Five Frugal Things -- Bride of Frankenbox
1. I underwent a scheduled colonoscopy, which completed my 2025 bingo card of speciality appointments. (I'm looking forward to not having to don another hospital gown until Summer 2026!) This was frugal as it's better to catch health issues early in the disease process.
For those who think I'm exaggerating, my last few months included trips to:
- Dermatologist (I have a history of malignant melanoma X2!)
- Endocrinologist (My pituitary gland doesn't release thyroid stimulating hormone.)
- Mammogram (Preventative care)
- Gynecologist (Preventative care)
- Annual exam
Can I please get credit for using a Jell-O box mix instead of the plastic cups?
2. I assembled the absolute wonkiest Frankenbox to package up the stone backgammon board I sold on eBay. It took two-and-a-half episodes of Better Call Saul to complete and I almost feel sorry for the poor recipient who'll spend the better part of an hour to undo my nonsense. Seriously, I used at least half a roll of packing tape!
3. I started reading a library copy of Rental House, by Weike Wang. I'm only 46 pages in, but I'll for sure be finishing this book before it's due back at the library!
I'm also listening to an audiobook of The Rom-Commers, by Katherine Center through the free Libby app.
4. I tested out an online hack to snap a frozen pizza in half in order to portion it out. Worked perfectly and my daughter still has half a gluten-free pizza in the freezer for when she stops by the house. I'm thinking this would also work for when you want just a quarter of a pizza.
5. I'm mostly done with my Christmas shopping, everything either thrifted, eBay or consumable. That Schmeff Schmezos guy, plus his pals at Wal-Mart, Target and such will be fine without my money.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
We’re attending a holiday party with our closest friends tonight. I love gift giving but, like you, am dedicated to avoiding new consumption whenever possible. I managed to get “new” thrifted items for: a thirteen year old, two twelve year olds, a ten year old, two nine year olds, a six year old, a three year old and a two year old! I love finding ways to be generous with the children in my life while still keeping true to my morals (and my budget!)
Whoa, that's a lot of gifts to manage!
I keep an eye out all year for things I know these cherished kiddos will love and stash them away in a cabinet
My husband enjoys cheap thin crust pizzas. I buy them and snap them in half to freeze like your suggestion. He can then get out a half and pop it in the toaster oven for his dinner when I am working evenings. Otherwise he would cook and eat the whole thing.
This is such a "duh" tip, but it had never occurred to me.
Never occurred to me either!
We’re attending a Seattle Pro Musica concert tonight to support our friend who sings in the choir. My frugal win is that I convinced my partner that instead of eating out before the concert (a somewhat expensive endeavor these days in Seattle), we will have drinks and dinner at our house. And we’re taking public transit to the concert to save on parking costs.
Thank you Katy for inspiring me to take stock of ways we can consume less and do better for our planet!
Thank you for the nice words! It sounds like you had a nice evening out, even if you ate at home.
Fell twice at my sister's house today. I'm stiff and sore, and my right knee hurts, but nothing broken as far as I know. I can walk, so... In the second fall, I broke the frame of my glasses near the hinge (the part of the frame that goes around the lens). I attacked it with Gorilla Glue and am letting them sit until tomorrow. While I only really need them to read, I wear them all the time. If the Gorilla glue doesn't hold, my BFF's husband is an optician. I have an identical pair of frames from my old glasses (only difference is frame color and lens prescription). I'll just get him to put the current lenses in the old frames and donate what's left to the Lion's Cub. They may be able to reuse the bows or the lenses for someone else.
I saw several people getting "gift certificates" from the Pennsylvania State Police today. Driving under the speed limit is frugal. That's one "gift certificate" I don't need or want.
Not going out and use gas if I don't have to. When I took my sister for groceries and errands today, regular gas at Sheetz was $2.78 where she lives. Where I live (about 35 miles and 2 counties away) it's $2.95. Filled the gas tank there before I left to come home. Got just short of 10 gallons for $27.75, which, for me, is cheap. While we were out, my sister took me to Red Lobster for lunch. Her stepson sent her a $50 Red Lobster gift card for Christmas. It covered both our meals and my sister took a good portion of hers home and it will make her 2 more meals. Thanks Helen (sister) and Rick (her stepson, my nephew)! My coconut shrimp meal filled me up, so I don't need dinner tonight.
Since DH is away until January 4, I am keeping the thermostat at 60, wearing layers, wearing a knit hat to bed, and using extra blankets. I had a Sunday Scool teacher in 5th grade who was a bald man and often said he wore a knit hat to bed in the winter to kerp warm in bed. It really does work. Do I like keeping the thermostat low? No. Is it cold? Yes, but not completely unbearable. Going to pay for a heating oil delivery Monday morning so it can be delivered before Christmas as we are at 1/4 tank. Even after the oil is delivered, I'm going to keep it low like this until DH is back. I'm doing my part to conserve and he worked in a factory without heat in the winter and without a/c in the summer. I get he wants to be warm, but at least we will keep it at 70 when he gets back. His brother that lives down the road from us (he's 73 and worked in an EXTREMELY HOT foundry all his life) can't get warm. Our trailers aren't insulated - we rent. Ours is out in the wide open sun whereas his is mostly shaded by trees. He's on his 3rd tank of heating oil already this season (he had to turn his on in early September; we went until about the 3rd week of October before we had to turn ours on.) We go to visit him and fall asleep because he has it so HOT! I can sacrifice comfort in the quest for frugality for 2 weeks, so I'm doing it.
That is very interesting how your family's careers effected their comfort level with heat. I'm so sorry to read that you've fallen.
1. I also have finished my medical bingo card for the year. I had a mammogram and sonogram of my breasts this morning because I have dense breasts. I had my test results a few hours later and all is good. My deductibles were all meet so it cost me nothing.
2. Chipotle was having a BOGO Holiday Sweater event today. Hubby and I went and got burritos for dinner. We used a gift card to pay for it. It was nice to not have to think about dinner.
3. Breakfast and lunch were leftovers.
4. I make food baskets for friends and family. Most people give me back the baskets every year. I do grab some at yard sales and thrift stores throughout the year if I find a special one for cheap. They are all packed and ready to go.
5. I made dog food for the week, I did laundry and Hubby installed our new dishwasher.
Fails...Our dishwasher finally died. We have been limping it along all year. The next day our microwave went. That same night I found a lump on our dog. I called the vet to bring her in. I then searched her head to paw and found another one. The 1st one was a cyst and popped when the doctor went to do an aspiration. The 2nd one is a tumor so it is good that we found it. The sample came back as precancerous. She is having surgery early January. She has a very thick coat so I would never have felt the 2nd one if I wasn't searching since it was hidden by her ear. I'm thankful that she got the 1st one so that we searched and found the 2nd one before it was cancer.
Poor pup, good thing you took her in.
I'm having a mammogram Christmas Eve. Oh, what fun it is to squeeze.....
Unable to resist the urge to say "le tits now" 😉 May your scans be clear and right.
Auto correct is breaking my heart. "Let tit snow"
I like that pizza idea! A good strategy for someone who lives alone!
I went to the library today via the train. Not only is the train ride free for me, but I get some walking done, too, as the library is about 15 minutes from the one station, and my home is 10 minutes away from the other.
I checked out five books. I'm reading two different series that got started with books from the little free libraries. One is Phillipa Gregory's series on "the Cousins' War" -- the War of the Roses -- and the other is Amy Stuart's series on PI Clare O'Dey.
On the way I returned two books to a little free library and took out another -- Alice Seybold's The Almost Moon. So I am all set for reading for a while.
I found a receipt that was quite wrinkled and dirty, but Fetch read it and gave me 25 points. I am almost to the point where I can cash in for $10, but I think I will see how much higher I can go. I live in a dense urban area, and people drop their receipts like crazy around here.
On a recent walk I picked up a bottle to put into recycling, but I noticed it was a very heavy bottle, and rather elegant in shape, so I took it home to use as a bud vase. Turns out, it is a Patron tequila bottle, and there are some for sale on Etsy, so I may end up selling it. I do want to get back into selling when I get through the Christmas season.
I love that you're even thinking about selling a discarded booze bottle on Etsy!
Holy tequila, those Patron bottles are selling on Etsy?? I find them now and then around the 'hood!
Well, they are offered for sale, not sure if they are really selling!
Recently returned to rainy SW Washington State after spending 8 days in sunny San Diego visiting my son and DIL. We had a wonderful time, but San Diego sure was expensive. Here are a few things we did to save at least a little money:
1. One night we had dinner at the Costco food court. It was pretty much junk food, but it was kind of fun as a one time thing. I’m not a Costco member, but my son is, so he ordered food for all of us.
2. We used Groupon to get discounted tickets for a whale watching boat trip around Mission Bay. Tickets were half the posted price so we ended up paying $32 each rather than $64.
3. We attended a free organ concert in Balboa Park.
4. We went to a free art museum, The Timken, also in Balboa Park.
5. Watched the Christmas lights boat parade one night, another free event.
Overall, this trip was not what could be called frugal. Still, with a little research, we were able to find free or discounted things to do which were fun for all of us.
Hey, that's some impressive frugality!
1. I used my triple A membership for my neighbor who needed a tow. She did have to pay extra as the dealership was > the 7 miles that they cover. However, I think it was still 50% less than she would have paid w/o Triple A. (I asked her to check her insurance to see if she had towing. She said "no".)
2. I got a small ham for 8 dollars at Winn Dixie. They were on sale for $1.49 lb. Usually the hams are gigantic but this time there were some small ones.
3. I have found around $2 in change this week while out walking.
4. For Christmas presents, I sent my goddaughter and niece care packages from Walgreens. Diapers for the babies, toilet paper, deodorant, etc. The children will get toys from others. I send practical items. They always seem happy w/ the items.
5. Frugal Fail: During my water leak & construction to repair it,
my fridge somehow got left ajar. All the food in fridge & freezer ruined leaving a smelly, sticky mess. I am going to add this to my personal property list of things ruined. Maybe I will get reimbursed. Frugal win: I had homeowner's insurance. The unit above did not have insurance & they caused the damage. There was 20K worth of damage. I will never again complain about having the pay my insurance premium!
Katy, I commiserate w/ you on the colonoscopy. I had mine in October. I detest all that liquid bowel prep. I was hoping I would not need another for 10 years. Alas, I had polyps and need a repeat in 3 years. A lesser evil than colon cancer. I worked 10 yrs on a post-op GI surgery floor. Colon cancer is a bad type of cancer to get and much of it is preventable. Hopefully, no bowel resection for me in the future.
The worst part is I am no fan of Jello, or juice really. Blegh!
However, I knew the anesthetist, which also happened the last time I had a colonoscopy. We L&D nurses seem to know the entire anesthesiology community!
I don't like jello, juice or Gatorade either. But getting a colonoscopy with an anesthesiologist who knows me is by far a freaking nightmare!
My husband and I both have AAA Plus. Yep, costs more; however, the free tow is up to 4 tows a year @ 50 miles each. With 2 of us, that's up to 8 tows a year. Has saved our behinds numerous times and is worth the extra expense. Our last car broke down and we had it towed to the garage. Unfortunately for us, the garage didn't have the right tools (specialized), so we had to have it towed a 2nd time from the garage to the dealership. Used up 2.of our 8 free tows, but the higher priced membership with the 4 free 50 mile towing for each of us was cheaper than the cost of 2 tows would have been. We won't be without it.
TY for info. My husband is a mechanic & can usually get a vehicle to make it to the shop. However, he was not in the state at the time we needed assistance. I will look into the better plan options.
Thanks for the snap-the-frozen-pizza-in-half tip! I have a pizza grill I bought from Aldi and I really like to use it. However, I dislike having to eat pizza for 10 days in a row afterwards. So I'm definitely going to try this.
-- Hauled some old electronics out of storage and am trying to cobble together a music system for the living room.
-- After having a glut of batteries for the last several years, courtesy of the roommate who left them behind, I finally ran out. Our store has Ray-o-vac batteries, which claim to last 12 years and be as good as Duracell. The Ray-o-vacs were the cheapest, so I got some. Nice to have the battery-operated clock working again....and not have to replace the batteries in 2 months.
--Washed the throw rugs and line-dried them.
--Bought a probiotic soda pop at work during my break. It was supposed to taste like Dr Pepper. It didn't. *turns up her nose* So I brought the drink home and made a "London Fog" -- poured the can of soda into an iced-tea glass and added milk. That made it taste good, almost like a milkshake, and it was filling. I didn't waste the can of soda. Plus, I was drinking some probiotics, which are nice and gut-healthy, along with the milk, which has a goodly amount of calcium in it.
--This morning the exterminator came to take care of the rats in the attic problem. I had to stay home for that, so not going Christmas shopping probably saved me from temptation and over spending.
I save batteries in a baggie marked "mostly dead", such as ones from the TV remote that have a little power left. I use those in my battery operated clocks, and they last several months.
Also am putting the moisture absorbers from pill bottles in the box with the batteries. Figure they can't hurt.
You have been diligent with your medical visits! Well done!
1. We attended Tuba Christmas, which is free and delightful.
2. I sold 2 toys on FB marketplace. Glad to think of some kids being delighted with them on Christmas.
3. We made an appointment for a test drive at CarMax. They kept us waiting 30 minutes and then admitted the car wasn't there. They offered to buy us lunch. We stopped by Trader Joes nearby and bought lunch fixings and texted the receipt to CarMax who are sending us a check. The fixings covered dinner for us too.
4. Watching Christmas movies from the library.
5. Once I ran out of thrifted Christmas cards, I made the last few myself. I used up all of the miscellaneous cards kicking around from the past few years. I have a select list of people that it is important to me to keep up with and I hand write letters to each of these people. It gives me joy.
Hey Katy, more details on how to snap a pizza in half, please!
I am afraid to list all the preventative tests and treatments I have undergone this year. eek.
1. I am trying to empty the fridge freezer downstairs, as it really does a lousy job of freezing. Pulled out some fish (smoked salmon, halibut, sole) that was in need of using, and found a potato chowder mix at the top of a shelf in the pantry. Chopped up a couple of carrots and some celery and a leek needing to be used, as well as a potato that REALLY needed to be used, sautéd them, then added the water/chowder mix, added some frozen corn most of the way through simmering, then when it was cooked through I added the diced fish.
I am not wild about it so of course I have a shit tonne, however my Roommate is back from Montreal, and she and #2 son both took some for lunch today. If I can force myself to eat some for lunch/dinner, there will just be another lunch's worth for the 'kids' and then it will be done. I think the chowder mix wasn't really the right choice, but eaters can't be choosers...
2. I walked by the local used bookstore, and of course her window displays pulled me in. I lucked out with a couple of really nice poetry books for some of my people, as well as a two-pack of war and peace (Parts 1 and 2) that I thought I would give to #1son as a pseudo gag gift. He is a VERY slow reader, however knowing him he might even get it read. I never have!
I walked out of the store with 11 books having spent under $20 – (and two of the books were for me, or at least for me until I finish reading them!)
3. I tried out an app during the 7 days free trial, and got some deep insights but also some weirdly wrong advice. I have saved myself lots of $ by deciding that one of the insights (that I rarely do anything structured for long) is exactly why I shouldn't sign up for an app that is asking me to be structured. Personal growth for the Win!
4. Yet again the advantage of putting my name in a contest box has proven itself – from the same grocer that I won $1000 from a month ago: I won a healthy products bag!!! – protein powders, mostly, and lots of samples of various drink things, plus a shake bottle with a straw.
I see lots of stocking stuffers in the supplies! However the big huge container of protein powder will definitely be staying in my delighted hands. Whoot!
5. Not really frugal but good for our local circular economy, and for my tummy. The Community Supported Fishery that I sometimes support sent an email sharing that they would be selling salmon and cod at their boat. I went down to stock up my freezer and ended up splurging on Coho as well as pink fillets, plus two rock cod (whole) and a big chunk of ling cod (my favourite!). The fisher folk had kindly included their buddy who fishes for other things, so I also really splurged on very expensive frozen at sea prawns and shrimp, and I bought a whole tuna! That fish will be thawed just enough for me to filet the 4 loins off, and I will both shrink wrap the loins and re-freeze, and also will can some up for a super local tuna treat. My new-to-me freezer has begun to really fill up, as I brought a whole chicken over from the barn freezer along with a macaroni casserole that I had forgotten about. I love being able to duck downstairs to get these things rather than brave the rain and muck and many containers of frozen apples which is the situation at the barn freezer.
1. It is Sunday morning and the sewer line folks accidentally broke my water line late yesterday. I have no toilet. Needless to say they are back out here this morning. They snapped it in the other side of my outdoor faucet so I washed my dishes outside. Luckily it is in the upper 60’s approaching 70 here.
2. The town’s Christmas parade was at the end of my street and ai strolled down to watch it. Free entertainment!
3. Luckily I made Baba Ghanoush before the water snafu so I can eat that, along with cheese and peanut butter.I Coke also make a good chicken or turkey sandwich with cheese and spinach. I do not really feel like cooking given the circumstances.
4. I intend to stay home and hopefully the plumber will show up soon.
5. I hope to take a nap.
I've had to craft my own boxes for ebay sales too!
1. We did our family gift exchange yesterday. Most if the gifts I purchased were off ebay.
2. We saved the bows of the gifts for next year.
3. Continuing to compost. We now have worms to help it go faster...yes, we received worms in the mail for this purpose...
4. My teens enjoyed a free event at the library and now that my daughter got her license, I didn't even have to drive them!
5. Some of the gifts I received were new kitchen utensils, so the old ones I'll donate and get a coupon
Katy,
Rajiv Surendra has a great video on his playlist. I think it is #17 How to make a custom cardboard packing box...
Love all the help you and your reader give me.
OOP! Know you have more than one reader!!!
Rode my bike to check the mail for a training certificate I'd been waiting for, and also picked up books at the library.
We were recently informed that DoD civilian employees can now shop at the military exchange on base (not the commissary--grocery--but the other stores). We checked it out today and were pleased to note that they have a little bit of everything, the prices aren't much higher than at regular stores, BUT there is no sales tax. Because it's not really near us, we'll only check it out if we're out on a driving errand nearby, but it's good to know it's an option.
My parents shopped at the Air Force base near their home, as my Dad was retired military. (He said the gate keepers treated him like a retired general-- he was a master sergeant-- which amused him).
They had commissary privileges, which included using expired coupons back when paper coupons were a thing, and shopping at the other stores. They seemed to carry slightly different brands than local stores, at slightly lower prices, and of course no sales tax.
You absolutely get credit for making your own Jell-O! I did the colonoscopy early in the spring and discovered that chicken boullion cubes actually make pretty good sipping broth, which was nice as I can't stand Gatorade. And I have heard that one can eat lemon and pineapple gummy bears, as they are just tough gelatin.
My only frugal win is that I am wrapping this years gifts with 30 year old wrapping paper. My dad “quit” Christmas and still had about 10 rolls of still wrapped in plastic wrapping paper. It was bought at Zellers (Canadian friends say hey!) and has been sitting under the stairs at my dads house since the 1990s. The only downside is that it smells like under the stairs at my dad’s house too.
Now I'm having an olfactory hallucination of how it smells under your father's stairs! I love hat you're still using it though.
Do you not think that the gyn test as well as the mammogram are debasing, demeaning, invasive, and punitive "tests"? For which little effort has been made to make said tests better? Do they test for penile and/or testicular cancer by placing said organs between two (likely not warm/room temp) plates and giving them a hearty squeeze?
Colonoscopies are a risk for bio born females - far more crowded area than males. The mindset of some gastro docs, not a fan since my dad's one gastro "doc" made the comment he should just "get his colon removed". Dad experienced far too much post "oscopy" bleeding. Time for that gastro to get out of the business.
Better half has chosen to have his *last* one, his choice, not mine. And to be blunt, I'd rather get a diagnosis of cancer and have options rather than a dementia diagnosis. Nowhere in the US can one ensure death with dignity with that diagnosis. Travel to a European country is one's only hope.