Five Frugal Things -- Soup!
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I had a a big package of bone-in chicken thighs on the verge of crossing over to the dark side. (From last week's Winco trip.) My idea had been to marinate and bake the chicken, but I didn't possess the mental energy to follow through with this plan. Instead I plopped them into my Instant Pot with water and made a yuuge pot of chicken noodle soup. Was it the best soup I've ever made? No, but it still hit the spot!
Perfect to accompany our atmospheric river.
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My extra-large heating pad stopped working, so I went onto eBay and found a "new" one for $21.31,* including shipping. Amazon sells them for $37 before shipping, so I feel financially savvy with this purchase. I love cozying up under a heating pad once chilly weather kicks in, as it allows me to heat myself, not the entire house!
Plus I'm supporting an individual, not Schmeff Schmezos and his Amazon industrial complex!
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I put together three groupings of vintage marbles for eBay. Listed each for $24, which isn't an impressive number, but would still be a decent profit considering that I paid $10 for the full bag.
Keep in mind that all profits are imaginary until they actually sell.
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I used a black velour shirt as the photo background for my marble photos. Make it do, bay-bee!
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My youngest treated me to a Taco Bell bean burrito and I requested extra hot sauces. Reader, the employee probably threw an extra thirty sauce packets into that bag! I added a half dozen or so to a batch of enchiladas and will continue enjoying them for a good long while.
Oddly, there were no napkins, although that's an acceptable exchange.
I keep a heating pad under my bed pillow. I pull it out and use it to relax myself or provide a bit of heat to my back and/or shoulders if they are a bit achy while I'm in bed.
1. I made a pot of Chicken Tortilla soup on Wednesday using broth and chicken from a rotisserie chicken carcass, a can of black beans that were 5 rewards points (equal to $.05), hot peppers given to me, and a bunch off items in stock. It fed us three hearty meals.
2. We worked outside on late season yard work and packaged up summer decor.
3. We took an early evening walk and enjoyed seeing the fall colors in our neighborhood.
4. I ordered some new in box shoes on eBay. They were 1/3 the price of buying them from a show store. It's a bit like Katy's heating pad purchase.
5. I'm loving the large cooling rack I got at the rummage sale last weekend. It was part of my fill a bag for $5 acquisitions.
1. I picked up a free sour cream and a free package of cheese from Meijer using their personalized Mperks digital coupons.
2. I used a Costco rotisserie chicken in several meals. I added it to burrito bowls which I ate for a few days and shared with family members.
3. I donated money to my daughter who took four feral cats (mom and three kittens) to be spayed and neutered. Mama has had three litters in that last couple years. She and neighbors have been feeding and befriending her and were finally able to catch her. Now to get the babies adopted. Hopefully she'll have less mouths to feed in the future. There are three more that need to be caught and taken to the vet. This service only charges $50.
4. My friend donated a heated cat house to my daughter's herd of feral cats that she feeds. There are seven regulars and a few occasional visitors. Her town has a very large feral cat population.
5. I planted two clematis vines that my mom's neighbor gave me permission to dig up as she has many volunteers growing in her landscape.
That soup looks very good, actually.
I came home dragging from the volleyball games yesterday, but I'm going back for more today. My sister wife will drive (she and I are both divorced from the same man). Beforehand I plan on going to Jewel to get tahini and at the same time I'll get some cash to pay my share of the gas. (The venue is an hour away.)
I have some marbles to sell, too. They were my uncle's, and my dad probably played with them, too. All date around 1920. Nothing that appears very valuable, however.
Later in the week I'm flying out to Oregon to visit my son, so I'm starting to concentrate on using up perishables.
Color me intrigued on the sister wife comment, Beth!!
I find myself wondering about this as well--particularly about whether the ex-hub is aware of the "sister wife" relationship. 🙂
Oh, he's aware. We became friendly during her marriage, when she would come to the grandkids' games and events, and we often ended up sitting together. Now that she is also divorced from him, our bond has grown. After all, we have lots of common experience!
I have remained on pretty good terms with my ex, considering, and when this second split occurred, I told him I intended to keep in touch with her. As far as I know he isn't breaking in a third wife, but who knows?
FYI, I am the only one who says "sister wife" and it's just my warped sense of humor.
Good for you for making that work. Why not have peace between the sisters (wives)
My 5 are all about Buy Nothing.
1. Someone on Buy Nothing requested mint leaves so I gave her what I had from my container garden. Another person requested rosemary so I gave her many sprigs.
2. Fulfilled the request of another Buy Nothing member (teacher) who was looking for small items for a kids' art project. Inspired by Louise Nevelson collages, they'll build theirs inside a shoe box and then spray paint the whole thing. I donated so much miscellany - random utensils, buttons, clothespins, nuts, bolts, screws, brackets, hooks, electrical connectors, keys, rusty canning rings, popsicle sticks, shims, pill bottles, and so on. Saw that we now fill less than half of the 36 drawers in our small parts organizer thingy so we can downsize that someday.
3. Also gave away a pedometer, Uno cards and a dog kennel.
4. Received beverage napkins, just in time for two gatherings at our house.
5. Also received several partial bottles of cleaning supplies and two microfiber cloths. The giver also added a bunch of other unexpected things including dishwasher detergent and gloves. I took the items I could not use to our county's Reuse Room. Typically I would regift those on Buy Nothing but no one else was interested in the original post.
I could not love my Buy Nothing group more! In addition to the obvious economic benefits, I have made many wonderful community connections and enjoyment reading members' posts. Recently a member was giving away a scale and said that it works perfectly but she didn't need that kind of negativity in her life right now. So funny.
Louise Nevelson Is one of my favorite artists! I also create assembligies!
Katy, what did you use for the marble holders? Were they part of the black velvet shirt or something else? Inquiring minds want to know...
MB in MN, I hear that BN poster about scales and negativity! LOL! Very well said, IMO.
Prices at our store are going up, up, up for the most part. We don't have scanners, so as a cashier, I have to manually enter all the prices in the cash register. I guess the items that were already in warehouses, pre-tariff, are sold out -- and the new things are going to be more expensive.
1. Noticed that the canned dog food was going to be almost a dollar more than the old price. Our store policy is if a customer finds something with a cheaper price tag on it, we'll still honor the lower price. So during my break, I found 4 or 5 dog food cans that still said 85 cents on them, and bought those. Snuggles doesn't eat canned dog food all the time, but is gets them as special treats. Like when he chases squirrels.
2. The "cold potluck" lunch is scheduled at church today. I used to care a whole lot about taking something fancy to such events, but in the last few years, I figure why bother. The men usually take a bag of chips or something. So last night I found one of the last big bags of "Late July" brand taco chips and a jar of salsa. That will be my contribution. (Talk about shrinkflation: the Late July chips have come in 10-point-something sized bags for $2.99. The new bags are 7.1 ounces and are being sold for the same price. I looked around the store for some large sized anything, and suddenly realized the big bags of many products have all disappeared!) I didn't spend long hours in the kitchen and I didn't spend a lot.
3. I had a drain backup and called the plumbers. Rather than pay weekend overtime, I scheduled them for first thing Monday morning.
4. Called my out-of-town friend, a huge Trump supporter, who once had the same problem and asked her for advice. She told me to also call the city to see if they hadn't capped or not capped something off the water main, and to get the pop-up sewer line cover which will cause any backflow to ooze into your yard instead of your house. (Equally yucky was her assertation that Trump's White House redo is the most wonderful thing ever, just like him. OMG! I wanted to throw up!)
5. We're having an election for 17 proposed constitutional amendments to the state constitution. I went out and early voted. After looking online at the League of Women Voter's impartial Voter's Guide, explaining all the amendments in language that we can understand. The party in power has deliberately written the ballot proposals in confusing language, so it's hard to know what you're voting about. Some of the amendments, if enacted, would benefit only the wealthy.
Update:
Tree roots are the cause of the drain backup. Plumbers charged me $440. (I was relieved it wasn't in the thousands.) They say the roots will grow back, so this will be an ongoing problem. There is another repair I could do, and their office will send me an estimate. (All I could think of was "uh-oh!".)
Had the same problem, repeatedly. Finally had a plumber ream the roots from the line and cut down the offending tree. Problem solved.
1) Booked travel for June to take advantage of a double dip credit card offer (both a cash back & a travel credit).
2) Closely reviewed all new credit card perks to ensure we will use them. Had already validated the cost of renewing, but now that the full details are available, have made notes on what to prioritize & to ensure we don't waste any. Already set up our free Apple TV & have canceled Netflix. DH has been wanting to watch Ted Lasso forever, so he is completely thrilled with this particular freebie.
3) Made protein banana bread to use up a couple of overripe bananas. Bonus, it also used up some protein powder. This will be my go to recipe for overly ripe bananas, as I keep all of the ingredient on hand, definitely want to use the protein powder, and I'm trying to get more protein in my diet. I also skipped the sweetener, as the bananas + protein powder was more than enough for me.
4) Made a delicious fall veggie sheet pan bake, and made enough for at least 3 dinners. I was already chopping veggies, so this made things quick & easy. This is definitely going into the dinner rotation.
5) Gave away more stuff on Buy Nothing. Junk out, helping a neighbor with things they need.
Curious what vegetables you put in your sheet pan bake
It’s definitely soup weather in Portland this weekend. I made some soup out of a Costco rotisserie chicken carcass. It was tasty! I’m happy that Costco is holding steady with the $5 chickens.
One nice thing about the change in weather is that I’m discovering all the cozy clothing I thrifted this summer and set aside for future me.
I went to an estate sale and bought a laser printer for $7. The benefit is that I don’t have to buy expensive toner cartridges. It’s black and white only, but it’s rare that I ever need to print in color.
1. Made a pot of beans from dried lima beans.
2. Made a pan of roasted potatoes, onions, and carrots.
3: Made Baba Ganoush from eggplant and tahini. There are zero restaurants in my town so if I want anything like this I have to make it, or drive over an hour and a half.
4. Using my mustard greens I am growing in my front yard between my roses for the green in my sandwiches. They are young mustard greens and tender so taste fine in sandwiches
5. Used tomatoes I accidentally grew from a wayward seed from somewhere. The actual tomatoes I planted didn’t make. Go figure.
Baba Ghanoush….spelling
My frugal 5 our from my vacation, which had wins and planned fails. It is vacation after all!
1. The hotel we stayed at advertised laundry. So I packed detergent sheets and quarters. To my happy surprise, the laundry was free and detergent and dry sheet were supplied! I took advantage of this 3 times in 7 days. One because my husband and I only pack a backpack each on any trip we go on. Two it was right next to the fitness center, so I did the laundry while I was at the gym. Three, it was free!! And if it's free it's for me!
2. We went to a wine tasting room during off hours (2pm-5pm) and received 10 very large tastings for just $20 using a coupon from our hotel lobby.
3. Ate at a delicious little shop called Cork and Larder. We were invited back for another night later in the week for $5 glasses of wine and free charcuterie as part of a chamber of commerce celebration. We liked this place so much we came back the night before we left to buy sammie's for our plane trip home. Layovers were to tight and airport food is too expensive and usually not very good.
4. Our room had a kitchen so we ate breakfast in every day but one. Healthier and less expensive.
5. We rented a car for some day trips but left it parked when we were sight seeing in town. Which meant waking hours most days.
Feeling slightly more cheerful lately; perhaps the calcium, vitamin D, and iron supplements are helping. My frugal moves are not particularly exciting, though.
1. My town seems to be going to extremes for Halloween with decorations and events. I am going to put my son's McDonald's Fry Guys in their Halloween costumes, from Happy Meals some 25 years ago, in the front window, and call it good.
2. I know that huge amounts of collected recycling never make it to recycling facilities. Still, I keep at it and am pleased that most toothpaste tubes with caps are now recyclable #2, and many beverage bottles (which I try not to buy) now say to leave the caps on for recyclable #1. And my pharmacy seems to be switching away from those orange pill bottles that don't recycle here to #2 plastics. My city takes #1 and 2, not higher numbers.
3. Went to a few yard sales yesterday, found nothing outstanding. Got a colorful dishtowel with chicks and flowers embroidered on one end to use for spring for a dollar. It is easy to use towels much longer than necessary, so when I put this in the cupboard, I can see if some other ones can be retired. (I'm thinking of you, yard sale purchased linen Harrod's with red double decker bus and 1977 calendar. It has long outlasted its souvenir value, yet I still like it).
4. Made my favorite comfort soup: Onions, celery, chicken broth, and blue cheese, with fruit in it for a garnish. Recipe said watercress for garnish, but I don't know if I've ever seen that in the U.S., and fruit is good with blue cheese.
5. ok, this is quite long enough. I hope you are still hearing good stories of your Dad, Katy.
Yes, watercress is available in the US
Yes, I know watercress is here in theory, just not near me or in stores that I have seen.
Sort of like not being able to find marzipan candy in stores, which I complained about here some months ago.
Heidi Louise,
There's a fancy-pants gourmet grocery store in my area that sells marzipan fruits around the holidays. My mom used to very occasionally buy them when I was a kid. I *almost* bought some on a special trip there - they have a fabulous in-store bakery - but they were $4.99 each at that time (pre-pandemic). I'm frightened to find out how much they cost now.
Yes, marzipan is high on the list of exotic expensives!
My other search is for real eclairs, not some kind of long johns with no layers and a blob of cream, but many thin layers of pastry and filling and chocolate on top. I guess the search will just make them taste better when I do find them.
Re: your #2, Heidi Louise: You're outdoing me by even putting the Fry Guys in the front window. The number of actual trick or treaters we got last year was 0, and the forecast for Halloween this year is for half an inch of rain--so I'm going to put out all the lights in front at dusk and hole up in my office at the back of the house. Anyone can call me Halloween Scrooge, but I'm not going to shell out on candy that's not likely to be used (and that I might be tempted to eat).
And re: your #3, I too am still sentimentally hanging on to some UK souvenir linen towels from the olden days. The dang things just don't wear out. And, alas, souvenir towels are no longer made from that long-lasting linen; 100% cotton (or, even worse, some vile cotton/poly blend) is the name of the game now.
A.M.: Quite understand your plans to do nothing for Halloween. We are about half a block from anyone who gives out treats, and it seems just a little too far for people to walk. I am curious to see what will happen at what we are calling The Novelty House: new owners down the block who put out more yard art and plants than any other two streets combined. Perhaps they will be a draw.
And yes, I thought of you with linen towels, as I once found a Bath one, (city of, not a washing place), at a sale and gave it to a friend who loves that city. I fear vile modern blends as well, probably even have spandex, as it is sprinkled in just about everything now.
1. Bought a veggie and dip platter for a family event I was invited to. The price was $24, it was marked at $6 off, and then I used my grocery rewards of $10, paying just over $8 in the end. Easier and probably just as cheap as making it.
2. Repaired my daughter's Lululemon coat with a $4 package of iron on tape. It worked really well, hopefully it will hold. She had the coat so long, that when she took it to the store to see if if they would do anything, they wouldn't. I also treated it for stains, and washed it and it came out great.
3. "Shopped" my closet for clothes, as I have recently lost a bit of weight, and the things I have been wearing were feeling very loose. I found several pairs of jeans and leggings as well as shirts I couldn't wear before, but thought I would hang onto "just in case". I'm very happy I did.
4. Booked my flu and covid shots, for free.
5. Made a great pot of soup with the one and only butternut squash I grew this year, and I have given away a couple of the pumpkins I have grown.
1. Fetch is currently running a promotion for Chewy - 20,000 points (about $20 in gift certificates) if you spend $40. I spent just enough ($49) to get free shipping, so that is about 40% off.
2. I was nowhere near a BJs, where I get the cheapest gas, so I tried Upside for the first time. Hopefully, I got gas for $2.38 per gallon (if I did, indeed, do it correctly).
3. I've been diligently getting the free McDonald's monopoly codes online, and was rewarded with a $10 Best Buy gift certificate. I used it to get a ream of paper for $1.05 out-of-pocket, and they will ship it to me for free.
4. I did several mystery shops, including 3 grocery stores, and 1 burger restaurant. This meant $80 in groceries, $17 for lunch, and $50 in cash. All were en route to places I was going already.
5. I took my parents to Philly for a get-away. While not totally frugal we did a) leave one day earlier than we had originally planned as our airbnb was $135 per night (I slept on the pull-out couch) but was going to jump up to $300 if we stayed Friday night b) got both senior and teacher discount at the Museum of the American Revolution c) we went slowly through the museum and ended up going back the next day and our tickets were good for 2 days d) brought our own food for breakfast e) had brought too much food, so we ate random food the last night dinner f) used the coffee they had left us before using the extra coffee that we had brought
BONUS: found 2 cents in the grocery store parking lot today.
Thanks for the Fetch/Chewy offer intel. I just placed a dog food order using a $25 gc I redeemed from Fetch!! Feels like such a win
I'm only seeing 2,750 points for a $60 Chewy purchase? Which is still good, but did I miss out on the 20,000 points deal?
Soup is good, always, Katy.
And I'm very pleased with how my pureed roasted vegetable soup (an idea from The Frugal Girl, mentioned in my previous comment) came out. I waited to taste-test it first, but once I was satisfied I took some over to my next-door neighbor with the cognitive issues, and she liked it too.
1. After our kids and grans left we drove out to the beach. It's mildly stormy and it was absolutely beautiful at the beach.
2. I sewed a throw for the back of our La-z-boy recliner. It's 25 years old and the headrest upholstery is definitely the worse for wear. The rest of it looks great and it's very comfortable.
3. Used our 25 year old Maclaren stroller for our visiting granddaughter. They don't make them like they used to!
4. Did not purchase any outdoor toys for our grans (4 and 1). They both enjoyed baskets, seashells, pebbles, veggies and our free slide.
5. We have glorious leftovers to eat. I'm gluten free so I didn't look at the regular flour cookie bars that the rest of the family had been eating until all of the family left. Our son (almost 30 and a father of 2), had cut all of the cookie bar servings that he took into crazy shapes in the 9x13 pan of cookie bars. It was like a little gift from him after he left. He always was quirky and creative.
Soup is comfort food, so I hope it provided you some comfort.
1. I have been in a "use it up" mood for anything that is open and partially used. This weekend I used up the following_
-small bag mozzarella cheese
-medium bag colby Jack cheese
- last 2 frozen chicken patties
- 1/4 bag frozen fries (not even sure who bought these lol)
- the older of 2 open bags of pepperoni
- 1/2 onion
- last bits of pizza sauce
-1/2 bag green lentils
- 1 ham bone
-last 3 slices of bacon
2. I also made soup and corn muffins for this weeks lunches. And almond poppyseed muffins for our breakfasts
3. got the updated COVID and flu vaccines, so laid low all day Saturday since I wasn't feeling well. Frugal in the long run because getting sick is never frugal
4. walked with a friend for free entertainment
5. pulled up my garden and planted garlic. 2 large heads purchased for $16 at the farmers market yielded 34 cloves that should each turn into a head of garlic. Around $0.50 a head sounds like a great price to me
1. Took the kids to the pumpkin patch! The rainy day didn't stop us from having a great time. We left with two mini pumpkins, one for each kiddo; and just one large one for carving. They still had a great variety was fun.
2. We packed our lunch and so many snacks that we brought most of them home.
3. When we got home it was pretty chilly in the house so we wore our sweatshirts and blankets while we relaxed for a bit.
4. Baked three loaves of bread, and my husband is learning to bake with me so he made a dozen hoagies for sandwiches. The oven made the house nice and cozy and nothing beats fresh bread.
5. Made our take on pork spring rolls with ingredients on hand. We served it with rice and will freeze the ample leftover rolls, the rice will be reheated for taco Tuesday.
I think my biggest frugal win is meat shopping for my Son in our garage freezer. I regularly buy discounted fresh meat and promptly come home and vacuum pack and freeze it. This helps tremendously shave costs from his grocery shopping and I still get the joy of helping him out. Frugal food is my love language. 🙂
"Profits are imaginary until they actually sell" I plan to quote you.
So true.
Similarly, getting a coupon with a purchase for x amount off next purchase is imaginary until one makes the next purchase.
I used to mentally be pleased about saving the money twice, but it is only a savings on the second purchase, not a discount on the first as well.
* Needed some sort of shelving unit for my ever-growing pile of (free) books. Found a dirty rusty metal one at the curb. Cleaned it well and painted it with paint already at home, and moved my books in it. This liberated a smaller shelving unit in my room, that I then used to store my hygiene products. Just before I trash picked the unit I had ordered 2 of them for this purpose, so I ended-up cancelling the order for a full refund
* Working 2 extra shifts this week
* Doing good at reducing my groceries expenses for the past 2 months. Using what I already have at home first.
* Got a couple clothes items at the thrift store, 1$/piece. Plus, a 25$ new-looking winter coat.
* Always pack a lunch for work. Breakfast, lunch and snacks. And I drink water
Chicken soup is always good on a rainy day.
Bought Cheerios for my husband at our local grocery store and had a digital store coupon and a paper manufacturer's coupon both apply to the purchase, saving $3.
Cleaned my house thoroughly yesterday with a pile of rags and reusable pads for the Libman Freedom mop, which is a refillable, manual Swiffer-type mop we've had for over 20 years. Reading a thrifted book for the library's bookclub. Used a recycled glass jar to decant a plastic bottle of mustard because we all hate that squirt of water that plastic bottles put on a sandwich. Cooked a big pot of oatmeal and portioned it up for several days of breakfasts. The oatmeal used up the last of a long-open bag of raisins.