Five Frugal Things -- Coming Out Alive From The Willie Wonka Factory
1) I stopped into Trader Joe's for bananas, toilet paper and almond croissants and walked out with . . . bananas, toilet paper and almond croissants. Sticking to a practical list at Trader Joe's is an accomplishment akin to making it out alive from the Willie Wonka factory!
I did splurge on some organic bananas as I needed to slot in some greenish ones to plan out a ripening schedule. Note that they're enormous and I paid per item instead of by-the-pound.
I'd say "banana for scale," but that doesn't apply here.
Plus a pair of free lollipops and a floor penny.
2) I lowered the price on my eBay B. Kliban T-shirt from $75 to $60 and almost immediately made the sale. (I think this listing had 19 watchers, so I wasn't all that surprised.) This piece was actually from my personal collection, but I'd only worn it a time or two as it was too boxy for my decidedly non-rectangular figure.
I reused a plastic envelope that came in the mail, turning it inside out for a fresh exterior surface.
Almost everything is a temporary possession when you're a reseller.
3) I got cash back at Trader Joe's in order to get the cash discount to pay only (ha!) $4.70/gallon instead of $5/gallon. (Also ha!)
However, my penny pinching saved around $5.40, so definitely worth the effort.
Although this is an insane amount for gasoline, we hadn't actually filled the tank since we drove to the beach almost three weeks ago. I guess being a bit of homebody saves money in the long run.
4) I invited a neighbor over for tea and pastries, but baked up Trader Joe's almond croissants as there's precisely zero possibility that I'd have something homemade out of the oven by 9:30 in the morning. (I'm so not a morning person!) This box costs a bit more than $5, but that's still just $1.25 per item which isn't too terrible.
I'd get you more a more exact per-item amount, but the receipt is buried in the kitchen garbage and I'm too squeamish to fish it out! Still cheaper than anything you'd find at a Portland bakery.
5) I realized that my husband never watched The Americans, so I put the first season DVDs on hold at the library. We're both Matthew Rhys fans, so I know he'll enjoy it. Seriously, everyone involved with this show did a stellar job!
I could've started a Hulu or Disney+ subscription, but this method works while keeping our money in our wallets.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
I am babysitting a transfer of money, the sending institution is making it very difficult to get the money. I will prevail. And I will be reporting them to the SEC.
Maybe this is my complaining day, but I also phoned Kaiser and complained that they lied about their wait time at the lab. They knew they were short-staffed and underreported the wait. When they asked how I wished it to be resolved, I said that I would like a reimbursement for my gas money since I will have to go back again. I'm sure I will not get it, but I might as well say what I want.
A neighbor is having a new fence put in and I asked if I could have the old fence boards. My son wants them for something. I went Uber and scavenged 30 of them.
I worked hard for a refund on an item that I bought on eBay. EBay did not follow their own policies and sided with the seller who did not ship the item anywhere near on time and lied to me about shipping it. eBay did give the refund. That is my last purchase on eBay. I don't have much power, but I do have power over where I'll spend money. And I won't spend money with companies that do not serve their customers well.
I buy from eBay frequently and since each transaction is a different seller I know not to blame eBay at large for shipping issues. I'm glad to read that they finally sided with you, I'm sorry you had to spend time and effort to get there.
I gasped at the t-shirt sale as I have that exact shirt in my t-shirt snuggle quilt. Oy!
I made a batch of my high protein breakfast cookies, except I was lazy/impatient and turned the dough into thin bar cookies. Still crunchy with gooey-ish centers. They'll disappear sure enough.
I weed whacked while there was cloudcover , it doubles my work time vs beating sun.
I installed my gently used security system for the out buildings. Earlier this week, my neighbor down the road had a fire started in an out building by a trespasser. This system is hardwired and monitored.
those croissants look yummy. It is a great price once you figure out the butter, sliced almonds and pastry flour to make your own.
Now I wish I see your "snuggle quilt!"
1. Gas is $3.33 a gallon in University town. The prices hit $4.00 a couple of hours further south. While houses are generally cheaper in rural areas here, gas and grocery stores tend to be more expensive than more urban areas.
2. I pulled dandelion greens from my yard, rinsed, patted dry and put on a cookie sheet with a little bit of olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and baked at 350 degrees until crunchy.
3. I walked an hour in my neighborhood from 5:30
to 6:30 am.
4. I still have the air off, fan on, and the windows up. No small feat in the humid Deep South. As always I despise our expensive power company.
5. I bought 5lbs of Idaho
Potatoes for $1.25. However the two loaves of bread plus the cheese puffs (cough, cough) made my groceries cost $10 bucks!!
I had a PT appointment this morning, and since the facility is downtown, I took the train -- no parking to worry about, no gas money spent. I came into some money when I found six pennies at the station -- also five receipts that I scanned to Fetch.
After the session I took the car to Aldi for some groceries. I did not find any receipts there, and I lost a quarter when I let a man who had no change take my cart. Oh well.
I spent $40 for hot dog buns, tortillas, eggs, oatmeal cookies, cucumbers, creamer, canned beans, granola, whipped honey, yogurt, chocolate chips, poppyseed dressing, goat cheese and cherry tomatoes.
I did some laundry and carried up another bag of my sister's clothes from the car. I am starting a pile of those I think I can sell on Poshmark. However, I have never tried to sell anything on Poshmark. Does anyone have any advice for me?
It's supposed to get up in the high 80's today, but so far I'm comfortable with the shades down and a fan running.
My hubby and I went on a little getaway for our anniversary (32 years!), staying at a cabin with no wifi, cable, or phone, which only cost us $110 for 3 nights. Quite a bargain although we did eat out every meal. However, the restaurants were super cheap in the area we stayed, so I say it evened out.
While out and about, we found a quarter store - yes, a thrift store where every item was only a quarter. I found about 10 items that I wanted, but my hubby gave them a twenty as every bit of profit is funneled back into the community. This is a poorer county, so we were happy to pad the donation.
We also found, not at the quarter store, a cute t-shirt that had the outline of my wonderful state cut from an old quilt appliqued on it. My hubby bought me one, even though I insisted I could make it myself. Well, I can, and I am - I've sold 5 already and have 2 promised to friends. One of my goals this year was to make items to sell, and this adds to my total. My goal was 5 items per month - now, do I count my dozens of paper roses as individual items or each dozen as an item. LOL These are the things that my brain can't let go of. (Also, it can't let go of ending a sentence with a preposition, but I'm too tired to rephrase it.)
Using the library to take out DVDs is not only a financial/frugal win-win for you, it's also a win-win for the library. Libraries have to report their statistics every year to whatever powers to be control their purse strings. Not only the number of books borrowed, but also media, music, home drop offs, etc. Also the number of events as well as the number of people who attend the various events sponsored by the library. My favorite local library is in a college town, and it has ten (count 'em!) different book groups! Plus a ukulele group, about a half dozen various baby/toddler play and read groups, young teen video game afternoons, an exercise class for us "old folk," and help with unemployment, just to name a few of the I don't know how many other groups there are, as well a very heavily involved and supportive Friends of the Library group. Last month, the Friends sponsored a bus trip to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Homestead in Hyde Park, NY, where we were given a very interesting guided tour of FDR's home by National Park Rangers, in addition to the time spent in the library (which included a recreation of his study, with one of his wheelchairs).
I'm forever grateful that my mother started us at very young age getting into the library habit, and even happier when I see so many people on this site mentioning going to the library. And I applaud all the librarians who have been, and still are, so fiercely protecting our right to read what we want with no censorship.
I’ve been disappointed with the last few purchases we’ve made.
1. Mother’s Day brunch was marginal due to lack of service. I called and they will comp (party of 5) with another meal.
2. I returned several bottles of unopened supplements. I saw no difference in using them. So $$ back to me
3. I ordered 3 boxes of dental
treats for my dogs only to have one dog choke on them. They issued a refund and asked me to donate to local shelter.
4. I’ve got a box of clothes to take to
resale shop tomorrow on my way home from Costco
I've never watched the Americans either. I'll have to check into it. I'm running out of interesting shows to watch right now.
1. I cleaned my pool and added chemicals. I mowed a bit of my lawn that needed it. I treated some ants around my pool that like to make a mess. The rest of them can go about their business.
2. I combined errands which included gas at Costco for $3.87. It's sad that I was excited about that.
3. I cleaned and priced some items for a garage sale. Now that I've decided to move, I'm realizing how much crap I have.
4. I also stopped into Trader Joes to pick up a few items to make dinner on Saturday and some other odds and ends. I stuck to my list. I like their fresh ravioli especially the goat cheese and onion. One container is a few meals for me and it's easy and quick. I just top them with olive oil, pepper and some pecorino romano. It's great when I don't feel like cooking.
5. I paid for my next year of propane. They give you a fixed price if you pay up front for the whole year. I used my credit card so at least I'll get a few points.