- I noticed that some previous customer had left a Grocery Outlet receipt in the bottom on their shopping basket, which included a $3-off-$30 coupon. It wouldn’t be valid until the dates of June 10-30th, but I sure as heck snagged it for myself. $3 off already discounted groceries? Umm . . . that’s a no brainer!
- I finally sold my $15 thrifted backpack for $60 through Craigslist. (Okay, maybe not really finally, but I did have to relist it probably four times.)
- I meant to walk over to Fred Meyer at some point yesterday to buy lettuce for a salad to accompany our dinner. (Hamburgers on homemade buns.) I never got around to it, but I remembered that I’d already cubed a 59¢ Grocery Outlet cantaloupe, which was waiting patiently in the fridge. I served the fruit instead of a salad, which both saved me an errand and kept me from impulse buying anything at the grocery store. And by the way . . . perfectly ripe and delicious!
- The zipper on my wallet is broken, and I’ve been keeping an eye out for a new (okay, used) replacement with no success. I posted in my local buy nothing group, but got zero-point-zero responses. (The group seems very keen on accepting free stuff, but isn’t so great when it comes to offering up free stuff.) I browsed at the boutique Goodwill near my house, but their wallets were priced at $10, which is too rich for my blood. (Less money spent on a wallet = more money in the wallet!) But then I remembered that I still had a store credit at The William Temple House Thrift shop across town. I’ll be halfway there after dropping my older son at school tomorrow, so I’ll stop by afterwards. Don’t want to break my 2015 streak of spending no money on stuff!
- I stopped at the credit union this morning and found 30¢ under the coin counting machine, I found a shiny penny at Fred Meyer, I finished one library book and started another, I donated at Goodwill and precisely wrote down the items on the receipt, I cooked from scratch, I used yesterday’s tea kettle water to water a plant, I listened to free podcasts from Gretchen Rubin and Dave Ramsey, I resisted a cross town errand as I knew it could be batched today and I didn’t buy a Lear Jet!
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.”
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
You inspire me so much! I always look forward to your posts.
I have a very dumb question…..how, when, and where do you listen to Dave Ramsey? Is he on TV? A Radio station? I have hardly any technology, just a flip phone. Do I need a smart phone or something else to receive his show? Thanks so much for all you do.
Make a duct tape wallet!
http://boyslife.org/hobbies-projects/projects/35660/make-a-duct-tape-wallet/
But I need a zippered pouch for change.
That’s what I thought, too…but I am getting by without it, although I don’t pick up as much change as you do. Usually, I just put it in my pocket and then it goes into the “milk money” fund when I get home. Can you tell I REALLY don’t want to shop for a wallet??
Dh. traded an old motor that works, for an attachment for his skidder. Now he can clear out our ditch on the property and any other digging he needs to do. Win, win for both parties and 2 things that were not being used are off the scrap heap so as to speak.
We are eating up leftovers for lunch, each having what we like best.
Power was out during supper time and for 3 hours last evening. Used the BBQ as an oven and stove and made our regular supper and ate outside to take advantage of the light, so a picnic for 2 on our covered porch. No TV, lovely evening and visiting like years and years ago.
Even had the neighbours drop by for a while, when they were out for a little ride . They too were enjoying a quiet evening and so an added visit a fitting end to a peaceful evening. Too b ad the power came back on because then it was time to do the dishes!
Today is clean up day, so far one load of laundry up and on the clothes line.
I’d rather do one load a couple of times a week than a whole lot on one day. In between I can do any hand wash and hang it to dry. ( Senior and am finding it harder with the years to keep up, so small amounts often is easier). Savings, I don’t yet have to hire help to keep the house.
Sounds like a perfect evening. We lost our power for several days due to bad storms a few years back. The neighborhood was so peaceful, everyone seemed to enjoy the unscheduled disconnect from everything electricity powers. It made for wonderful conversations, old ways of doing things and going to bed early. It was a lot like camping and I finally understood why my parents dragged the family on camping trips every summer – besides the fact it was all we could afford. Peace and quiet and memories of simpler times.
Going to work, bringing my lunch, and faithfully doing my physical therapy exercises and wearing my splint to avoid future health issues / doctor visits. And riding the train home so DH doesn’t have to drive through the CMAfest-induced traffic-hellscape to pick me up.
1. Making some soup with frozen tomato sauce and green beans, and some leftover veggies. Need something light tonight and this will fit the bill even though it’s a hot day.
2. Gonna give myself a pedicure tonight before our vacation that starts this weekend.
3. Downloaded some receipts to Receipt Hog. So far, seems very easy to use.
4. Needed to eat lunch out today because we only had one hour between commitments and couldn’t make it home. Planned ahead, found a new family Mexican restaurant and a coupon for it. Spent $37 (with tip) for lunch for our family of five and will have lunch again tomorrow from the leftovers. That makes it under $4 per person/per meal and we had fun and supported a local business.
5. My kids are writing heartfelt notes to their teachers for the last day of school tomorrow rather than giving “stuff.” Warm memories expressed by a child = priceless.
What is Receipt Hog?
1. I listened to Dave Ramsey yesterday too!
2. I practiced Spanish translations in a notebook my husband bought for a high school class 17 years ago and a pen I got for free as swag at a conference. Seriously why does anyone ever buy office supplies?
3. I repaired a pair of my son’s shorts that the washer tried to eat.
4. While I was at it I made what we call super diapers out of two pre fold diapers that came home in our son’s diaper bag from daycare. I tried to take them back, but the teachers swore they were ours. They become super diapers when I sew in a piece of a worn out towel giving them more absorption volume.
5. And I added a piece of elastic to the top of a pair of maternity shorts. They now don’t fall down which means they don’t sit unworn in the bottom of my drawer.
1. Planted two more romaine stumps in the porch planter.
2. Picked up some stuff out of a couple of garage sale FREE boxes, including a penny. Free money – yeah.
3. Bought a two level plastic rack for under the sink, to add to my plan to renovate under there. Garage sale = $2!
4. Bought a Farberware lid that will fit my dutch oven, 50 cents!
5. Went shopping at Dollar Tree to fill the welcome bags I’m donating to the international student and seasonal workers events our church is doing this summer. Found almost everything and bought a few things for November’s Operation Christmas Child. Frugal charity…..
1. Completed my quest for a thrift store summer wardrobe. A month of patient weekly trawling of the Salvation Army store netted me six shirts and a pair of jeans for $12, which was bought entirely out of pocket money.
2. Put all our critters on a reducing diet and greatly cut back their treats. The youngest cat and the biggest dog are still kind of chunky, but everybody else is looking good.
3. Cut back grocery shopping trips to three a month with a tight budget. (How tight? Approximately half of what we used to spend when I had no time to shop.) So far, so good.
4. Been very conservative with driving, so 3/4 of a tank of gas has lasted me almost two months. Love my little Honda Fit!
5. Been shopping at home first and using up all kinds of things found during our spring household decluttering.
Love the idea of pet diets. I think a lot of our pets could benefit from this.
Also, truly impressed by your (non)usage of gas.
I took the amount of food they’re supposed to eat for a healthy weight and divided it up so that they get several servings a day. That way they don’t — the cats in particular — gobble it all down and then wail when the dish is empty. My sister-in-law successfully dieted her cats from 25 pounds down to 17 that way, by dividing their food into 1/4 cup servings. They were very large cats, so 17-18 was a good weight for them.
The driving has been pretty easy because almost everything I need is right in the neighborhood.
Today I went shopping for the neighborhood party we’re hosting ( not frugal) but I did purchase necessities from Costco and Aldi, which helped lessen the blow.
I did decide to forgo regular grocery shopping right now as we can feed upon the leftovers to discourage food waste and save some cash.
1. Got rid of a falling-apart picnic table from the next-door rental house by listing it for free on Craigslist.
2. Ditto two REALLY. REALLY falling-apart park benches from our side yard. The guy who came for them picked up one, whose wood slats promptly disintegrated then and there! He wasn’t fazed — he’s going to rebuild them, and insisted that he’s going to send a picture when done. Open adoption. Whatever.
3. Instead of immediately replacing #1 with the $150 new and delivered picnic table advertised on Craigslist, I took the ratty old round plastic table we used for years, and scrubbed it within an inch of its life. (I’d been using it to lay things on to spray paint.) The top didn’t come completely clean, of course. Went to Jo-Ann’s and bought a round plastic flannel-back, red-and-white checked tablecloth for $3.99. Hauled it next door, set it up with a mayo jar full of flowers, and called it good. The guests were pleased, and so was I. I’ll continue trolling Craigslist for a used picnic table.
3. Located the purple paint int he basement, and will go over to the other rental to repaint the little porch there. Hey, finding the paint in the basement counts as frugal.
4. Corralled all my textbooks from the masters program I just completed, and went onto Amazon to see if I could trade/sell them. Only two qualified, for a grand total of just under $7. Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick — and I’ll take the rest to Powell’s and give them the opportunity to give me more.
5. Didn’t buy another rental house.
Very nice, and I can attest to how cute the scrubbed up table looked!
FFT’s:
1. Saved $4 last night treating my daughter and myself to dinner at Wendy’s they took an expired coupon for $2 off a salad and at the beginning of the year I bought/donated money to buy two key fobs which throughout the year when you make a purchase you get a kids size frosty. PLUS their kids meals are $1.99 through the end of June so actually I saved more that $4. 😉
2. Did the Wendy’s survey to save $2 off my next purchase there.
3. Picked a 10 cent returnable out of the trash can at work (no one saw me).
4. Received $55 from my last consignment batch, yeah!
5. Today was our last day of school. I received a $25 gift card to Starbucks from one of the teachers I helped this year (I was so grateful and felt very appreciated) so I was able to treat my daughter to a Frappuccino and their new S’more dessert Yum! (if you get one have them heat it up, its awesome!) It was fun having our treats and looking through her yearbook looking back at the school year.
6. Just got hired for summer camp which starts Monday. Very grateful for being employed this summer. We don’t have to but I plan on going in to work a half day tomorrow to help set-up and make some $. I still get to sleep in yeah!
7. Daughter asked to get a new pair of jean shorts and just remember some gift cards we still have leftover from Christmas to Kohls, etc., gotta like that!
1. Your post yesterday inspired me to look at overlooked income – I looked up to see if my state had any of my unclaimed property – turns out I could fill out electronic requests for $131 from my state without doing a lot of extra work! Yippee!
2. Also, keeping up with my reimbursement requests for pre-tax commuting/parking. Money I’ve already saved by spending!
3. Eating frugal lunches at work, including a loaf of fancy bread that got a bit close to the edge of inedible. Trimmed up and toasted, it’s all fine and tasty.
4. Using the wifi connection at work so I don’t use so much phone data.
5. Budgeting my next paycheck so I don’t spend it all on silly things.
My big non-frugal loss – being sick twice in two weeks (flu, then asthma), so getting a lot less $$ on this paycheck. Hence the determined and somewhat panicked budgeting.
Meant to include the following link. Well worth looking up to see if your state is holding anything random from your past!! http://www.unclaimed.org/reporting/ Click on your state (really, or any state where you’ve ever lived), and look up your name.
If you get Asthma regularly take a magnesium supplement , like Katy I am also a Registered nurse only im in Australia and I work in an Emergency Department where magnesium is used for lung diseases
That makes sense as Magnesium relaxes smooth muscle.
1. For breakfast I make a smoothie out of mulberries, frozen ripe bananas, frozen excess pineapple (including the core), etc. It was very good. I picked, rinsed, and froze more mulberries from the branch that hangs over our backyard.
2. I am washing our fabric shower curtains. They last for years, unlike some of the plastic curtains (and I try to avoid plastic whenever possible). I noticed that our shower curtain rings are at least fifteen years old (they are very basic), which made me feel good.
3. I didn’t spend any money today.
4. The other day I took one of our vehicles into the garage, for a possible problem. I had the shuttle take me home and then pick me up when they were done looking at the problem. They didn’t find anything wrong and didn’t charge me for looking. Taking the shuttle saved a friend, family member, or neighbor from having to spend time and money shuttling me.
5. I’ve been listening to a book on CD, Gaining Ground, while working in the kitchen. It makes the work so much more enjoyable.
1. I need new jeans (I always need new jeans…) so I hopped on over to Goodwill and found 3 pairs for < $12 that fit me comfortably, look pretty spiffy, and should hold up well, so unless I lose weight – we can all hope! – I will be set on the jeans front for awhile. I pretty much live in jeans so I'm very happy about this purchase.
2. On my way INTO said Goodwill, I dropped off two bags of clothes for donations. AND I only looked at jeans while I was there. When I found what I needed I skedaddled.
3. We're throwing my oldest son a birthday party on Saturday (he's 6!). Because we chose to rent a shelter from the local parks and rec – $25 for 2 hours – we don't actually need to provide much in the way of entertainment (there's a playground right there) and the party time is between traditional meal times, so we'll just be serving up light snacks and cake, which I will make myself. And I'm skipping the party favors – I just can't make myself do it. I'm always so tempted, but then I remember what happens to party favors that come into my house – they largely get tossed.
4. We were out of town two weekends ago and I was very sick last weekend. Why is this NCA, you ask? Because I'm spending all of my extra time catching up on housework rather than doing things that require money. And then I have the satisfying feeling of floors free of things and stuff mostly put away (I also have a lot of decluttering to tackle – one step at a time!).
5. I remembered to water my container garden this morning – which is awesome because I spied some tiny beans growing on my green bean plants. This means I absolutely must take care of them or I will literally be wasting food. How's that for some gardening motivation?
Good for you for not giving the party favors. I didn’t want to give any at my daughter’s birthday, considering we were already paying for bowling and lunch there, but DH became really upset about it, saying we couldn’t send the kids home without gift bags…. whaaaat?? I cave in – to buy peace and respect his opinion- and bought 40$ of cheap crap at the dollar store… what a waste!
1. Picked 14 lbs. of cherries from the tree at the local gas station last night! I’ll be pitting those babies right after I finish this post. I use a paper clip to pit them as it works so much better than a cherry pitter and is not something extra I have to store.
2. This evening I will be turning those scarlet orbs into sour cherry vanilla jam. It is so delicious as it tastes like a cherry pie. I will put some jars aside as Christmas gifts. The pectin was on the clearance shelf a few weeks ago and the jars came from the church clothing and household giveaway that I help with twice a year. Some will go in the freezer to be used later in the year.
3. Dinner is in the crockpot- pulled pork BBQ made with a $5 markdown pork roast that will be served on Potato rolls from the dollar store.
4. Will finally finish painting DS#2″s room tonight! Ended up using twice the amount of primer and paint because the walls seemed to be sucking it up and wasn’t covering the old color. That will teach me to not go so many years between painting. The good thing is DS and I agreed that he doesn’t need the second dresser and he doesn’t want the mirror that goes with it. They are Pine Factory/ This End Up style furniture so I will clean them up a bit with some wood cleaner and then list them on Craigslist and FB Yardsale group to recoup the cost of the paint and give him more space in his really small room.
5. Got a $10 off $10 or more purchase postcard from Kohl’s in the mail. I am so not a Kohl’s shopper but DH was just saying he really needed some dress socks since they have been wearing out from age. So we’ll see what we can find in men’s socks for $10.
Off to pit some cherries, finish painting and then go pick more cherries!
Gas station cherries? Be still my heart!
The funny thing is it’s owned by a grocery store chain! So if someone asks me where I got them I can say I got them at Giant Food and I will be telling the total truth!
1. Currently on Day 11 of a spend fast – have not eaten out all month and today was offered free lunch at work!
2. hanging out on swagbucks.com instead of out drinking (as I am so want to do when the weather is nice!)
3. Excited that my roommate is grilling a whole bunch of pork today – I intend to freeze some of it and make pork fried rice when I can get to the asian market for the rest of the ingredients (my spend fast does not include actual groceries)
4. Catching up on free financial magazines that my dogwalker leaves for me and health magazines my roommate leaves for me – also beefed up my Feedly recently so I have plenty of good things to read for free!
5. Preparing for a lowkey weekend of grilling and enjoying the free festivals and parks in Philadelphia this weekend!
Went to the neighborhood church rummage sale with a friend. My son and his wife are having their first baby – a boy – in September and I found some great things there. Found a pair of like new Docker khaki’s for my husband. Also found a girl sized Hannah Anderson top (this will be taken to the consignment store in late summer). Before we left, I sorted through my box again and put back about 1/3 of the baby clothes because I have been to several garage sales and am being very picky – came to $20 for all.
I cooked for the memory loss group at my church. We are asked to prepare food for 24 and today there was only 18. Leftovers will be tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s lunch.
I have 3 teenaged kids (niece and nephews) with me both this weekend and next. I have planned all meals for both weekends – no eating out just because I am stumped for a meal plan.
They love the $2 second run theater near us – so no matter what is playing – we’ll be there. Also making a list of free things at the Lake (concerts every night) and at the library nearest the house.
Went to a thrift store where all women’s clothes were 50% off. My favorite shorts this summer is a pair of dockers I bought at early at another thrift store – found a match and they were $3! Bought a black and white shirt with the $55 Macy’s tags still attached – $3.50 – I’m not thrilled with the fit so that will also go to consignment at the next trip.
firstly can I just say I rarely find coins anywhere except for at work where coffee change sometimes gets left around and that always goes in the fundraising tin
My 5 things are
1. I was buying a shirt marked down $69 to $15 , it scanned at $10
2. My son wanted some new tshirts for uni , he found one marked down $30 to $12, it scanned at $6, he is happy and I’m slowly influencing him and his girlfriend who both have expensive tastes that money in the bank is better than overpriced clothing
3. Was given a free toothpaste at the chemist
4. Drying apples rather than letting them go bad because we have too many
5. It’s freezing here so layering on more clothing rather than turning on the heating and cooking more to warm up the house that way
1. Transferred my prescription to Target. $10 for 3 months as opposed to some horrendous price thru the mail order Rx company.
2. Stretched my ground beef taco filling with lentils. I there is no compromise on taste, either. Doubled the amount of filling, so I will have a lot to freeze for quick meals. Also made my own spice blend from bulk spices. Any ideas for other quick things to make with leftover taco meat?
3. My charger for my tablet stopped working and some of the wires are frayed, so I found a charger from a really old cell phone in the electronic recycling bin here at home that works well enough.
4. Kids loving “frugal toys”-roll of tape, paper from junk mail, empty boxes etc. Hours of creative play that doesn’t have to involve me. I just have to not get upset about the mess…and of course I can’t throw anything away, yet…
5. Kids bowl free ($5 registration) all summer. Two free games per day and the alley has a summer pass for shoe rental! Great for those hot and humid afternoons where I refuse to be sweltering in the sun!
1. Took a bunch of snacks items from a low drawer and left out on counter for hungry teenagers to eat. We spend so much more on food now that we’re all home for the summer.
2. Went to Michael’s and only bought 4/1.00 scrapbook paper. Tempted by other stuff, but put it back. Decided to make all Fathers Day cards (3) with scrap supplies at home.
3. Had to buy 4 new tires for car,(not frugal) but shopped around, found the best deal, and have to be OK with it.
4. Rediscovered my library….. I am a school nurse and seldom use it during the school year. Plan to take free tai chi classes there on Tuesdays! Got a neat book about canning/storing food.
5. Cooked up black brand in crock pot. About 1/2 cost of canned.
6! Reduced out TV package by one notch. That savings (120) will pay one month of TV, Internet, and phone.
1. Picked up a penny that was laying on the sink counter in restroom at work. Another lady at the sink looked at my horrified. I said, “sorry, was this your penny”. She shook her head No, so I put in my pocket and just smiled at her.
2. Day 3 of eating soup for lunch that was made from leftover stir fry & rice. But this is it! The rest is going into the freezer.
3. Decided to reinstitute printing all of my documents on the back of discarded paper at work. Did it for a while, but got kind of lazy.
4. Purchased a nice 99 cent graduation card from Walmart. Amazing, but they are nice cards and all you have to do to save $3 is bend down to the bottom row.
5. Sent in the Innocence form to the City of Tualatin for my daughter running a red light. I got the ticket since I’m the registered owner! Hopefully we don’t look too much alike & they send me a new ticket because they don’t believe me. (Long story…she had to pick up her wedding dress from alterations, had never been to Tualatin in her life and got confused by lights & was too late to brake.). If they give me a ticket it will be the first one I’ve ever had and I’m almost 50! Funny thing will be, I would get my first ticket & it wouldn’t be from me driving!
1. I just came inside from tying up our 33 tomato plants onto their 5 ft. tall cages. Don’t ask me why we ended up planting 33 tomato plants! I don’t know, it just happened that way! I’ll be making LOTS of salsa, spaghetti sauce, tomato juice, canned tomatoes, ketchup and canned green tomatoes this summer! They are already growing like crazy! (Tell Su Mama it’s because of that mule manure!!)
2. I paid bills yesterday using our credit card. We use it for almost everything, then pay it off at the end of each month. We will have earned enough points by Christmas to cover all gifts for 15 people!
3. DH put up new line on my clothesline wheels. We got it on sale. And I used the old clothesline to tie up the tomato plants!! (See item #1!)
4. My grandsons are helping us with a lot of farm chores this summer! 14 year olds can really work! So I’m making lots of scratch meals because they can also really eat! Spaghetti, homemade pizza, popcorn, chocolate chip cookies, etc. And making tea by the gallons because I will NOT buy pop!
5. I have a buyer for some of my eggs that pays for most of the chicken feed. Then I give away a lot, too, but half-priced or less chicken feed is a good thing!
* Found a new-looking bra, my favorite brand, at Value Village for 7,99$, New in store is 70$.
* Had a pot-luck today. Brought a 0.99$ pretzels bag (bought on sale) and made a honey-mustard sauce to go with. The sauce barely got touched, so I brought it back and will use it at home. So my contribution was pretty cheap, 0,99$ for a lunch.
* Did not feel like cooking tonight, Contemplated buying frozen chicken fingers (very healthy…), but decided against. Instead, we had “breakfast for supper” ; cereals, eggs, toasts and fruits, Easy, healthier and cheaper than frozen crap.
* We are moving and need to sell our house. We have 4 doors that are in bad shape esthetically speaking, but work perfectly fine. I was contemplating buying new ones to replace them. At 80$/ door, it comes down to 320$…. just because I am too LAZY to paint them?!?? I’ll get a gallon of white paint and get on it instead!! (30$??)
* We are eating mostly from the freezers and pantry at the moment, in prevision of the move, so groceries costs are on the low side
* My daughter is invited to a 5 year old birthday party tommorow. I got a Frozen game half-price at ToysRUs for 5$. Considering she will be there for 4 hours (free babysitting!), supper included, it’s a good deal, hihi!
Have a great frugal day!
And… the doors are painted!
Good on ya! 😀
Picked kale, peas and volunteer black raspberries from the garden. Started broccoli, cauliflower, squash, and more kale seeds for the late garden. DH got the clothesline up this week, so I’ve been hanging everything out. I responded to a cl ad a few weeks ago for free canning jars. Got about 60-70 quarts from some older lady’s basement. Been scrubbing them up
Slowly – they’re old but in usable shape. On the lookout for a used two-seat stroller. Trying to declutter, donate or sell what we don’t want and reuse what is useful right now. Hope to grill this evening, I’m thawing discounted meat and will try to use up
Charcoal leftover from last year.
These are honestly my fave posts 🙂 Lots of great ideas!
1.) Our weedwhacker broke (wtf, not even a year old) so while waiting for my husband to return/get service on it, I have been using an old pair of clippers I got in a garage sale bucket of garden tools to trim around my garden beds.
2.) Have ACTUALLY been sticking to my 60/wk food budget. My number one buying weakness is food, seriously.
3.) Got some free plants from a friend who was thinning out their garden. I got some really cool looking hostas!
4.) Have continued (though sales have slowed) to clear out my bookshelves of unwanted books by selling on Amazon. Fairly easy!
5.) I’ve been remembering to actually use swagbucks and my points have been racking up! I’m hoping to use only cc points,paypal earnings, and gift certificates earned with swagbucks/recyclebank for holiday gifts this year. I’m doing well so far!!!