Five Frugal Things -- Olympics
1. I sold my Goodwill bins backpack through Facebook Marketplace for $100! I was on the fence on whether or not to keep it, but came to the conclusion that I already have a backpack and only use it a couple times per year. This indicates to me that I am in no need of a schmancy backpack and it's better to get the hundred bucks.
This wasn't part of the $100 Goodwill Gift Card Challenge, so the profits are mine to keep.
2. My kid and their partner stopped by the house to pick up "Mama's Little Meatball" and we hung out and played cards for an hour or so. I served leftover lentil soup with a side of chocolate cake and all was well with the world.
3 I watched the men's Olympic "free skate" through the Peacock app, which is free through our Verizon cell phone plan. That plan is further discounted due to my husband's status as a first responder.
4. The sun made a brief appearance today, so I opened up some windows and turned off the furnace for six hours or so.
5. I didn't spend countless thousands of dollars for my kids to become Olympic athletes.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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What a great sale on the backpack. I struggle with keeping some of my own finds.
1. I had lunch out yesterday. I saved half of my entree to bring home. My daughter was coming home late for a visit and I knew she'd probably be hungry. It was nice to have something she could quickly heat up. The full entree was too much food either way.
2. I sold two small items on Ebay. I re-used packaging that was donated to me and ordered a post office pick up at my house for tomorrow. Not a lot of money but it's good to see these things gone since I've had them for a while.
3. I made an accidental omelet for my daughter and I (I forgot about the scrambled eggs in the pan). I used up the rest of a bag of shredded cheese and put in some diced onion I had leftover from another dish. We each had a piece of banana bread that my mom sent home with me.
4. I'm dogsitting my Granddog as I normally do on Sunday & Monday. It gives him and my dog a chance to play together. They are besties. This eliminates the temptation to adopt another dog to keep her company. It's especially nice this week since my daughter is sick and doesn't have to walk him. He can run around my yard and do his business.
5. I contributed to my HSA.
I was on the fence about keeping the backpack, but told myself that I'd sell it if I could get $100.
I love the concept of an "accidental omelet!"
I had accidental scrambled egg this morning! I usually do it sunny side up, but the yolk broke when I cracked the egg into the pan. I added my microwaved bacon and a slice of my homemade bread, and a cup of tea. All was well after all!
1. Stopped at Aldi while traveling and picked up some staple foods for awesome prices.
2. Dh borrowed a suitcase and travel cushion for his upcoming international trip to see his mother. Sharing these sort of items is very sensible.
3. Took in another pair of jeans for my son while we were visiting him. Keeps my skills fresh and it makes him happy. He's an awesome husband and dad and serves his family so faithfully, I love to be able to do something tangible for him.
4. Picked up cardboard from a dumpster for sheet mulching.
5. Filled our car up before returning home. Gas is almost 50¢ a gallon cheaper here.
I love a borrowed suitcase!
Frugal fun: We’re retired.Our “dates” are usually something nature oriented as we live near mountains lakes and the desert.. much beauty..for free! So, I packed a quinoa-white bean salad for our lunch,with some free oranges from a neighbors tree, and we’ll drive through the desert to visit Coons Bluff, a fave riparian area about 20 minutes from our home, set up our camp chairs and watch the egrets,the river, and sometimes wild horses show up too! I sometimes bring a book or a sketch pad.. we just hang out in nature for a while..
Then, a trip to Costco on the way home to pick up ONLY a $5 chicken and a large container of kalamata olives. Dinner tonight is some of the chicken with veggies from my farm box delivery and some baby yukon potatoes in the air fryer.. got a big bag of them a few days ago in the $1.25 bin at Kroger. (That five dollar chicken provides at least 4 meals for us! I love the chicken noodle soup I make with the dregs and the broth from the bones!)
I’ve made a pact with myself to buy NO MORE CLOTHING ITEMS at all this year.I love thrift stores, but it is NOT frugal to add to my closet when I do not need to and have no more space!! So, when I want to “shop” I just go in and rearrange my closet!!
I love your day, from start to finish!
I am retired too. That $5 chicken (mine is from Sam’s Club), lasts way too long, so I always cut up and freeze most of the white meat, and now I’m thawing just what I need for my dinner. Tonight it’s chicken with chicken gravy (from a packet ) served over leftover biscuit.
Yay east valley girl! I lived in Mesa for about 15 years, then moved to Casa Grande. Love Coon's Bluff. This a.m. saw a FB post about contacting Gov. Hobbs to protect the Salt River Horses AGAIN. (Are they trying to round them up again? Surely there is something useful that our elected officials could do. ♀️ ) So glad you and DH are enjoying retirement and beautiful AZ together. It really is pretty wonderful isn't it?
What a great deal on that backpack!
We also enjoyed the PNW sunshine yesterday, since we have an artic blast predicted to come in today or tomorrow.
1) Instead of giving into our sunny day urge to buy coffee and walk around the port (cheap, but not free), we instead used the sunshine as an excuse to get the blackberries out of one of the large, overgrown garden beds on the property. Hard work, but it's done and beautiful again.
2) Afterwards, the spouse and I soaked up the last of the sun by sitting out on deck. I made a pot of tea and served it with some toast slathered in butter and homemade jam as a treat and post physical labor pick-me-up.
3) We continue to enjoy our super elite and overpriced avocado toast and egg breakfast everyday. Spoiler alert, it's only 75 cents a person, and that's even with the nice, more expensive bakery sourdough bread instead of with the cheap, sugar-laden national brand breads.
4) I was too tired to do much after dinner, so I entertained myself until bedtime with a crossword book that I picked up from the "free book" shelf at the library (a wonderful service/gift that the local Friends of the Library group sets out, consisting of extra donations that they don't need for their annual fundraiser sale).
5) I had to visit a pharmacy on the other side of town to pick up a prescription that they couldn't fill at our usual pharmacy. While waiting, I checked the Instacart app and found a small delivery going back toward my side of town. I did the shop and made the delivery, which was just 5 minutes from my own home, so I was effectively paid $20 to run my errand and drive back home.
I love how you monetized your errand! five stars!
1. I went out early to get gas and a few groceries at Sam's Club. I also stopped into Aldi to pick up produce and diary and Grocery Outlet for a bit of bargain hunting. None of these places are more than a mile or two from home and they're all on the same road.
2. The last document needed to complete our income tax return is now available. I plan to finish taxes today. I offered DD a copy of the TurboTax Premier I purchased. You can use it for up to five Federal returns.
3. DH helped a neighbor install a "smart" doorbell and I played with their cats. Free entertainment.
4. I listed items we don't need/want on Freecycle. Hopefully someone will want them. Yesterday an item I listed a few weeks ago was picked up.
5. We are watching the original Frasier with DVDs borrowed from the library. The first season has been enjoyable.
It's always so satisfying when no longer needed items find a new home!
Congrats on the sale! I looked at the link to a similar backpack you posted, and I think I might have kept it, but I’d never buy it new.
You mention that you didn’t pay the big bucks to get your kids into the Olympics. That’s something I ponder when I watch the games. How many equally talented athletes get nowhere because they don’t have the time or money? Even in the case of your grandfather-in-law, I imagine a privileged scenario where he had the opportunity to run on a track team.
My biggest frugal act of the weekend was to organise my spices. I’ve managed to move everything into glass spice jars that I’ve labeled. Many of the jars came from neighbors’ recycling bins. In my neighborhood, glass goes in a shallow bin that’s easy to peek into! From now on, all* spices will come from Winco, and none of them will be in plastic baggies.
*Except cardamom since people were ringing it up as a cheaper spice, and now we can’t have nice things.
I think it used to be easier to get community sponsorships for things like Olympic games. The sense of pride for community and country was more felt and the costs could have possibly been much lower.
True, but there are people who don’t even have the privilege of finding out whether they have any talent!
Li,
You bring up a good point. At our local high school, you "pay to play", so I would imagine there are kids who can't even participate due to the cost. I know we paid $500+ for our son to participate in marching band back in the fall.....luckily, we are able to pay it, by being frugal elsewhere in our lives.
We had more locally owned businesses and I'll stop there.
The thing with the backpack is that already have a decent one that I almost never use. And hooray for Winco spices!
We finally have some normal and above normal temps! I have been able to do a bit of outdoor work and it felt wonderful!
1.I bought a big bag of carrots, using one a day in my smoothie combined with an orange, frozen pineapple and my homemade yogurt....a bit like drinkable sunshine salad. A 2# bag of carrots is 1.79 and combined with a 1/2 cup of frozen pineapple, an orange that is from an 8# bag for 3.59 plus the homemade yogurt is cheap......my kind of easy living.
2. scored salmon and shrimp on the markdown, shared with family.
3.made a kick ass tuna noodle casserole, portioned and froze.....I was happy to have a frozen portion for supper after being outside most of the day.
4.orange peels soaking in white vinegar for cleaning solution.
5. thawed cowboy caviar on top of a baked potato with sour cream. Cheap and so tasty.
* bonus...... didn't try to convince anyone that the stock market is more important than the victims of rape and abuse.
JC
Your meals all sound so yummy!
On Saturday I actually got to sit outside and enjoy the 60 weather for a little while with a library book. My husband was cutting limbs in the yard from the recent ice storm. He picked me a bouquet of buttercups while he was hauling off limbs. I made a homemade pizza for dinner and we had a peaceful Saturday watching the olympics on tv.
Sounds like a perfect Saturday to me! I love to read outside on the deck. Your husband sounds so sweet, gathering buttercups for you.
Treated to breakfast and coffee this am. I packaged up 1/2 my breakfast and will have it for lunch
Working my part time job. Mailing a birthday gift after work
Gotta love leftovers!
I have been enjoying my retirement immensely.
1. I am now done with PT on my knee, so that’s 2 fewer days that I don’t absolutely have to leave the house. That will bring my monthly mileage down even further.
2. I am watching as much of the Olympics as I possibly can with my free trial of YouTube TV. I’ve also been knitting and I’m more than halfway done the body of the sweater. I’m still hoping to bind off the hem by closing ceremonies.
3. I have been collecting documents needed to apply as a “lost resident” of Canada, but there are a few items I need that I can download from ancestry. I know there’s a free 1 week trial so I’m listing out all the documents I will need from that site before logging in and then canceling.
4. Getting together with a former coworker who is leaving the company and moving away. It will only be one of two restaurant meals this month. I’ll looked back to last year‘s February expenses, and I spent $543 cash/debit. So far this month, I’ve spent $147. So I am doing much better at keeping my costs down than I was last year.
5. Besides watching the Olympics and knitting, I have been using my mango app to increase my French.
1. In honor of Lindsey in Alaska, I used an empty dog food bag as a trash bag.
2. Found a quarter in a parking lot.
3. Saved $7.50 at Safeway by signing up to be a member.
4. Went out to lunch on Valentine's Day. Brought our own container for leftovers. Paid cash to avoid credit card fees. Took home toothpicks from sandwich to use as cake testers. We did everything but lick our plates!
5. The home watch service (woman-owned - yay!) we hired to come to our house while we're gone discovered a frozen drain between the house and the street, exacerbated by the deep cold and a large tree root. We will owe her additional money for the extra visits she made to our home to coordinate with the plumbing company as well as the sewer company. The whole thing will be close to $2,000. But, as always, it could have been way worse.
1. Fantastic on the backpack! Wow! I bought a large container of spring mix greens for a buck at Vowell’s supermarket. I also bought a bag of huge tomatoes ( there were seven) for another dollar!
2. I passed on Valentine’s candy bc 25 percent off was not enough of a discount for me! I distinctly remember thinking when looking at the candy, Katy’s line, “what am I a Rockefeller.”… lol. I did buy a couple of cans of pumpkin for a dollar a piece.
3. I walked for an hour at the river park since I am off today.
4. I had visited my oldest son in the northern part of the state on Valentine’s Day. I packed walnuts, chips, apple, bologna and cheese sandwich, and a pbj sandwich for breakfast and lunch. So, the trip only cost me gas.
5. I bought a bag of 8 apples for $2.67. Apples tend to be high here.
Mama's Little Meatball is such a pretty cat. I bet she enjoys visiting her human grandma.
I found 75 cents in the washer. Been listening to the next book club selection free on Hoopla. Made carrot cake style bran muffins for our breakfast, which are healthy and tasty. Dried laundry Sunday on a rack in the sun room. My pup with a sensitive stomach had an epic spell of throwing up, but she kept drinking water and did not become dehydrated this time, so we did not have to take her to the vet. I made her some chicken and orzo for a couple of light meals and she recovered fine.
Lindsey and your Dear Husband, I hope you are finding some joy during this difficult time in your life. Stay warm and know you are missed and not forgotten.
We’ve had some nonfrugal events happening around here. During our really cold snap, our son, who lives in a house we own, ran the water a little harder and longer than necessary. It raised the water bill so much that my coworker actually had our guys check the meter for a leak. No leak!! Our son feels awful, and my coworker asked if it’s possible that a running commode could be part of the culprit, since that is what the meter check looked like and would allow us to ask for an adjustment off our bill, but we know it’s not, and we don’t want to scr3w the system, so he will just pay the bill (with a little help from us). It’s still better than busted water lines, which we have seen a lot of.
My daughter and I took a trip to Goodwill, and I spent over $100! I didn’t mean to, but I’ll admit - I just wanted to buy her things. She ended up with some shirts, my SIL did, too, the baby got an outfit, and we all got some books. I also picked up two little items for coworkers and a couple newborn sleepers for the OB department where my daughter works. Our hospital services many low income patients, some of whom do not have anything for their newborns, so the department likes to keep things on hand. These were both the “color of the week,” so they were only 99 cents.
We paid the maintenance fees for our two vacation rentals for our timeshares, plus paid the deposits for two more weekends we are planning on staying. But we used our income taxes for this, and it is still waaaay cheaper than staying a week anywhere else.
My kids came by to visit today since we all had the day off, and I used leftover hot sauce and ranch dressing from our Valentine dinner out with leftover fowl from the freezer (honest to God, I could not tell for sure if it was chicken or turkey) for some buffalo chicken dip. I made some taco meat with hamburger that needed used up. We had lots of cheese to use up in the fridge.
I got two more orders for paper roses after one lady showed hers off on Facebook. The money from these is going towards property taxes.
I have been following accounts online that show how to get the best deals at Dollar General and CVS using their digital coupons. It’s nice to have a little stockpile building, like I used to back in my couponing days. I can offer items to my kiddos when they need them.
During our trip to pay the maintenance fees, we stopped at a small county library to check out their book sale. We got six books, including a replacement of the first book in a series that I often reread, for just $3!
It all evens out in the end.
1. I finished my husband's coat! The last stitch of seam ripping was triumphant and glorious and I immediately threw the damn thing in the hamper so I wouldn't have to look at it anymore.
2. Because apparently I'm a glutton for punishment and already had the seam ripper in my hand, I took out an itchy tag from a comfy dress that I picked up a few years ago for $2 at a charity event. I then eyeballed a rain jacket I found in the depths of my car while I was cleaning it out and decided to take off it's company affiliated logo. I'm probably 60-70% of the way through that one and it's much easier than my husband's coat!
3. My kiddos and I made banana muffins this morning. They helped so it took 4x as long but we had a good time.
4. I submitted a ticket to Scrub Daddy because one of my sponges is transferring color to my dish gloves. I don't know if anything will come of it, but at least I'll find out if it's still safe to use.
5. I listened to another audiobook. I have to wait for the last book in the series do now I'm reading an ebook that my mom recommended while I wait.
1. I volunteer at two places. One is our town library for one to two hours a month. Enjoyable anyway, but after I'm done putting the patrons' returned materials back, I browse the stacks as a little reward to myself for volunteering. Likewise, at my church's thrift shop where I volunteer four hours a month, between customers I can shop to my heart's content and pick up what I need or want. These two places are special to me because they both are examples of where reusing and repurposing are the mission.
2. I've walked for exercise two days in a row. Not quite on a roll but I'm working on it.
3. I made DH and myself homemade Egg McGriddles last night for dinner. They apparently appealed to him so much, he wants them again tonight. Sounds good as they are an easy, cheap meal.
4. Wearing my flannel lined jeans with knee socks around the house, covering up with the afghan my sweet friend gave me, watching Oscar nominated films on Turner Classic Movies (on Valentines Day it was Four Weddings and a Funeral which I had never seen) and indulging in the BOGO50%off chocolates DH gave me.
5. I found Chef-Boy-A-Dee canned pasta with meat at Market Basket for $1 each. I bought ten of them for my church's food pantry which brings everything we collect during the week to an inner-city school on Friday to send home with the students for the weekend.
Yay on the backpack sale!
My cousin's neighbor who once had a upholstery shop, gave me 3 bolts of ticking cotton, batting and toast colored linen.
I wrapped them tight with an occasional sachet of bay leaves, peppermint and lavender. In the ironing board closet for safe keeping until I figure out what I want to do.
2. I took the big dog food bag, split it up the sides, washed it well and they are now lining my grow trays in the greenhouse.
3. Walked with the neighbor this morning, solving the problems of the community, and picked up 4 energy drink cans and a small bag of garbage.
4. Sold a lot of antique oil cans from my grandfather's farm. The proceeds will pay for my tractor auger.
5. I sold my mom and dad's cruiser bicycles. Had my SIL post them in a swanky coastal town and they sold quickly. The money is going towards a used big tire mountain e bike.
I thought I left an entry, but it doesn't seem to be here. However, there was a lot going on, so it was probably my mistake.
It's the third day of caretaking for me. My friend is so much better. Now she is impatient to be fully normal. Her home health nurse and occupational therapist both came today and gave her lots of advice and encouragement.
We continue to eat food that has been brought by friends, and so far there has been no need to go to the store. I have done a bit of doctoring some of the food because it tends toward blandness -- caution on the part of the cooks, I'm sure.
It is warm enough to walk outside, but she is not ready for that. We entertain ourselves with reading and streaming.
The occupational therapist has recommended some tools to help with dressing and reaching things. We are not going straight to Amazon or Walmart, but will check out her supply of medical tools from former surgeries, both hers and her mother's. We are waiting for her granddaughter to come, because she is much more able to navigate attic storage.
It's been a good time for long conversations and sharing memories. We've been friends a long time.
I will probably head home on Saturday morning.
You might want to check area agencies or churches for possible loans on medical aids. Some cities/ towns are glad to loan these out and keep a goid stock on hand.
Conversely, they accept donations of these if you have any you aren't wanting to keep.
The American Legion in my area has two garages they keep medical aids in. We were able to borrow a walker and shower stool for my dad, and returned and donated additional items when he did not need them anymore. Had to pay a small $10 deposit, which was given back when we returned the items. Great lending and giving opportunity!
Hi Lindsey, I am thinking of you and the Husband, especially when I enjoy sumas!
Making a "trial run" of minestrone soup for DH and I. A lady from church was recently diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer. She has a number of dietary restrictions - some due to allergies, others due to her cancer treatments. After digging around for recipes that ticked off all the boxes, it came down to minestrone soup to take to her and her husband Saturday night. I never made minestrone soup before (but that's the soup I get when I go to Olive Garden). I'm using macaroni that I have instead of small pasta shells for ours. My friend needs gf, so I bought some small shells made with chickpea flour for theirs. I'm making ours for tomorrow night's dinner. Tonight is store brand version of Shake n' Bake chicken and some store brand version of Stove Top stuffing. I'm having raw carrots and DH is getting pickled beets.
Took our tax documents to my SIL (technically my ex-SIL because she's divorced from DH's brother, but she's the mother of my nephews and she'll always be family to me and DH). Anyway, she works for Block during tax season (beautician by trade), and she uses some of her "friends/family discount" she gets from Block to do our taxes. Last year, she saved us 50% of what we would have had to pay full price. Considering I tried to do them myself once and ended up having to pay to file an amended return, I'll let the "pro's" handle it from the beginning. They're ready to be signed, so DH and I will be doing that Wednesday night.
Still keeping track of my spending habits (disposable income - after bills are paid) on the calendar on my phone. I'm starting to see some patterns and looking for ways to cut spending in those areas.
PO'ed with DH. (It was solely his money, so at least it doesn't affect my funds.) He "HAD" to have an e-bike. Not only did he run up HIS CC for an e-bike, he added fenders (don't come standard), bike pack/rack (above rear tire), cell phone holder, and some other pouch thing that's on the crossbar just below the handlebars. Just bought it in the fall...maybe rode it 5-6 times at the most. Orthopedic surgeon who did his total hip replacement told him NO MORE BIKING OF ANY KIND. He has about $2,000 tied up in this thing he DIDN'T NEED, is paying interest on it (so more than $2G) and, he'll be lucky to get $1,500 out of it...if he can sell it. We had a joint account most of our marriage, but he wanted to separate funds in April. I protested, but we did. Boy, am I glad we did! He still has to keep up his financial obligations when it comes to rent, utilities, car payment and insurance, etc...and now he's got this mess to deal with. I'm in better shape (not a lot, but I have a positive balance as opposed to a break-even balance) than I've been in years. And, no...I'm NOT bailing him out. Thanks to you folks, I am learning to be more frugal and getting better at "needs" vs "wants" and how to differentiate the two. Keep the comments coming!
I am setting up a cell phone --much fancier that what I've had before--and have no idea what I am doing. But the Spectrum lady got me a super frugal deal, $20 cheaper than my old plan that just had Internet+ landline and I'm getting gobs more features, so we'll see how it goes.
I had to go to H-E-B for some city-approved leaf bags, as the live oaks are shedding and it's leafmageddon already. We filled up 20 bags today, plus 2 trash cans. These are huge paper bags, so tall that they come up to my chest, so it's no small feat to fill one. Trouble is, the city won't collect the leaves for another week and by that time we'll probably have 40 more bags. But they won't haul off more than 20. Next weekend, I will be phoning friends asking if I can place some leaf bags at their curbs!
Meanwhile, H-E-B had a lot of Valentine's flower arrangements half off, but they are still $25 each. I resisted the temptation to buy myself any. Oh, but it was hard to walk away from all the pretty roses!
Ok, let's see if this posts OK. Testing 123!
1) It was bizarrely warm today in the northern Midwest so opened the back door to air the house and let the cats sleep in the sun on the porch.
2) Since it was so bizarrely warm, spent lunch hour winter sowing arugula, spinach, Asian greens & lettuces in greenhouse planters. These are repurposed recycling bins - fiberglass with handles & drain holes. (When the city went to a new automated garbage system we scooped the old bins up for free.) I flip over large clear storage bins (65 qt?) as a cover = movable mini greenhouses.
3) Juiced 2 large bags of organic lemons purchased from the cheap bin at grocery store for $.99. Made large pan of lemon bars, lemonade & froze some juice to use in tea.
4) Was gifted a bunch of seeds for tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and peppers. Will pass on anything I can’t use to other gardeners.
5) Set up flagpole to proudly display “Laser Loon” MN state flag. Also donated to MN Women’s Fund to provide rent relief for embattled community members.
Have you looked into Mint for cell service? So much cheaper than Verizon for us, even with my corporate Verizon discount. $15/line, a bit cheaper if you do the annual plan. Not unlimited data but that's never been an issue for us.
We haven't, but my husband's job takes him all over the county and he needs the best coverage.
It runs off the Tmobile network. We've never had an issue, bit it depends where's he's going, I guess.
You have to be carefulwith Mint Mobile. If you live in an area with a lot of good TMobile tower coverage it is okay. But they still have spotty coverage in a lot of areas. I live in a dead zone in the middle of a midsized city. It is a nightmare. Calls dropped, constantly breaking up, texts not set at all or sometimes hours later. As a MM customer we get the service "left over" from the TM users. I typically can get on the internet after 10 pm until 5 or 6 a.m. - Kinda like to sleep then. Their customer Service is 100% Asian call centers. They can only read from their scripts, have no power to do anything, nor do they know how to fix problems. I have also been flat-out lied to. Can you tell I want a divorce?
In an attempt to lower my spending we have been eating out far less, think once or twice a week tops, and I have been avoiding this grocery store to push us into eating what we have on hand. I have also been avoiding buying things and holding out. Example given, I ran out of sandwich bags and have been making use of our glut of quart and shrinking quantity of snack bags. Another example, I ran out of saran wrap and have been using foil or food storage containers. I plan on buying these items again, but slowly and when I can afford it better. It's pushing my creativity.
I've also stopped buying shower products and am using what we have on hand. As someone who did extreme couponing for a long time I have a habit of buying things on sale even when I don't need them. At this point, unless I start eating shower gel and soap, I dont want it unless it's free. Time to cul my budget by avoiding things I can avoid!!
Here are some frugals
1. On Sunday I promised my son pizza after we finished an application - which took three hours. Little Caesar's promised to be open until 11PM online, but when we went around 10:30 it was in-fact not open but in the process of closing. I offered to buy anything they had on hand, the woman mopping in-front of the store asked someone in back for any expired food. They handed me a pepperoni pizza and a box of pizza bites for free saying they were going to otherwise throw it away. My son told me I was magic... I will admit it was a nice surprise.
2. I have been slowly acquiring household goods that we are low on. To do this I've been using my monthly reward at CVS where you give them $5 they give you $10 back. This month I bought two 4 packs of paper towels at 10.99 each, then applied the $10 credit, a $10 gift card, $1 digital coupon, and a bit more ECB rewards. My grand total was .47 cents out of pocket. I hope I don't have to shop like this forever, but for now, I will be creative to keep the house stocked on the cheap.
3. My insurance changed and our prescription costs have gone up. I was awarded a $20 gift card from the Walking Spree app and chose Target where I have been filling up our prescriptions at the CVS pharmacy. I will use the gift card to get the prescription for free.
4. I ordered two burgers for dinner for my son and I tonight online through Five Guys. They have a promo code for bogo burgers making the two burgers about $12. I asked my son to make tater tots before I come home and we will have drinks at home too. It's nice to splurge but stay in a budget.
5. I made tuna salad for a second week in a row to try and utilize more of our canned and stored food. I have been having them with sun chips no one in my house wants to eat. It's helping me remember I actually like the food in my house already.
Have you tried the free app GoodRx to save money on prescriptions?
I have insurance, can you use Good RX with insurance as well?
I think it's often one or the other (GoodRx or insurance). However, it's worth price checking because sometimes a medication will be cheaper with cash pay + Good Rx versus your insurance. It's also worth checking prices at different pharmacies-- Walmart, Sams, and Costco are often much cheaper than Walgreens or CVS. My understanding is that you can use the pharmacies without being a member at Sams and at Costco.
Growing up, my mom NEVER bought shampoo (or conditioner). We used a bar of soap. I've always had short hair...pixie cut as a child, never to my shoulders as an adult...now as an "old lady" (62), I sport a clipper cut. #1 clipper guard all over. Have gone back to using a simple bar of soap. A lot cheaper than shampoo and body wash. I never had hair that needed.conditioner.
1. DH is away for three weeks so I am trying to limit my grocery shopping, and eat out of the pantry and freezer. So far I have enjoyed homemade soup three times which is just fine, as I love it.
2. Canada's west coast has had a fairly mild winter so far, so most days I can turn the heat off in the house, just turning it on to warm up a bit in the evenings, and then off again for sleeping.
3. My cottage has been surprisingly busy for February. I just had 9 nights in a row booked, which was unexpected.
4. I have been sick with a cold since returning from Mexico 12 days ago, so haven't really gone anywhere, or spent much money.
5. I bought a new airfryer for my cottage at a huge discount, and have cleaned up the old one, and listed it on Marketplace.
I’ve been more consistent with scouring the local thrift stores and brought six orders to the post office today! Happy to report I found some free boxes outside of a fancy local vitamin shop, so it was all reused packaging!
1). Hung clothes instead of using dryer.
2). Used wood stove on cccollllddd Canadian days to keep heating costs down.
3). Sewing unused tablecloth into aprons for gifts.
4). Free entertainment via CBC Gem app - Olympic figure skating ❣️.
5). Packed along water from home everywhere I went.
Bonus 5). Turned the lights off behind my husband for the 10,000th time, but said nothing. He is pretty awesome so I don’t want to nag about lights. Just flick the switch.