- I prepared a noodle stir fry last night that included two boxes of 33¢ angel hair pasta from The Grocery Outlet and a large amount of 99¢/lb broccoli. It was pretty tasty and my husband chose to bring leftovers for his work lunch today instead of a sandwich, which was a once-a-decade occurrence.
- I sold some cool printed vintage glass jars through Craigslist that I’d pulled from a free pile. #collegefund
- My younger son consolidated his books from two shelves down to one in order to have room to display his sneaker collection. I took the discards to Powell’s bookstore and my son now has $42 in store credit that he can use when there’s a book he’s wanting to buy. I donated the rest to Goodwill and wrote a detailed list of hardbacks vs. paperbacks for when tax time rolls around.
- I’m taking care of my neighbor’s cats and garden while they’re out of town. Today was our every-other-week garbage pickup, so I set out their bin and noticed that it was half empty. I went ahead and topped it up with some trash we’d accumulated from cleaning out an area of our basement. We share a garbage pickup with our other neighbors, which means there’s rarely room for extra garbage. (Trash happy!) Also, I needed to fax financial papers to my sons’ university, so I texted my out of town neighbor who told me it was fine to use their fax machine. Saved me both money and an errand!
- I finished reading my son’s library copy of The Fault in Our Stars, my older son and I watched a DVD of The Giver thanks to a free Redbox promo code, (just text MOVIENIGHT to 727272) my clothesline has been in almost constant use, my husband sold some tickets to an upcoming Portland Thorns soccer game, both of my sons have been putting in many hours at their jobs and my husband was awarded a promotion at work.
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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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
1. I have not gone shopping for a week now. It’s amazing how the bank account stays the same!
2. Instead of buying a new living room set, I simply changed pieces of artwork, chairs from other rooms, and made new curtains with thrift material I found in a sale bin. A good cleaning went a long way also. Next I plan to do that with my bedroom stuff.
3. I found some paint last week in a sale bin at the paint store. For $10 I bought $60 worth of paint in a cream color, which will make my living room even better.
4. I did think about changing cars last week to a more efficient one, but found I would have to pay over ten grand (mine is paid for). I had my old car professionally cleaned and decided to simply drive less.
5. For my birthday celebration, I will serve free sweet corn with real butter I found on sale, grilled chicken thighs with my famous homemade bbq sauce, and fresh green beans from the garden. Wouldn’t you know I have a coupon for a free cake at the local bakery! My friends will not arrive on a Lear jet.
Happy birthday!!
1. Met a friend for coffee and we shared a BOGO coupon.
2. Went to Walmart for the first time in probably 2 months, since I needed some stuff I was unable to find elsewhere; bought a large padded envelope so I can mail our great-nice’s baby gift, a bottle of calcium capsules, a strand of crystals for a necklace, and a plastic pencil box (for 57 cents) to add to my set I use to contain jewlery projects as I add to the pieces needed for each. Decided against a set of index card dividers, since I think Ben Franklin’s has them for a 1/4 of the price. Proud of myself for not buying anything else!
3. Smashed up some stale bread for crumbs.
4. Took a homemade iced tea in an insulated cup with my on errands, to keep me from being tempted to buy a soda.
5. Watered my houseplants with the water left in last night’s dinner water glasses. Since I started doing that a few weeks ago (after rearranging the plants and tossing/trimming some), my plants look awesome!
Lucky you to have a Ben Franklin’s. WalMart killed my local BF’s off.
I miss Ben Franklins! There was one in NH and i used to walk there all the time!
We were on vacation most of last week on the other side of the country. Still some frugality happened (along with a lot of family oriented spending).
1. We booked a one bedroom apartment at the guest house of the local college for about a third of local hotel costs.
2. We bought food for 2 dinners for our first night and breakfast every day. One dinner and one lunch were provided by family members also.
3. We took lunch on the plane for the flight out and emptied the frig at home before leaving.
4. Hand washed lingerie in the room as needed using dishwashing soap provided.
5. Enjoyed some free activities – walking around Little Tokyo/The Arts District and visiting the Griffith Park Observatory grounds.
Awesome, Katie!
My best friend is visiting from Chicago for several days. She’s another frugalite, so she got the cheapest tickets Southwest had to offer by flying in and out at odd times. I didn’t mind at all.
We’ve been cooking all our meals at home, and tomorrow’s lunch will be a leftover buffet!!
We watched our neighbor’s cat and in exchange were gifted a lovely kitchen towel and a big bag of fresh, local corn.
Today we played tourists in Philadelphia and parked in a ( hard to find) nonmetered area. We bought $5 tickets to a Philly tourist hop on, hop off bus, and have been venturing around the city all day. When it’s 95 degrees with minimal shade in parts, we chose to buy the $5 pass. Plus the bus is a nice way to cool off
I made my famous French toast casserole for brunch yesterday. I save bread ends and odd peiced in the freezer, and pull them
Out when I make this. I just add some eggs, milk, and a few staples and we have a restaurant worthy item!
Our lives are currently revolving around basement renovations and preparing to take our 4 young daughters on a ~2000 km drive to visit family for two weeks. Whew. So not everything has been frugal, but we’re doing our best.
1. I menu planned carefully, so that I know we’ll get through our perishables before we leave, without wasting food.
2. We’re making food to eat along the way, instead of getting fast food or eating at restaurants. Sandwiches, grapes, veggies with hummus, muffins, and yoghurt/berry/granola parfaits with homemade granola. 🙂 We’ll also pack beverages in thermoses and water bottles.
3. Our basement renovations stemmed from unanticipated foundation repairs. After the contractors did the work, my husband has been working hard to redo everything on the inside… New framing, insulation, drywall, etc. We’re saving money by doing it ourselves, and by saving the carpet, but also making sure we’re choosing quality materials so it’s done properly and will last a long time.
4. I brought in a stack of books to our used bookstore and used the credit to buy 5 chapter books for my voracious 8-year-old reader to bring on the trip. (Is rather do that than chance losing library books along the way!)
5. I discovered an amazing source of children’s clothing last week at a consignment store across town. Worth the trip!
Four youngsters on a 2000km road trip. I’m impressed!
Mostly the usual frugal stuff:
1. Enjoyed coffee at home this morning, instead of swinging by Starbucks on my way to work. I have really broken my Starbucks habit, and my bank account appreciates the difference.
2. Packed leftovers for my work lunch and snacks.
3. Carrying my stainless steel water bottle with me, filled and re-filled throughout the day with tap water.
4. Free entertainment this weekend, including going on a hike, visiting a couple of friends, and taking a nap. 🙂
5. I don’t remember the last time I shopped for anything besides groceries. There isn’t anything I really want or need. Oh, I did get a pair of shorts at Goodwill last week. I didn’t have a single pair! I wore them on my weekend hike.
I can’t believe how casually I used to buy bottled water! Now I use a 24 oz. Starbucks clear cup I bought at Target that I refill throughout the day. It tricks me into feeling like I’m drinking their triple-filtered water.
1. I cut up a $2.79 seedless watermelon and a $1.49 pineapple. They will provide a good bit of our fruit this week.
2. I am wearing clothes and footwear that I have had for several years (except the shirt, which is a recent hand-me-up).
3. We cleaned out a bunch of stuff over the weekend and most of it was listed on freecycle. I love having our castoffs go to those that want them. No tax break but we are okay with that.
4. The old swing set bit the dust so my husband cut the wood pieces so they’ll fit in a couple of old trash cans. There is no need to go to the dump. Our trash collection is provided by the county and a fee is included with our property tax (it is not use based). The swings and slide were still good and found new homes.
5. Along with coins I pick up scrap metal. A friend took our full bucket and gave us some cash a few months ago. I collect it mostly for environmental reasons. On my walk this morning I found a wheel weight and a bolt, but no coins.
I love watermelon, but no one else in my family does. I need to get one just for me!
And I learned on another blog (peniless parenting) that you can use the rinds as well in recipes…
I really like her blog, but most of her recipes look very unappetizing to me!
Me too! It’s… special.
1. I got up early yesterday and had lunch in the crockpot before we left for our morning at church even though I love to eat out after church.
2. My son had a HS freshman orientation meeting today and it only lasted two and a half hours. I sat in the parking lot and did email on my fone and then read a book to save both the gas $$ and the travel time back and forth.
3. Dinner tonight is a teriyaki stir fry, in which I will use the remains of the roast from Sunday’s crockpot lunch.
4. The same crockpot lunch also became sandwiches last night for me and my husband’s dinner and lunch today for the kids. Considering I bought the roast on clearance for $9, not too bad of a price/meal.
5. When I recently needed to do a lot of faxing, I bought a $3 app for my smart phone – or to be more exact, the app was free and I bought $3 of faxing credits. I sent five separate faxes, and still have 30/50 faxing credits left. This saved me the money to pay to send a fax, the $$ for gas to drive to the FedEx store where I used to send faxes from, and it saved a LOT of time.
Johanna
1. I got a Bogo Chipotle burrito/bowl/salad coupon (you still can sign up for it on their website) once you ‘play a game’ for 1 minutes they will txt you a coupon. This is an awesome treat for me ($12 value). I am often picking up a salad bowl for my boss for lunch. Once I do it next sometime this week, I will pick up my bogo bowl for free 😉
2. Planning on no grocery shopping this week. Eating from fridge and pantry (will try at least!)
3. Found 50 cents on a street
4. Downloaded a free pattern for a dress for my niece
5. I waited to get home to drink water instead of picking up a bottle (I forgot my water bottle)
1. Moved our daughter by borrowing a van rather than renting a truck. My friend refused any sort of payment so I brought her sons some bakery treats – again, teenage boys eat anything!
2. She gave me some peppers that were getting a bit wrinkly and they leave on vacation tomorrow – made stuffed peppers for dinner tonight.
3. Sorted through a ton of quilting fabric that I simply have too much of – listed it on craigslist and sold it all in one fell swoop 2 days later.
4. Today I sorted the home decorating fabric and will be posting that today or tomorrow – keeping only those I truly love.
5. My husband dropped his 2 month old iPhone 6 in the lake last weekend – aah! We do have insurance through AT&T but I checked with homeowners insurance just in case we had some sort of coverage through them – we don’t – but at least I took the time to check. I did find out about coverage though for computers/iPads which we will probably add at less than $10.00/year.
I have had a hectic yet frugal week!
1) I was able to cover a coworker gaining 2 extra days of work.
2) I dog/ chicken sit for a friend for the payment of her perishables she didn’t get through before they left and the eggs the chickens laid.
3) I dog/ chicken sat for someone else, as well for a nice fee and free zucchini.
4) my fabulous dentist did my X-rays today at no charge.
5) I picked up an extra half shift at my second job for tomorrow. I will pack my breakfast and lunch so I can sleep a bit before the earlier than usual start for this and not want to stop to eat on the way home.
1. Went to visit our daughter and her family over the weekend. Forgot to bring bottled water in a cooler and paid $1.75 for one at a rest stop! I filled empty bottles at their house for the rest of the weekend and the trip home.
2. Thought I brought some spending money with me, but I had left it at home. So did not spoil the grands like I usually do. My husband did have cash for gas and a lunch out on Saturday.
3. Planning to go grocery shopping today, but gave a good look and decided we have plenty to work with. So probably won’t shop till the weekend.
4. Checked out a new thrift shop today that I first noticed a couple of weeks ago. Got some really cute baby clothes for a shower this weekend. Also a nice set of Paddington Bear books one of the grandchildren will receive for a Christmas or birthday gift. Also a Home Interiors candle for .25.
5. Continuing to watch free t.v. with our antennae. Sometimes the weather will interrupt the signal, but it’s only a minor irritation. We also have Netflix, but that bill is only $9 per month. TV watching is our biggest hobby, sadly.
This weekend I stopped at a yard sale and found some yard shoes for $1.00– the $2.00 sneakers that I got at a yard sale a couple of years ago for yard work are falling apart (I had to glue the soles back on last week). A friend and I did lunch Saturday- used a coupon–saved $4.00. Took a stack of books to an antique/used book store and the credit paid for the books that I bought at the store. Did not turn the tv on all day–saved the electricity– read by lamp instead. Cleaned with vinegar and water– cheap and cleans great.
1. Took my daughter to select her free brand new book from the library for participating in the summer reading program, what a treat.
2. Completed several marathons – of tv series, lol. Watched the first season of Outlander and Cedar Cove compliments of the library. Loved each and I LOVE the clothes the woman wear in the Cedar Cove series, is that how all you Washington people dress? 😉 Is there never any snow by Seattle?
3. Applied for and was awarded a scholarship this week for my daughters fall recreational soccer league fee.
4. Also this summer applied for and received two other scholarships for her to attend summer day camp while I was working – very grateful as she would not have been able to attend it without them and helped IMMENSELY with childcare costs.
5. Just was hired for a new full-time position with a pay upgrade and guaranteed 52 weeks a year, yeah. I did become a consumer (ahem, please don’t condemn me and kick me out of the group) and purchased some new work slacks and tops as I need to look much more professional. I will say however I shopped all the sales and clearance racks and did really well. Most proud of the Liz Claiborne sweater I got at JC Penney for $8 something. I also used coupons from Discover card I got in the mail as well as JC Penney. I also took out a new JC Penney credit card and received 35% off everything I purchased. I pay off my credit cards every month so know worries.
6. Have delayed doing a major grocery shopping trip for two weeks and made do just stopping to buy milk and fresh veg and fruit, bread, etc., we needed.
7. Even though it hurt at the time I chose to set-up the pre-tax dollar dependent care account through work. I submitted last week my summer childcare receipts I had and got the check in the mail today.
8. This month is not as big an income month as July was do to less dog walking/watching so I cut back on expenses in the EveryDollar budget. Did have to budget in back2School costs (yearbooks, PTA membership, etc.), glad they are one time only for this year.
9. Did not by my dream car a Mustang convertible.
Seattle Snow: 1 or 2 snow days a year. Seldom more than a few inches and it melts the following day in most cases. I think its warm airflow off the Pacific Ocean that accounts for our weather.
It was a pretty frugal day.
1. Went to have blood drawn and did NOT stop for coffee or breakfast on the way home.
2. My daughter came over to use the washing machine, so I talked to her instead of wasting the afternoon doing nothing.
3. New TV arrived today. My husband installed it, having also chosen it. He could have gone a size bigger, but didn’t! 32 inches is big enough for the small living room we have. It is a smart TV, which we don’t know much about…yet. We will learn.
4. Was going to go to cruise night with DH but it rained, so I quickly made some dinner—he had said we would eat out-and then it cleared up–husband went without me. A couple hours of alone time for me!! And dinner was good–bowl of goulash with cornbread and hot pepper cheese melted on top!! Blueberry pie when he came back, just now. Good thing we didn’t go wanting dinner–the only food truck was the ice cream truck!
5. Got a couple checks written while he was gone and some reading. Good enough.
* My mom asked if I wanted to go eat out. I suggested we eat at home instead. She brought a frozen pizza and strawberries, I offered salad and pop. After that, we watched a movie on Netflix.
* Picked a big Ziploc bag of cherry tomatoes and 2 big bags of kale from my garden. They are sitting in my freezer.
*Eating from the pantry/fridge/freezer all week. Hubby and kids are gone for the week, so it’s up to me, and wird combinations doesn’t bother me
* I have a gigantic bag of mix veggies in the freezer. Never use them because they were stuck in a big clump. So I defrost just enough to be able to separate and then re-bag in small Ziploc (yes, I love ziplocs!), back in the freezer. That way, they will get eaten
* Since being alone all week, and only working 4 mornings, I have to fight some urges to “get out and do stuff”, which can easily equate to “spend money”, just to pass the time. So far (4 days), I stayed put and did not spend money… except on sushi last night…. still good. I painted part of the old house, worked in the garden, did laundry, wrapped Christmas presents (yes, you read that right!), read, re-watched Big Bang Theory, etc.
Have a great frugal day!
Congratulations to your husband on his promotion.
The month of July was not as frugal as I would have liked due to a baby shower, a graduation party that I had to travel to and the birth of two new nieces. I have spent a lot of money on gas alone. I love Five Frugal Things and everyone’s comments because it motivates me to get back on track.
1. earned an additional 40 cents off a gallon of gas by doing a much needed grocery stock-up today,
2. I already had 30 cents off a gallon accumulated from previous trips to the store so I saved 70 cents a gallon today when I filled up my on empty gas tank. I also got an additional 2 cents a gallon because I paid with cash.
3.used a Van’s coupon for free waffles that I got because I wrote to them about a problem with my last purchase
4.made eggplant parm in order to use up some eggplant that was not going to last much longer.
5. My brother took my Mom and I out to dinner on Saturday night so we had left overs for Sunday and tonight, because I got home so late I managed to toss some turkey sausage and peppers together for dinner while I prepped the eggplant.
1. Bought three packages of meat marked half price as they were almost at their sell-by date. I always scan the meat aisle for these mark-downs and my freezer is full of them now.
2. I’ve gotten in the habit of turning off my electric stove before something finishes cooking. The burner stays hot for awhile and in about five minutes the food is done.
3. We bought six ears of corn at a produce stand, and only ate two at dinner, so I cut the corn from the cob and froze the rest.
4. We discovered that we had overpaid a bill somehow and had a $25 credit. Rather than letting it sit, my husband called and requested a refund which will go right into our savings.
5. On a recent day trip I packed a picnic lunch that we ate by the lake in a city park that has free entry. We usually end up eating out on these treks, but I planned ahead this time and had a great time watching the sailboats and sail-boarders as we had our meal.
1. DH and I saw Ant-Man for free with a movie theater gift certificate earned from doing surveys.
2. DH used 2 Game Stop gift cards to buy a game he’s been waiting for the price to drop. He ended up getting a pre-owned one for $15 less than new and there is still money left on one of the cards.
3. We used up an organic head of lettuce my MIL left at our house after a recent visit. We were already trying to eat through a lot of greens. We had taco salads with marked down ground beef from the freezer.
4. I made a fruit salad for a friend’s birthday potluck party.
5. I cashed out survey points for PayPal to go toward back-to-school savings and a clothing steamer.
Congratulations to your husband and sons for their work ethic!
1) Listened to the first Harry Potter on audio CD for free from the library.
2)Went on a night walk with hubby for entertainment.
3)Received $50 worth of Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks.
4) Doctored up some whole wheat tortillas that had been sitting in the fridge uneaten b/c the kids decided they didn’t like them. I slathered them with butter, cinnamon and sugar and baked them. Served them alongside a fruit salsa and the kids loved them!
5) Turned off the sprinkler system to take advantage of the rain from the sky. I’ve hardly had to turn on the sprinklers this summer!
1. Posted some books on a FB yard sale site and collected $11.
2. Bought a beautiful dove gray queen size comforter, shams, and bedskirt for $10. Ignored the dry clean only tag, tossed it in the washer and it came out perfectly fine.
3. Have been wanting to replace the sink & vanity in our downstairs bath, but it is an odd size. Someone posted exactly what I needed, in a style I really liked. Paid $75, would have been about $250 – $300 retail.
4. Bought a Trek jogging stroller for a very cheap price. Scrubbed it down and almost have it ready to list on CL.
5. My friend gave me a pair of silver tone drop earrings, as she is allergic.
Wow!! Good score on the financial front, Katy!!
1) I saved $2 by using a coupon to buy PUR faucet filters yesterday. I could only find a twin pack, but every bit helps.
2) I’m leaving early today to take our dog to get shots and a check-up. So, I’m going to eat lunch at home before I take her in.
3) I went to Aldi’s Sunday and bought some groceries. I love their fruits and veggies, low cost but very nice. Aldi’s carries gluten free stuff too, so I was able to buy my GF bread and some cookies to snack on here in the office.
4) I’m heading to the Library tomorrow to return stuff. Time to shop with my favorite card!
5) I got another coupon in the mail for a free pair of panties from Victoria’s Secret. Yay, I love their low-cut briefs!
For the week: Made garden veggie-based meals – salsa, tomato sauce, green beans, squash casserole. Also pulled out some crock pot freezer meals that I made before my maternity leave. Got a free BBQ ribs birthday dinner at the MILs. Line-dried the clothes and cloth diapers. Nursed the baby instead of buying formula. Took the toddler to lots of free/cheap activities- storytime at the library, play dates w the cousins, a trip to the pool (free for her), walks to the playground. Found a nice cookbook at the dollar tree and put it away for a gift. Also found a pair of gold hoop earrings in my jewelry box that I never wear and put those away for a gift. Read my library books. Worked out at home instead of going to the gym. Used some old tissue paper to craft a “bouquet” of flowers w my 2 yr old instead of buying a birthday card.
1. Coaxed my husband back into packing a lunch for work. He’d fallen off the wagon there for a few weeks.
2. Cleaned, organized, and spiffed up the pantry with $3 worth of shelf paper. The cleaning and organizing were a direct side effect of moving everything off the shelves to put down the paper. It looks much tidier in there now.
3. Made popcorn as a snack several times using an air popper my mother-in-law gave us nearly 30 years ago. It still works great!
4. Made some homemade soup for dinner from goodies in the freezer and served it with homemade biscuits.
5. Got several free e-books to read.
1. We recently moved to the tropics and my 4 year-old son has several pair of cargo pants he loves…. needless to say it is much to warm here for long pants. Three days ago I cut off one pair just below the pockets and added a new hem. Ever since he has only taken them off to sleep! The next pair of pants is getting cut and stitched today!
2. There is lots of sun here, so I make a gallon of sun tea everyday. Tea bags are 60 or so for less than $6, and the water is filtered from our cistern. I make a gallon using twelve tea bags which gives me 16 cups per day. A two cup bottle of ice tea from the store costs $2. Homemade sun tea costs us just 7.5 cents per cup versus the $1 per cup for storebought!
3. Homeschool kindergarten curriculum retails for $1150.00-$1650.00 per year. I just purchased it used for $210 plus $7 S&H! WooHoo!
4. I make all our bread from big artisan loaves to bagels to sandwich bread et al. The flour is $1/lb and generally we make 1lb loaves. I use a poolish or biga and save some for the starter for the next day, so we have been minimizing our consumption of the yeast. We are still using the first packet of active dry yeast since moving in three weeks ago (typically sold 3 together at the grocery) and we’ve made at least twelve big loaves of bread. The only other ingredients are salt and water. Again minimal cost for the half teaspoon of salt I use (and I have some hopes of harvesting our own salt soon as it is done locally here) So yummy homemade bread costs us $1/loaf with a once a month investment in a new .75oz packet of yeast. 🙂
5. The dragon fruit are budding, blossoming and fruiting here. Everyday on our walks we watch them ripen and grow, bound and determined to get to them before the birds. Dragon fruit are yummy yummy and there is quite a good crop harvestable from our road. Last count put us at 17 fruits and nearly 20 more buds within reach! If we get even half of them we will be very happy 🙂
Ooooooh! How was The Giver? It was my favorite book when I was in the 4th grade but I’m not sure if the movie will capture the magic 🙂