Five Frugal Things -- Airport Edition
1. Unlike my countless trips to New York, my flight to Albuquerque was a mere 2-½ hours and didn't require packing a meal, or even a snack!
2. I wore a mask, both in the airport and on the plane. Nothing frugal about getting sick.
3. I packed a lightweight library book for entertainment and neither wanted nor needed pay the $6 airplane Wi-Fi.
4. Portland Coffee Roasters had a table set out with free cans of their coffee, to which they'd add ice, milk and vanilla syrup. My husband and I each accepted two different varieties and shared a single can over ice. The unopened cans are now in the hotel fridge, waiting to be enjoyed.
5. Our hotel has a "complimentary evening reception" that ends at 7 P.M. This includes fruit, cheese, crackers, trail mix, drinks, etc. It was about to end as we checked in, so we hightailed it over and grabbed a few nibbles before taking our luggage to our rooms.
Of course it's not really "complimentary," as it's part of your bill.
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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I love the airport edition! I'm always struggling to be frugal when I travel. How nice of Portland Coffee Roasters to provide free drinks!
I traveled to the community center twice since my last entry to get more walking done on the indoor track, and also to exchange library books.
At the little free pantry, which is on the way, I picked up a bag of everything bagels and a box of Trader Joe's cornbread stuffing mix. Because I like Thanksgiving all the time! Someone had left a penny, so I took that, too.
I had a very sad conversation with my son, who is trying so hard to get a new job, but not getting even a nibble. He is so far away, and I feel so helpless. He is looking into getting COBRA, and it very expensive for a family. Not surprising. I will do whatever I can financially, but I do not have deep pockets.
I went to the car wash yesterday when the temperature got up to around 40. It was busy, but not terribly so. The basic wash was only $5. It was $7 the last time I went there. I opted not to use the free vacuums, because the inside will just get cruddy again very fast. In spring I'll give it a good interior scrub.
Trying to get in the mood to do my taxes....
Beth, I'm sorry for your son's situation and can feel your helplessness. If he's in the United States, be sure to check out available options at https://www.healthcare.gov/ as COBRA isn't the only one.
Ditto MB to Beth!
Good advice. Cobra is expensive
Beth W.,
Tell your son to hang in there! So sorry he's going through this. BTW, I'm not sure if it would be a good thing or not, but have him look into US Health. I think they have reasonable health insurance. Also if you are a Lutheran or Catholic, they have some insurance for their members. Lutherans have "Thrivent," and Catholics can get Knights of Columbus, IIRC from my insurance call center days.
Thank you, I will share this information with him. Unfortunately, we are not Catholic or Lutheran.
The marketplace is much better price than COBRA. If he or his wife (or both) can register for a class at a local community college, they can get some basic healthcare at student health for free (at least in my state they can). Also, they can check with their county for free vaccinations and any other free services.
If you are members of different organizations, esp. national ones, see if they have group rate health ins. You might be pleasantly surprised.
I didn't remember to reply on yesterday's post but congrats on the sale of the pan after a good bit of work on it! Definitely earned that cash.
I am teased by my husband for over packing some snacks even for short flights but I have been stuck way too often in the terminal or on the tarmac for hours and then he's much more open to the idea of something I've brought.
Last night we enjoyed dinner out at a nice Thai restaurant for his birthday and I used a generous gift card from a friend. We noticed they printed new menus with increased prices and my cabbage dish serving was more akin to a lunch portion. But it's not a meal I know how to make myself (pad kratiem) and while mostly wfpb eaters I suspect there is some fish sauce in there. As we say, no gold stars are given so we just do the best we can.
Picked up a DVD that was on hold for me at the library, Stealing Beauty, and when it came up for me I had actually forgotten about it and looked up the title. The book that came up was nothing I'd be interested in and thought what in the world did I reserve? Then I reread my hold alert and it was the DVD of a movie set in Italy with Liv Tyler and that's totally something I'm interested in, so a nice surprise courtesy my poor memory.
I bought two cabbages at Trader Joe's and roasted one with a smittenkitchen recipe (https://smittenkitchen.com/2025/04/charred-salt-and-vinegar-cabbage/) and served with mashed potatoes. I'd planned on boiling the other in hearty veg broth, which is a favorite of my husband's...but I might just make that recipe again, it's so good.
Enjoying streaming free winter ambience music on YouTube on TV while the snow is still piled outside. I get a kick out of the AI generated scenery mistakes with, say, the slice of cake steaming instead of the hot tea, or the clocks with four hands... Now I look closely as a mini pop quiz haha
1. We made it through the Southern ice storm (it was bad---schools have been out for 10 days so far) without falling on the ice and didn't have to buy any new implements or hire anyone to chip us out. My mom needed to get to an appt and her ramp and driveway were solid ice. I used a mattock to break up the ice on the ramp and on a path to my AWD, then used a shovel to clear the areas. We put ice cleats on her shoes and she made it safely to the appt and back. Then used our hiking poles to make it safely to and from my mil's apartment parking lot so we could deliver her groceries and fix her meds up in her dispensing machine. I got to practice driving on the ice twice which is a fear I really need to tackle at this stage of my life. Facing a fear can be so empowering.
2. Used a $10 off card my hairstylist had given me on my last visit.
3. Put my husband's entire retirement check he draws from previous employer toward paying off our newest vehicle early. Three more months and we should be done and my husband is considering going part-time at his job. I am so excited about having more time together!
4. Did online ordering for a couple things we can't find locally, turmeric in non-gelatin capsules and ceylon cinnamon. Got free shipping on both, cinnamon from manufacturer and turmeric from Costco.
5. Husband got a free coffee for downloading a new coffee shop app.
I hope you don't need your ice-driving skills again, Susan, and good for you for practicing!
My husband points out he doesn't worry about me on the road: It's all the other drivers that he doesn't trust.
1. Dishwasher went out & husband (who is a mechanic) could not repair it. Had to buy a new one. Then the oven part of the 20-year-old stove went out. He could not repair that either. I found a used gas stove on Craigslist for $150. Boom! There is a working stove now.
2. Found a hose reel while walking. I turned the crank & it seemed to work. I called the husband & he came to get it. There was also a garden hose in the free pile that he took. He said it was in better shape than what we had.
3. Found 29 cents while walking this evening.
4. I also found a S shaped cat scratching device. I don't know if my cats will like it but put it out for them to try.
5. We cooked a Papa Murphy pizza that I got in the late summer using an offer Katy posted about. Now there is a working stove that can be used to cook pizzas. I think the pizza was a dollar. A cheap pizza cooked in a 2nd hand stove. Katy would approve.
So glad you were able to tend to your mother's and MIL's needs safely, Susan. And I know what you mean about confronting your fears of winter driving. I grew up in TN myself, and I still prefer to "get out while the gettin's good" and stay home when it ain't (see my comment below). But sometimes I do have to go out in heavy weather, and I just have to put my big-girl panties on and do it.
Great job on #1. That’s a feat!!!
I live in Snow country. Ice storms are the worst! After my father went into care, I discovered that a walker is a useful tool on ice. It gives me enough stability to get out and turn on my generator. The cleats are good, too.
Have fun in New Mexico!!!!!!!!!!!
Meanwhile, This is the 5th time I have attempted to write my comments. First on my POS old computer. Couldn't call anything up. 2nd and 3rd times on my "burner" tracfone, also a POS. All of the sudden the writing disappeared. Twice! No. 4 was on the POS computer and all of the sudden, the writing disappeared again. So now I'm at the library on their computers, and I'm in a very foul mood!
1. Yesterday I hit the Goodwill store. Gave them a sack full of donations and, as usual, asked for their discount coupon. They've always given their donors a coupon for 20% off everything you buy, as long as it was donated merch. Anyway, I went into the store to shop. Got a shopping cart full of goodies, mostly gift baskets. (People keep the gifts and donate the basket/containers after Xmas. Right now is the time the thrift stores are putting them out on the shelves. I buy them and store them bc I'm always making gift baskets.) So, I have a shopping buggy piled high with stuff and I'm in the checkout line and I read the coupon. Good thing: Goodwill is now joining the shrinkflation craze. Instead of discounting everything in your cart, their new coupons are for ONE item at 20% off. Lucky I read the fine print before checking out! I asked the cashier to watch my cart bc I "forgot" my coupon; I then went out to my car and found an old coupon that entitles me to EVERYTHING
20% off. Whew! That saved me a pile of moolah!
1A. Next time I go to Goodwill, I will just get one thing and use a newstyle coupon, unless it's on a Tuesday which is Senior Citizen Day; will have to ask if everything is 20% off or only one thing when I visit on a Tuesday. And 2 can play the game: next time I will donate only ONE item to GW instead of a bunch of stuff. So there!
2. This morning, I went down the street: first to the diner for breakfast, then to a thrift store and then to Ollie's Outlet. All three in a row! Saved time, saved gas.
3. Anyway, I visited to another thrift store, this one benefitting a senior citizen ministry. Gave them a (second) sack full of donations -- I'm mad at Goodwill! Also browsed their store: Found a David McCullough book about building the Panama Canal for 50 cents. (I highly recommend anything he writes. He is a historian who writes like a really good novelist, and you just can't put the book down! Most famous for his Truman and John Adams books, but there are many others.) Also found some nice file/storage boxes for my income tax items, some house numbers for 10 cents each, another nice gift basket, a leather bookmark from England that they let me have for free, and a kiddie book. All for $10.
3A. A lady was also browsing the books and griping at the price of books at some other thrift stores, so I told her where some LFLs were so she could get some for free.
4. Hit Ollie's Outlet and used my 15% off coupon. Got some bones and treats for Snuggles, candy, food, heavy duty extension cords (yes, I needed more!), 48 AAA batteries for $19.99, Pumpkin Spice cereal (Funny, I love this stuff but never find this flavor at Halloween or in the fall. I get it at other times of the year from Aldi and Ollie's and the now-closed Frugal's grocery. Go figure!) and two wreaths for my double front door. The wreaths look identical to the $59 apiece wreaths I saw at Kirklands, but with my coupon they were $16 each. They really are more for spring or Easter than Valentines, but I figure I can cut out a pink heart for the center of each one and it'll be ok.
4A. Got big sacks at both Goodwill and Ollie's, which will be used for trash can liners.
5. Stopped by Harbor Freight and got 20 AA batteries for $8.99 and two of those 12-outlet extension cords for the computer room. They'd run out of the latter a few days ago.
Hi Frugal Lisa,
My sister went to a Savers thrift store (in the Northeast) this past Saturday. She brought a donation with her and noticed the coupon they gave her was for 20% off one item. In the past, it was also off the total purchase. It seems like this is a new trend @ several thrift stores.
@Fru-Gal Lisa , the GW by me (FL Gulf Coast) offer ZERO coupons and ZERO senior discounts...so I am jelly that you get what you do!
FFT, Freezing My Fanny Off but Living with It Edition:
Greetings from Central NY, where we're enduring high temps in single positive digits and low temps in single negative digits today and tomorrow, even before taking the considerable wind chill into account. Still, when the going gets tough, the tough keep hunkering down:
(1) I went to Wegmans on Thursday, returned $4.60 worth of NY State deposit containers, and got groceries. And I passed along a frugal tip: At the seafood counter, I met a woman who was bewailing the high cost of salmon. I pointed out the packages of $2.99/lb. salmon trim as I was taking one. She thanked me profusely! (And, as always when I buy these packages, I think of our dear Lindsey and her Alaska salmon. Love to you and the husband, Lindsey.)
(2) The package of salmon trim included some of the meatiest pieces I've lucked onto yet. I sauteed some of these and had them in a salad for lunch today, along with a couple of Campari tomatoes and some aging salad greens that needed to be used. And I'll scramble some eggs in the saute pan tomorrow morning. My omega-3s must be off the charts. 🙂
(3) I washed a load of laundry today and am rack-drying it in front of furnace registers. And I'm planning to run a dishwasher load and a self-cleaning cycle in my oven tomorrow, both of which will help warm the house.
(4) I'm continuing the winter decluttering by hauling stuff out of various junk drawers and "glory holes," and discarding or designating for donation as appropriate.
(5) And I'm typing this in my heaviest pullover shirt, the wool sweater Ms. Bestest Neighbor knit for me for Xmas, jeans with long johns underneath, and wool boot socks. I'll be damned if I'm turning the heat higher than 64.
Your #5 sounds so familiar A. Marie! I won't turn my heat up over 64 (60 at bedtime) with the help of sweaters, sweatshirts and longjohns under my jeans. A blanket while I'm reading or watching TV comes in handy too.
Nice haul on the can & bottle returns!
Took DH to urgent care (i.e. "Doc in the Box" as we like to call it) yesterday. DH has a virus and bronchitis and was given 2 prescriptions. I think I'm getting a virus. Considering our high temps this weekend are in the single digits, low's in the negative single digits, and windchill factors as low as -60 at times, we are staying put. No spending. Faucets dripping, and drew a couple buckets of water in case the power goes out.
DH's family is, in some ways, driving me crazy (even though my own family would do exactly the same thing - which would also drive me crazy). I learned from my parents: "Help when you can, even if it means making a sacrifice. Expect nothing in return." I have no problem doing this, nor does DH. What drives me crazy is other's need to "compensate," and do it in excess.
I believe I mentioned the other day that we took DH's DS and her 16 y.o. Dd (Dear dog) to emergency vet and Dd had to be put to sleep. Our nieces (SIL's DD's - one recently moved out of state and the other one was working) appreciated our help so much, they gave us a check for $100. In our book, you take care of others...especially family. We are going to put that $ toward our next heating oil bill. THEN, DSIL (same SIL) saw the walker pouch I made for DH and wanted one, too. I made hers according to her specs - deeper than his and lime green. Was kind of blah as a solid color, so I found a video on easy to crochet flowers and put 5 flowers on it. Dropped it off to her last night and my 83-yr-old DSIL was like a kid with $1 let loose in a penny candy store! She wanted to pay me. I told her NO. She insisted. I should have said $5 and been done with it. Instead, I made the mistake of telling her to give me "what she felt it was worth." Won't make that mistake again. She gave me $50! I told her that was way too much. (She has $; we don't. We made our own financial mistakes over the years and we don't expect others to bail us out or treat us like a"charity case.") She wouldn't hear of it...she was so excited and giddy; said she can't wait to show all her friends at the assisted living facility. I ended up accepting the $ and am probably going to put half toward heating oil and get something for myself with the rest. Anytime I receive $ as a gift,I either use it for bills or groceries, or household needs - never do anything for myself. My psychologist is working with me on self-acceptance, self-worth, and taking care of myself. At least keeping $25 to do something for myself with is a start.
Maybe the residents in SIL’s assisted living will want walker pouches and you’ll have a part time job. Yarn out Cash in!!!
Hadn't thought of that. Maybe I'll drop a hint...
Hope you all feel better soon. This winter is hard enough without illness.
Meant for Melissa...
What an interesting problem! I'll bet it can make it hard to do things because you don't want others to feel like they owe you. On the other hand, how nice that what you do is seen and valued, that's unusual and wonderful! I hope that you're able to frame it in the sense that they are grateful and what you do matters to them enough to splash out. What a sweet problem to have, that you're appreciated maybe a bit more than you expected!
I wouldn't obsess about what you were paid for the walker pouch. The replacement cost of a pair of glasses or a cell phone could well exceed $50 (or whatever you were paid). Or just peace of mind for a person that s/he won't lose an item.
None of us thought you were trying to get rich off of it. As JuJu said - might be a bit of cash flow for you.
1. I took my mom on a trip to the Grocery Outlet in another town. She gets a nice ride and we get to poke around for treasures. I bought several types of cheese, some for snacking and some for cooking or on salads. I picked up yogurt and snacks for when my youngest is home. There were several odds and ends that I picked up for future meals. I knew they had lots of miscellaneous cheese from their Facebook page but otherwise it's impossible to plan a grocery list.
2. I stopped over to a friends house to meet her new pup. I shared some of my minestrone soup with her. I drank a glass of water while we got caught up.
3. I found a new extension pole at an estate sale for $1.50. My old one is rusty from using it to wash my siding. Now I have an inside and an outside pole.
4. My mom invited me to stay for dinner. She made BLT sandwiches which were easy for her to make and hit the spot.
5. I wrote a check for a service to avoid the 3% fee for using a credit card. Even with the cost of a stamp it's still almost $5 savings. They don't have an online payment option.
3.
We love to shop at the local Grocery Outlet occasionally. I can't imagine buying all groceries there but it is fun to look for bargains. Our store is across the street from an Aldi and only about a mile from our house.
It is 10 degrees but feels like -14 degrees with the wind. This weather is crazy. It hasn't been this cold on Long Island in 58 years. I'm 51 so this is my coldest winter.
1. Got a settlement check in the mail for $26.
2. Hubby had to work late the last 2 nights. I ate leftovers from the freezer so that I didn't have to cook.
3. My daughter was going to a specialty store like whole foods but is locally owned. She asked if we needed anything. She picked up a few DF items for her dad. I had to drop stuff off at the library after work so I picked it up as she lives right near the library. I emailed her a 10% off coupon that I had for them.
4. Laundry got washed and hung. It helps add moisture into the house with the heat running. I made sure to do it during the lower electric times. I only run the dishwasher then too.
5. Going no where in this cold. Wearing layers and using blankets. The dog is a great heated blanket. Enjoying our house.
I like the PDX airport because the prices are reasonable, unlike some other airports in the US. (I’m looking at you, Chicago O’Hare!)
I’m enjoying a rainy day indoors, and am having Costco chicken soup for dinner. I made some Dutch oven bread to go with it.
Yesterday, I went to the bins to find a new fitted sheet. My husband wears through fitted sheets fairly quickly. (Wearing socks doesn’t help.) I end up with imbalance in my ratio of flat sheets to fitted sheets. My solution is to visit the bins and find replacement fitted sheets when necessary. I found a nice one within the first few minutes of this last trip. Did I immediately check out? Of course not! I stayed long enough to find a set of yak tracks, a set of measuring spoons, new schwanky jeans, and a cute linen dish towel. I checked all the socks just in case they had money inside. 😉
I didn’t find any sock money, but I did find a nickel in the parking lot. Every nickel counts!
Your trip sounds like a nice break from the rain.
You are so right about Chicago O'Hare! On my latest trip, I also found Denver and San Francisco very expensive, too.
It must be because they’re hubs and more likely to have people who are stuck waiting for flights. So predatory!
I used my birthday freebies to get a gal of ice tea from HTeaO to take to dog club meeting tomorrow. I picked up my free Nothing Bunt Cake for dessert tonight.
I attended a women’s retreat event $10 which included breakfast and lunch plus a creative workshop. A real bargain.
Sold another item for a friend.
1. I stayed home all day due to the snowstorm and frigid temps. No money spent.
2. DH and I watched a movie on demand on Turner Classic Movies, Man in the Wilderness, part of our basic cable subscription. Cheap-o version tier. We each grabbed a blanket to keep warm while enjoying the movie.
4. I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies while snow bound.
5. I'm reading a library book, Let Them by Mel Robbins, I found in the Lucky Day section of the library. Puts a new perspective on relationships, especially ones you may be struggling with. I usually find self help books a bit dry and tedious to follow but this one is good.
Disregard this one. I somehow forgot a #3 so added one below.
1. I stayed home all day due to the snowstorm and frigid temps. No money spent.
2. DH and I watched a movie on demand on Turner Classic Movies, Man in the Wilderness, part of our basic cable subscription. Cheap-o version tier. We each grabbed a blanket to keep warm while enjoying the movie.
3. Ate a $4 frozen pizza for supper.
4. I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies while snow bound.
5. I'm reading a library book, Let Them by Mel Robbins, I found in the Lucky Day section of the library. Puts a new perspective on relationships, especially ones you may be struggling with. I usually find self help books a bit dry and tedious to follow but this one is good.
I have that book on hold at the library. I'm glad to hear it's worth the wait.
DH and I supported our fellow citizens who run the very good neighborhood Tex-Mex restaurant by having lunch there today. We rarely eat out, but have vowed to do so at immigrant-owned establishments.
We also cleaned out a couple of closets and took the stuff to the new thrift shop that supports housing for homeless women and their children.
I sort of need a pair of athletic shoes, as my old ones are worn out and are now gardening shoes, but pulled out a seldom-worn pair of suede shoes with sneaker-like soles, cleaned them up and am wearing them. They'll do until the weather gets hot.
1. We sorted and organized some piles today. Trying to find out if an old Skillet band poster is worth anything, it's probably from 1996-2000ish and signed by the band so fingers crossed? We can't find anything to reference online though so that's intriguing.
2. Our taxes are done! Unfortunately the return we have coming is going to be eaten up until my husband can find another job. At least it'll keep us from dipping into our savings for now.
3. We sat down and made an updated budget and adjusted our spreadsheet.
4. Kiddos and hubby enjoyed the library today while I cleaned the house and got some toy organization done. Probably wishful thinking, but it looks nice for now 😉
5. We have a stack of random things that we can sell but haven't taken because they're all for different types of stores, books vs kid stuff vs foreign currency, etc and have finally organized it enough that we can make a day of dropping everything off at it's respective buyer or donation drop off instead of taking things here or there and letting the piles build up again.
Re your #5 - my trick has been to pick an errands day (often when I already need to 'be in town) and write all the errands down on my online calendar
- in the order that makes the most sense,
- and I gamify it a bit: see if I can guess/calculate how long each delivery will take.
Sometimes I nail it, sometimes it takes a bit more time, but always I get things out of the house and where they are supposed to be if I give myself the grace of WRITING IT DOWN (electronically)
1. I glued the sole of my dress boots - I've owned these boots for at least 20 years but have tricky feet and finding new shoes / boots that are also nice and reasonably priced is tricky. Inspired by the post a couple of weeks ago I bought shoe glue and the boots will last a bit longer.
2. I gave away food on Olio - not sure if this is a UK only app but it enabled me to pass on some food items that I know we'd never finish ourselves. I was pleased it was so easy to use and that all the people who had said they'd pick it up did so.
3. I have been improving my financial / investment know-how by attending a (free) online finance course (Rebel Finance) and have learnt so much. A couple of years ago I decided to really take ownership of my finances and have been working toward this but this course has helped me do even more.
4. I made smoothie bags of fruit and berries from the garden - I put a handful of this and a handful of that plus a handful of rolled oats in plastic bags and now the children can just dump a bag into the smoothie maker in morning which means that it is much more likely that we'll work our way through what we have before the next season.
5. I found a wet, dirty shirt in the street and inspired by this group decided to take it home and wash it to pass to a charity shop - but it turns out that it fits me perfectly so I've kept it!
Doesn't it feel great when you try something from this group and it works out even better than expected?
I hope you're having a wonderful time on your trip.
DH and I just returned from a 11 night Mexican vacation to celebrate 25 years together. It was hard to be frugal but we tried.
1. We took an Uber to the hotel when we arrived, but the rest of the time we did the local bus. It was only a 12 minute ride into town, and was only 10 pesos each.
2. We were not at an all inclusive, but had a kitchenette so DH had his oatmeal, and toast and peanut butter in the morning. I don't eat breakfast usually, and we made our own coffee. We usually had one meal out, and then had our own snacks, etc for the other one.
3. Brought our own peanut butter from home, as I had heard it was very expensive in Mexico. I checked in a grocery store, and it was.
4. We had some problems with our room when we arrived, so the hotel offered us a free breakfast the next day, which we had, later in the morning so it counted as lunch for me. It was very good, fresh fruit, coffee or juice, eggs, beans, etc. Very satisying.
5. We bought very little. Bottle of tequila for the house/dog sitters, large bottle of vanilla for me, and a couple of things for the two grandkids. I also got a pair of silver earrings, and DH got a money clip.
Frugal Fail: DH miscalculated the exchange rate and gave the Uber driver a massive tip! The driver had just been complaining to us that Uber takes a large cut of the fare, and he doesn't receive much, so likely he thought it was intentional. We would have given a generous tip, just not THAT much. We laughed about it later, and were more careful going forward.
Also, I had a fall on one of the very uneven sidewalks in town while wearing shorts, and banged my knee up pretty good, but nothing broken thank goodness. I usually do this at least once on vacation, it's become a kind of joke between us, and DH doesn't rush to help me until he knows that I'm okay. A lovely young local man saw this happen, and jumped out of his car to rush over to help, which was very kind, I thought. (I am no light weight, so it took both of them to lift me up). Then while I was sitting on the curb waiting for DH to come back from the pharmacy with some wipes, etc. a couple stopped (tourists), she was a nurse, he a doctor, and she offered me wipes, etc to get cleaned up. I was touched by the kindness of strangers on this trip. When I fell my glasses fell off, and one of the arms got bent, so I went to an optical store, and the lovely woman there tightened them up for me, free of charge.
Sunday night, Feb 8...
DH is feeling better, as am I. I drank lots of hot tea and pretty much did zero all weekend. I haven't spent a penny since Friday. (Found a dime in the bedsheets. DH has a tendency to take a nap in his clothes with change in his pockets. Found money for ME!)
Making homemade pizza for tonight's supper. Normally, I make enough dough in my bread machine for 2 pizza crusts. Today did not fare so well. Normally, there's no problem. Today, it was like "the blob" took over the kitchen! The dough cascaded all over the inside of the lid, between the pan and the machine, my counter, me... WHAT A MESS!!! Needless to say, I salvaged enough dough for 1 large pizza crust. That will provide us 2, maybe 3, meals anyway.
I worked for a year at a "rather odd" convenience store (too much backstory to go into - let's just say the big city transplants bought a farm and had their friends come up to our part of the state and they got caught by a local enjoying a "nude yoga day" in their field. Local guy thought it was another "Jim Jones served kool-aid" incident.) Anyway, I learned to make pizzas with things like spinach, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, pine nuts, and your more traditional pepperoni, sausage, onions, olives, peppers, etc. One money saving trick (for you pepperoni lovers out there) is to buy the larger "slicing pepperoni" at the deli. The kind that's about the size of a jar lid. You only need to get 4-6 slices per large pizza total. Take the slices and cut them into 8 pieces. More than enough when spread out over the top of a pizza. Also, the more toppings you add to a pizza, the lesser amount of each topping you need.
I wish I could get my DH into a "frugal" mindset. We have items in the fridge to be eaten as well as cooked and frozen items that just need thawed and reheated. He rattled off a list of things he wants me to make. I keep repeating "Once everything else is eaten...." and it's falling on deaf ears. With the exception of a very few things (e.g. milk, eggs, etc), I could probably make it to April with what we have in our fridge, freezer, and cupboards. Guess I'll go on strike with regard to grocery shopping. Pray for me.
I’m looking forward to a vacation to New Mexico in May! Never been, so I look forward to hearing about your highlights, Have fun!
1. Road tripped up to New Hampshire to learn how to backcountry ski. It was incredible! The lesson was about $300 less than usual thanks to an organization that supports ski touring for all.
2. I got an AirBnB for Friday night to be in position Saturday, but then drove home Saturday night to avoid paying for accommodation again. Besides, waking up in your own bed is priceless.
3. The hiking area we went to had EV chargers tucked in the back of a building at the base. They were free and one was available! It was such a relief to get into a warm car that was (mostly) charged at the end of a long day.
4. Met a friend for coffee yesterday but ate breakfast before I left to avoid ordering food out as well.
5. Lots of leftover superbowl snacks from attending a party that have made an excellent lunch!