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....
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