Five Frugal Things
by Katy on September 22, 2025 · 13 comments
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My husband and I stopped at the IKEA food court when we were there the other day. Of course I grabbed a pair of their $1.15 veggie dogs. My other half got a $5.99 meatball plate, which brought the total to $8.29, which is not too shabby in these economic times. Coffee was free.
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My husband and I were picking up a few things at Costco, (rotisserie chicken, eggs and coffee) and took five minutes from our day to accept a pair of flu shots. Vaxxed and ready for flu season!
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Our kids and their friends have their mail-order purchases delivered to our house, as they’re less likely to be stolen here than at their apartment buildings. Nothing frugal about being a crime victim.
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I baked a loaf of no knead artisan bread, which takes nothing more than flour, salt, yeast and water.
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I ordered some free Priority Mail boxes from the USPS website.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
1. Last week I biked a total of 43 miles, all to get to somewhere I needed to be or run an errand. I’m not a math person, but DH assures me that this has saved on gas and wear and tear on the truck. Plus, fitting exercise in without needing a gym.
2. Convinced DS#3 to drive me to the grocery store and combine our errands so I don’t have to go to the grocery store again this week.
3. While at the grocery store, of course I visited the discounted produce cart, and scooped up past-their-prime organic bananas for 39 cents a pound. Frozen, these are great for smoothies. Also picked up a bag of tomatoes for tacos, which will be a treat, as we don’t normally have those.
4. Library books; I’m enjoying the new selection at the new-to-me-library I’m stopping at on my commute to school. Reading “The Language of Kindness,” by a nurse-turned writer. Harrowing, but wonderful.
1. Cooked home-grown dried beans that had been languishing for a while. They’ll be part of dinner tonight. Food waste is a pet peeve and I work hard to get things used.
2. Used old sample pots of paint we already had to cover up the original image on a 3ft square canvas. Ready for gesso layer now.
3. Finished the makeover of our inside-front-door curtain. I’m very ready for cooler weather.
4. Repotted our little patio lemon tree into a bigger space. We were given an enormous and very heavy basket and I lined it with a felt grow-bag that we’d also been given. The tree looks beautiful and it was all free. The price of a tree-sized pot is terrible so I was happy with this project.
5. Moved a large mirror that I always disliked in the living room. It’s now in our bedroom where it looks fantastic. Is also big enough to see my whole length (6ft!) and now I’ll sell the cheap Target full length mirror I had. The large mirror came from my grandparents so I’m glad to have a spot for it.
Kara,
Your #5 reminds me of my BFF in junior high. Her dad was a good DIYer, and he took an inexpensive full-length mirror, turned it on its side and hung it up horizontally. He then made a shelf from an old board. It was the same measurement as the mirror. He mounted the shelf underneath the mirror. Sue kept all her makeup, electric rollers (remember them?), makeup and misc. on the shelf.
We loved going over to their big Victorian house, going up to her room and experimenting with different makeup and hairstyles. (All of which looked ridiculous, I’m sure, as we were only about 13 or 14 at the time.) Three girls could stand at that mirror and put on lipstick and stuff. It was great!
This whole shelf and mirror setup was used instead of a dresser or vanity table, and I’m sure it didn’t cost very much. Nor did it take up as much space, as Sue’s room was an attic room and very small.
Anyway, I’m sharing this just in case someone would like to reuse a full-length mirror this way and save some $$.
DH’s phone is infected with one or more viruses. He wanted to chuck it and get a new phone to the tune of sbout $250 plus service. I talked to a guy we know who deals in that stuff (has a communications business – phone, tv, internet, computer, etc.) I explained what was going on (mainly pop-up ads every few seconds, mostly for AI cleaners to use on your phone). He said he’s dealt with that problem before and should be able to clean it in about an hour for $60 + taxes and fees. It’s going to his shop tomorrow. I consider $60 a win!
I suspect you’re probably mailing purchased items so Priority mail shipping is probably baked into the cost, but it’s not always the cheapest option!
Last fall I mailed out more than a hundred packages for a fund-raiser and found out that the vast majority could be sent Ground Advantage for less. I used recycled bags and boxes (sourced from Buy Nothing)
Depending on where the package is going it may get there a little slower, but guaranteed within five days. Price includes standard tracking and insurance.
And for those who still pay full price to ship, try Pirateship … You still are shipping USPS or UPS but get a discount and print your label and just drop off at the shipper. I hesitated a bit before diving in bc new to me and worried it wasn’t legit… Turns out it smooth and saves me a great deal on shipping to family and friends. eBay sales remain thru eBay shipping options.
Just an idea if you still pay the going USPS or UPS rate.
And a reminder/for info that the USPS holiday shipping rate goes into effect Oct 5-Jan 18.
https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2025/0808-usps-announces-temporary-price-change-for-2025-holiday-shipping-season.htm
And UPS: https://assets.ups.com/adobe/assets/urn:aaid:aem:2c542692-de10-4fa3-b507-3b4f181e0953/original/as/demand-surcharges-us-en.pdf
We’re enjoying the last bounty of the garden: we’re eating fresh cabbage, green beans, onions, chard, zucchini, and lettuce.
I also canned tomato sauce and excess carrots.
Neighbors brought over some homemade cornbread to share.
I mended a pajama top.
My husband repaired the handle on our teakettle.
1. Averted a plumbing expense by troubleshooting and fixing a leak ourselves.
2. Recommended our snowplowing service to a neighbor and we will both be receiving a $10 discount.
3. Best deals at the food discount store: banged up box of herbal tea for $1 (20 bags), 2 lbs. of strawberries for $2.50, 12 oz. containers of raspberries for $2, 16-oz. container of mozzarella pearls for $1, and a brick of cream cheese for $1.
4. Transferred the contents of all of the little tinted sunscreen tubes and sample packets into a small, empty lip balm jar. Much easier to apply.
5. Received a lot of leftover Jimmy John’s veggie sandwiches from an event. They got soggy and it was hard to finish them so I popped them in the toaster oven, which helped with the texture. Another solid, no waste effort!
1. I am spending the week in NYC at my daughters. We will be eating out but I am also buying some groceries for her and will be making some dinners. (she will be at work most of the week) I also plan to clean her apartment and take some walks in the park that is next to her apartment.
2. My husband and I flew into JFK and took the 4 trains to Brooklyn which was less costly than an Uber. Yes, we could’ve done it in two but we went for the least amount of stairs with luggage and then ended up one block from our daughters apartment. Cost was $22 for both of us total.
3. I brought a big ziplock of snacks which has worked out perfectly so I don’t need to eat meals out while my daughter is at work. I just have to remember to save a few for the flight home.
4. My husband was here for the weekend only but he did help with a few “fix its” while he was here.
5. We took a day trip to a state park yesterday to enjoy some idyllic fall weather. The state park was free! But getting there wasn’t
Every time you post those hot dogs, I get hungry!
1. Went to DH’s college friend reunion out of town. One of his pals hosted in his backyard. The party went for hours – lots of stories, food, and laughs. I DD’d for a few friends to avoid spending unnecessary money on cars home and we stayed at his parent’s house to avoid a hotel.
2. Next morning, got brunch with another friend and used a gift card. We had enough to treat him too! It was lovely to spend some time together at a local business.
3. DH found a $20 bill on the ground and we used it to get food from a local food truck once we got home. We were gassed from the trip and it was great to be able to treat ourselves.
4. Petting cats for stress relief. Healthier and cheaper than candy.
5. My office chair is cruising towards replacement – another piece of the armrest is cracking. Covered it with duct tape to buy some more time.
Do you need the armrest? If not, it probably wouldn’t be difficult to remove it completely.
Paid my electric bill with Discover Card — got 5% cash back bonus. (They have a deal where you sign up for extra cash back bonuses every quarter. Through Sept. 30, the bonus includes utility bills.) Will pay credit card off ASAP….probably tomorrow. Nice way to save $5 per $100 worth of utility bill, but I’m making sure they don’t charge me any interest on my card purchase. Sadly, my interest rate is higher than 5%. When I call tomorrow, will ask Discover to apply the bonus I already have, around $30, to my bill, thus saving me even more.
Switched to a better retail electric provider, with a lower rate. My current contract expires Oct. 4. I will be switched over on Oct. 3.
Another free lunch! This time it was pasta. My friend brought over some spaghetti left over from a huge meal she’d made. Some invited guests didn’t come over, so she had way too much left. (Or so she said. She knows I lost my subbie job.) She gave me 2 containers, but each one is way more than I eat. So far, I’ve had 3 meals from the first container. Will have at least that many from the 2nd.
Found some free posters and books at the used bookstore. Comic book advertising posters inside and books outside in a “free” pile. One large paperback was the score for an opera. I snagged it and took it to my opera-loving friends. They loved it! Said those things cost an arm and a leg. Posters went to a teacher for elementary classroom.
Found some empty cardboard boxes. One was left outside the used bookstore, one at my store job, another brought over by a friend. Saves having to scrounge some up. Will be using them for moving stuff.
Inside information: a customer heard me ask my store manager for the big empty box. Customer said they worked at UHaul. Said never buy your boxes that size from UHaul. Go to a dollar store and buy the plastic bins — the same size Sterlite (or similar brand) bin is cheaper than what UHaul charges for cardboard boxes. This person would be fired if they’d ever said that on the job, but told me to tell others.