dumplings and edamame.
2. Made a grocery run to restock the pantry as well – beans, rice, seltzers, and some on-the-go snacks – at a cheaper grocery store.
3. Spent a beautiful weekend by the lake at a friend’s house. We ate at home, used passes from her work to go to the local county fair, and floated in the water. Perfect weekend with no extravagant spending.
4. Filtered water, home brewed coffee, life is good.
5. Letting the thunderstorms later water my plants.
I haven’t done it myself simply because there is not even room for a sweet gherkin pickle in either freezer, but you’re supposed to put an 8 oz cup of water in your freezer. Once it is frozen solid, lay a quarter on top of the ice. If your power goes out, as the ice melts, the quarter will sink. This will give you an idea of how long it’s been thawing and help you to determine whether to keep or pitch frozen foods.
1 free peaches were made into 8 half pints of jam.
2 free grapes from friend of a friends abundant vines have been made into 3 qt of juice. Others in dehydrator becoming raisins
3. Extra onions were dehydrated for winter cooking, before they sprouted.
4. Extra goat milk made into more cheese.
5. A large head of winter cabbage is now canned in 8 pint jars. Ready to eat.
6. Shared 4 dz eggs by gifting to grand daughter & another friend.
Farm life is abundant.
Surprised you didn’t make grape jam or jelly. My favorite thing Grandma made on the farm…on fresh baked bread.
1.All fruit and veggies are now from our own garden or given to us by friends. It is wonderful for the food budget!
2. Picked up color copies printed for free at the library.
3. Sold an item on FB marketplace. Listed a few more items. Small but steady.
4. Figured out the “Pay yourself back” feature on our credit card rewards program. It’s a slightly better return for points.
5. Borrowed an induction cooktop from our local power company. I have loved it, so I’ll ask for one on Buy Nothing. Nice to know I like it before I acquire one for myself. Notice I said acquire -I hope it is free!
Almost everything you own used to be money. Geez. I need to tattoo that on my arm.
We are finalizing plans for a family wedding. We’re gonna leave a day early and have a leisurely drive and check out a museum in York PA. We are planning our meals for our drive. We like to stop at a rest stop and pull out our camp stove and make grilled cheese or soup. With this heat, we might just have tuna salad, but it’s nice to have the option to have something hot. We can make our ourselves coffee instead of stopping to get it.
We are also bringing food for that night in our hotel room. I’ll bring frozen spaghetti sauce, spaghetti noodles, a homemade “bag of salad” with salad dressing. oh and garlic bread!
Breakfast is included with the hotel.
Whenever I can, I get at least the kitchenette option in hotels when we travel as we save so much money not eating out
The hotel is only costing us points that I have earned traveling for my job
We enjoy the challenge of figuring out what we can carry with us to eat. We often prefer our own food to restaurant food.
Everything used to be money unless I found it in a free pile, and it used to be someone else’s money!
I made a quick stop at the bins last week. When I parked, I noticed a cart with a couple bags of clothes in the parking lot. When I came out, the cart was still there. I think someone didn’t want to wait in line to make a donation? I looked through the clothes and found a few things for my daughter. It was nice stuff from J Crew, Madewell, and Banana Republic. Very mysterious. Someone else’s money.
On those road trips-take your crockpot ( and liners for easy clean up) and make your meals that way ( we’ve taken kettle for ramen noodles/tea/hot cocoa) and also rice cooker ( rice/oatmeal/quinoa can all be cooked in it)
1) Signed up for the $2.99/month Apple TV deal and am finishing up a few things on Netflix before switching it off for a few months.
2) DH needed to get out of the house, and it’s hottt, so we went on a movie date – Bargain Tuesday, using a gift card. It’s a local chain and this is their newer theater with schmancy recliners. I ate beforehand.
3) On the way home, we stopped for freebies and markdowns, mostly organic meat, at a grocery we rarely get to. The Too Good to Go app recently launched here, so I picked up a generous bag of GF treats at a nearby bakery, too. The app allows restaurants to post “surprise bags” of unsold meals/treats/etc. at a fraction of their regular cost so they don’t go to waste.
4) Our son’s household has been raising chicks the last few weeks and they’re ready to go outside. I’m trying to help them economize a little on the coop and run, which has to be very secure given the coyotes and raccoons. Passing on whatever equipment I can, and looking for used chain-link fence as another layer of security against the coyotes.
5) I didn’t “save” money by firing FEMA call center employees right before a catastrophic flood.