Five Frugal Things -- Another Oregon Food Bank Donation!
1) I added up everything that sold for the $100 Goodwill Gift Card Challenge for the month of May and donated $203.11 to the Oregon Food Bank. This brought my total donations up to $738.51.
Here's what sold and profits after eBay fees:
- Hooters T-shirt -- $11.50
- Birkenstocks -- $23.69
- Trader Joe's tote bag -- $19.95
- Sasha doll -- $100 (Sold on Facebook Marketplace, no fees.)
- Portland Gear baseball cap -- $20 (Sold on Facebook Marketplace, no fees.)
- Rothy's shoes -- $27.97
I still have a little more than four dollars on the gift card, which I'm hoarding until I can find low cost items that'll sell for large amounts. Which frankly is always the goal when thrifting!
This list from the back of my day planner shows how I'm tracking my sales. The envelope contains all the receipts. Might not be a techy person's method, but it works for me.
There are probably twenty or so eBay listings still waiting to sell, which'll slowly add to the total. It just takes time for everything to find the right buyers. You wouldn't expect a store to sell out their entire inventory every month.
2) My husband's library card expired after lying dormant for more than two years, so we stopped into the Woodstock branch to remedy that situation. He's now rich with library card goodness and we've doubled our resources.
I checked out up a copy of Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid from the "Lucky Day" shelf for my own reading pleasure. I'm 23 pages in and will definitely be finishing it!
3) I went on the Multnomah County Library website at precisely midnight to peruse the refreshed cultural pass options. I was able to score a Portland Art Museum pass for our upcoming anniversary using my husband's newly minted card. I used my single annual pass in April, (you only get one per year) but he hasn't been to the museum since they did their major expansion.
He may seem like a sporty guy with an intense emergency medical job from the outside, but he actually holds a Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree.
Here's a photo of a piece from the David Hockney exhibit, which'll hopefully still be running in August.
And here's a Mark Rothko painting from their permanent collection.
The two free passes would normally cost $65, so it's worth planning in advance.
4) The library was near a Goodwill, so I walked over for a quick loop of the store and picked up this vintage Japanese handmade vase for $3.99. I've thrifted a couple other small Japanese vases through the years, so I gathered them up to display together.
They're not worth a ton, but I love them either way. The skill and craftsmanship to create them is perfection. I probably spent ten dollars for the trio.
5) I sold my $3 Goodwill bins Ikea desk chair for $35 in under two hours. This sale won't dominate the news cycle, ("Portland woman sells thrifted chair for a million dollars!") but that's $32 that's I wouldn't otherwise have at my disposal. It was an enjoyable fast project and kept that chair out of the landfill.
The selling process itself couldn't have been easier, as I simply set the chair on my covered front porch and sent the buyer a link to my Venmo. I've done this at least a hundred times over the years and have yet to burned.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Hi Katy - my response today is a bit of a request. 🙂 I love your 5FT blogs and look forward to them daily(ish). That said, I wonder if you'd be open to talking further about your (early) retirement from nursing and maybe get into some (opaque) financials of how you and your husband make it work on one income.
I have been around since the early days (~2016 ish) and have loved following along while you harnessed your frugal skills to put your kids through college with NO DEBT, retired from a mentally and physically taxing career, and paid off your home. You have been such an inspiration to me.
I know that the FIRE movement has changed over the years, and I'd be interested to hear about your current life and financial goals and/or status. Thanks, as always, for sharing your life with us in the commentariat (as A.Marie calls us)!
I got sucked into buying various supplements on line. After visiting my NP on Thursday I have returned several unopened bottles for a hefty refund.
My newest challenge is two upcoming events (June in Tampa and July in Dallas) My travel expenses are paid for however meals are my responsibility. I always pack snacks and my sport bottle.
My second weekend of houseguests left this morning and I'm trying up. Saved the last cup of coffee that was in the French press. Saved the remains of a smoothie, which I froze, for a good snack on a hot afternoon. Dropped the half loaf leftover sourdough bread into the freezer. Put away all the toys and gathered library books to return. There are at least a few nights worth of dinner leftovers.
FB marketplace sale made this morning. I had enough in my venmo account from FB marketplace sales to give my son money to help with gas for their trip here. I love being able to use money from outside of our regular budget.
Returned an item I had purchased from eBay from a dreadful seller. It may be my last eBay purchase.