Five Frugal Things -- Family Dinner & Trader Joe's
1) My husband and I had our kids over for Family Dinner Night, which was easy this week, as my husband simply doubled the recipe for the grilled marinated chicken he was already prepping for his work lunches. We added a pot of rice and broccoli and called it good.
We started doing these simple weekly dinners a couple months ago, as I realized that we were only seeing the kids in fits and spurts and I missed sitting around a table as a family. It's been a big hit and its added something fun to look forward to. I sent the kids home with an extra meal, although at this point they need to start returning the containers.
2) I was over at my daughter's apartment and noticed that she had two three-packs of instant yeast, which was weird as she doesn't bake. She admitted to accidentally buying them thinking they were nutritional yeast, so I brought them home. I buy my yeast at Costco and it's highly unlikely that I'll run out in 2026, so I posted them in my Buy Nothing group.
They're now sitting on my front porch awaiting the two women who'll pick them up later on today. Buy Nothing is the best!
3) My friend Lise hit me up in the morning, texting to ask if I'd be up for a Trader Joe's run, which is always an emphatic "YES!" My favorite way to hang out with friends is to run errands together.
Their produce is per-item instead of by-the-pound, so of course I took that as my mission to locate the fattest specimens. You can guess which butternut squash came home with me. I also have a big ol' cantaloupe ripening on my kitchen counter.
I bought butternut squash, cantaloupe, toilet paper, butter and hummus. The lollipops were free.
I was loading my groceries into Lise's trunk, when I spied the lawn sign she silkscreened for her husband's run for state labor commissioner. Lise is such a creative soul and her amazing husband Chris would make an excellent labor commissioner. He's got my vote!
4) My cousin's daughter is having a baby and I wanted to send her a gift certificate to a local bookstore, so she can pick out some baby books. Unfortunately she lives in Pittsburgh, but I was able to find a cool looking store not far from her neighborhood. (Riverstone Books) I remember mailing a single paperback book to her mom when she was born, (I was in nursing school and broke-broke-brokety-broke) and it felt right to do something similar for this next generation. Thankfully, I'm no longer broke and can splurge out a bit.
My husband and I went to her wedding a few years ago and I just know she and her husband are going to be terrific parents.
5) I didn't buy any Trader Joe's tote bags, as the point of a reusable grocery bag is that it's . . . reusable. Buy it once and then you don't need to buy any more.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Oh my, what have I done lately?
1) Left some items in my (virtual) clothing cart. I don't need them. It did give me some inspiration of how I can put some outfits together using items I already own.
2) A friend venmo'd me for her contribution to some travel I'd booked. I moved that straight to my savings, as i'm trying to visibly build up my savings account & this helps me feel more motivated.
3) Served leftovers for dinner again. Ate the more fragile fruit first (raspberries.)
4) Planned a bit more about my cash flow management, as I'm planning to retire from "big career" life soon. I'll likely pick up some more flexible options in the future.
5) Went to CVS to pick up a prescription, and used a few cash rewards/offers to get advil that I needed.
IDK how old you are, but every school district in the nation is in need of school bus drivers. I drive a van, which does not require a CDL license. If you don't mind learning to drive a 40-ft school bus (the big yellow ones we're all familiar with), most, if not all, districts/contractors will help you get your learner's permit and teach you the ropes. My contractor will even pay for your licensing fees. It's a huge responsibility, but it's a great part-time job. I have one of the longest routes @ 142 miles/day. You get holidays and summers off, and you can file for unemployment during the summer. Something you might consider checking into.
Interesting & was definitely not on my list of things to explore - thank you! Oddly, where i'm at in California, the district does not supply any bussing. But, i'm guessing some of the local areas do. Thanks for suggesting!
1. I had to get Snuggles some more dogfood, as we're completely out. Went to Wallyworld (Walmart) for it, and was quite unhappy that there were no human cashiers on duty. I absolutely refuse to do self checkout; I feel that is both hypocritical and wrong, since I am a cashier. I want to support other people, esp. students, who need cashier jobs, so I refuse to do self checkout anywhere. A lot of folks who hold these jobs are on the lower end of the economic totem pole and need the work! I politely told the employee at the door why I was leaving without making a purchase, and pls. inform her manager that I refuse to do self checkout and will not buy anything from their store until they have real human beings on cashier duty.
2. Topped off my gas tank at Murphy's gas station on the Wallyworld parking lot bc it was only $3.26 a gallon, cheapest I've seen it in a couple of weeks.
3. I still needed dogfood so I came home and used my newish cell phone to sign up for Walmart delivery and to buy some Ol' Roy. A 40 lb bag is an affordable $24.73. I think it's probably really Purina Dog Chow in disguise.
4. Grabbed up some more kiddie books from a LFL to give to the book drive.
5. Did not singlehandedly mess up the entire world's economy by playing dictator and starting a war. BTW, last midnight, the BBC radio World News said 62 million people, I think it was, will be plunged into poverty because of Trump's actions; most of them will be in Third World countries and 40+ million may face famines. So tragic! How many will die thanks to old Gen. Bone Spurs?
Please help me understand how ordering from Walmart online for delivery is any different than using a self-checkout. Agree with you on not choosing self-checkout! There is a point when having already burned gasoline the thought goes to at least I’m supporting my local business! Will ordering online hasten driverless deliveries and closure of a local store? Not criticizing your choice, just examining how to think about this snarly conundrum.
I will leave my $.25 worth - online order will require a Wally employee (don't think they've gone robot yet) to pick the order for delivery. Hence a human gets paid. And a human gets paid to deliver. I do hope Sam Walton is rolling in his grave due to his heirs being so f*ing greedy (and arrogant in Alice's case).
I assume a human or two will process the order and get the dog food where it needs to go.
Well, as it turned out, they messaged me that they were out, so I cancelled the order. Ended up buying a 24 lb sack of dogfood from the Mom and Pop store where I work. It was $29.99, twice as much as Walmart, but my baby needed his supper and I bought it after my evening shift ended. It is a fancy brand and contains salmon. The dog eats better than I do: he got salmon while I had a Junior Whopper.
Locally, Amazon uses drones (there's an Amazon warehouse in town), but I think Walmart still has people driving cars to bring deliveries. Guess I'll never know since they didn't bring it and I cancelled.
Good it was cancelled. Ol Roy is truly floor scrapping. Even shelters won't accept it.
I think many of us in the US are doomed for poverty, too.
I’m pretty sure the children’s books in Little Free Libraries are for…children. LFLs are a highlight of our family walks, and my daughters are always disappointed when there are no children’s books. Do you really remove them to donate elsewhere??
Perhaps I need to further explain some details: I got some books from a seldom used LFL in an affluent neighborhood and donated them to the TV station's book drive. Where they will be distributed to impoverished youngsters living in housing projects on the slums, children who have no means of transportation to get to libraries. Other books came from a thrift store in a good neighborhood; they give away books in the back of their warehouse since hardly anyone buys from them. Last weekend, I also bought some used books from a small Mom and Pop used bookstore and from another thrift store in the suburbs. The latter place specializes in selling tools and supports a ministry helping the elderly; hardly anyone knows they sell books, so those volumes practically rot on their shelves. I did not buy books from Goodwill because Goodwill has an annual book giveaway each summer and that helps children read. Trust me, I take care that I'm not depriving anyone of books, just helping to get those books to where they are most needed.
And when I say distributed, I mean they will be given out free to kids living in poverty!
I also prefer an actual checker as I enjoy the social interaction plus it's keeping someone employed. Our local Food Lion does not have self checkout and has the nicest cashiers, so it gets 95 percent of my business. There are a few things less expensive at Walmart Market that I buy there.
Ol’ Roy is definitely not Purina “in disguise”. My DD is a Vet Tech and one of her annual CE courses is Pet Nutrition. Ol’ Roy is mostly fillers and “mystery meat by products”. It is Walmart’s private brand. I strongly suggest researching how it is rated by veterinary dietitians. I share this out of love for all dogs and not to make you feel badly.
1. I finally mailed great nephew and fiancé the heirloom vase aka engagement gift. I packed it well
and actually double boxed it in upcycled Amazon boxes $13.65 it’s on its way
2. Packaging tea bags and stevia for our mini trip. We with 2 other couples are renting a VRBO. I’ll make ice tea while we’re staying.
3. Double checking our travel
sized travel toiletries are ready to be packed.
I used to work for a retail store that shipped sometimes-breakable items all over the US. Thats where I learned about double-boxing breakable things for shipping. Yay you for doing it!
Some of my tote bags are developing unrepairable holes. Fortunately I can always find something better at the thrift store (then use the old bag to carry a load of donated items back to the same thrift store).
My family of three dutifully mailed off our Nielson radio surveys today, for which we'll get a $10 check each and maybe some support for our favorite NPR station.
In the "maintenance is frugal" category of chores, I cleaned my sandals and rubbed leather conditioner on the straps, laundered my wool slippers before putting them away for the summer, and laundered both pairs of sneakers. Also took the time to figure out a lacing pattern that makes the canvas sneakers fit better.
Took a little bag of donations to the thrift store that aids homeless women and bought a cute summer top there for $4.
Sending my thoughts to MB in MN with prayers that your ortho appt went well.
Aw, thanks so much, Val! I learned I don't need surgery so I'm doing a little jig (sitting down of course). I now have a full-leg splint that ensures that my knee doesn't bend and allows me to put weight on my right leg. I'll be wearing this for at least a couple months, so no driving and activities will be limited. A setback for sure, but really the best possible outcome. I don't get bored easily, if ever, so I'm hopeful I won't lose my mind in the recovery process!
That is such wonderful news! the hardest part is trying to maintain the muscles you currently have, when it is hard to move around.... or getting them back once you CAN move around
How is the pain?
Ecoteri, so far the pain is manageable with Ibuprofen and Tylenol. I had foot surgery eight years ago, became depressed and didn't do anything to keep myself from needing extensive physical therapy, so I am determined not to let that happen this time. Thanks so much for your concern!
MB - Stick with your plan and sometimes remembering the results when we neglected ourselves can be the encouragement we need to do better this time!!!
My supposedly healed broken arm is aching so I finally booked another appt with the hand/arm physio man, who is a darling. I imagine it aches because it is gardening season and I just Cannot Pace Myself! but sheesh!
My life has been between home and the hospital. But dd is home now and ensconced in our spare room. My days are now about medication on a schedule, picking up medication, and food.
1. I sold 2 items today, one for a fundraiser and one for myself. It's something I can do from home!
2. For dh and me, I only bought only milk, potatoes and bananas from Trader Joe's. Dd had a list of things she was craving and I had her credit card for those.
3. The rain stopped and I've caught up on laundry and been able to line dry all the loads.
4. Somehow we still have $45 in our gas money envelope for the rest of this month. I budget $200 a month for gas, so to have $45 still available is pretty amazing. Especially since I drove 400 miles to help ds.
5. Dh is happily eating foods that dd doesn't want. I figure when one is recovering, one has more leeway to be picky. And thankfully we have a backup eater in the house.
Kara, I'm so glad your daughter is now out of the hospital! And I hope you're able to get some rest for your caregiving.
1. My mom came to visit and play with the grandkids today. They adore each other and my oldest bossed us around with some puzzles while my youngest simply snuggled and marveled at her grandma. The puzzles we've had for ages and had been sitting untouched in a drawer for a while so it was like playing with something new.
2. My husband is on his second day of orientation/training for his new job! The job has about 7 days of work from home training and then will be in person. We're saving oodles of gas money since the job will be about 110 miles of driving a day round trip.
3. We're taking advantage of these last few days of having full car access (we only have one car) and I'll be taking the kids to the grocery store tomorrow. We did a great job about two weeks ago but are running low on a couple of items- milk, coffee creamer, tp, and dish soap. It'll give the kids a break from our usual routine and my husband some quiet to concentrate on his training.
4. My husband made popcorn before jumping on his work call this morning (7:45am!) and we've slowly been snacking on it throughout the day. We have a huge bulk stash that we need to munch on before we move and we add very little to the popcorn so it's a fairly healthy snack.
5. We've found that almost all of our kids' shows are on YouTube kids as part of our YouTube premium subscription. Currently we're paying for Netflix and Disney Hulu- all with ads and the Disney bundle is on a discounted 3 month plan, but we want to cut down on our subscriptions. We're wrapping up our current seasons and then we're going to try and get down to just YouTube premium, the free PBS kids app, and our dvd collection. So far my kids haven't noticed the difference between the services and the YouTube version so we're pretty optimistic!
How great to have a new job!
I remember reading of eating (probably plain) popcorn with milk and sugar, like cereal, but have never tried it.
Does that mean you will be home with your kiddos without a car most days? I am very interested in how you keep them busy if so!
We're very lucky that the house we live in is about a two minute walk from a play ground (About 17 minutes if you include actually getting the bag and the kids and the jackets and ONE last potty trip before we leave)! Our local library is the oppose direction and is about 10-15 minutes of walking with the double stroller. Our town is pretty small and doesn't have the best sidewalk coverage but we make the best of it. The home sale is pending now so we're hoping to get something new that's walkable with the kiddos!
We're really good about planning our appointments and shopping to align with when we have the car, too.
Shyla, yay to your husband finding another job!
Thank you!
Don't forget your public library has an extensive DVD collection, where you can check out titles for free!
We've been using their movies for the last few months! Since hubby has been off work and the kids were both sleeping at the same time at night we treated ourselves to movies and shows that had been on our list for years!
Katy, hopefully you and your readers know about this -- but you have to have purchased items in 2019. (Good luck remembering that.)
Nonetheless...
https://www.dailymail.com/yourmoney/article-15742421/trader-joes-shoppers-payout-class-action-settlement.html
Thanks for the link! I sent mine in today. I'm sure I shopped there as we'd just gotten a TJ's in my small city and it was a very big deal! However, I doubt my credit/debit card number is the same as I had mine reissued a few years ago. But it doesn't hurt to try.
1. Used my parents cable login to access nhl playoffs rather than paying another subscription. This was especially nice considering my favorite team is losing.
2. Bathed my dirt loving toddler and then bathed our dirt loving dog after. He’s such a pain in the butt about it, still giving me dirty looks hours later but we did it and didn’t have to pay a groomer.
3. Grabbed some marked down eggs, matcha powder, coffee creamer, pita bread and produce at the grocery store. Had to pick up an antibiotic for myself and my little ones new epi pen from the pharmacy, so of course had to scope out the deals.
4. Got a massive bag of toys off of marketplace for free. Went through it and grabbed monster trucks, diecast cars, hot wheels and some Lego duplo. Will save for my little one’s birthday in a few weeks and pass on the rest.
5. Got diapers, toddler shoes and some snacks from our BN group this week. I love not buying diapers !
6. Made some unusable using a 60 cent bag of organic white bread I bought and froze a few weeks ago.
1. I transferred baby wash into my hand soap dispenser and added the little bit left to a basin of water and washed my combs and brushes.
2. For lunch I had half a can of sausage/cheese/potato soup that I bought on clearance. Will have the other half tomorrow.
3. I attended my grandson's volleyball game for free entertainment. Also got to visit with my former SIL.
4. I went to the library and exchanged books I'd read for another on hold.
5. I tested all the batteries I had set aside as questionable, and learned that only one was not good.
I love our family dinners. Something magical happens while passing food around.
I made a Costco run, they had their food grade buckets on a super sale...bought a pack of 3 for $5.
Made a WinCo run, got everything on my list for $24.
Went to 2 estate sales, spent $4 at one gorgeous designer home, picked up cleaners and really nice wooden brushes.
The daughter let me take a clipping of a gorgeous oak leaf hydrangea.
The other estate sale was ho hum, I bought a never used 5 gal gas container with a normal easy to use nozzle. Will wait a few more weeks to fill it. Diesel was $6.14/gal & 5.99 for gas. I didn't price the non ethanol that I use on the farm...
Took my mom to a friend's family taco truck. I got a carne asada taco plate for $4.99.
Hi! I have been enjoying your blog for years, thanks for writing it! I also love Buy Nothing, and I wrote an essay about my Buy Nothing group in Salem, MA. Here it is for anyone who's interested:
https://solsticelitmag.org/content/buy-nothing/
Loved the article you wrote, Eileen!
I loved reading your essay.
Hi Eileen, thank you for linking to your essay! I enjoyed reading it. I just set out two things for people to come pick up via Buy Nothing. My parents are moving and wanted to throw away a bunch of vintage backpacking and camping gear, but I posted it on BN and (of course) it turns out that people want it!
Eileen, I thoroughly enjoyed your essay. I am a Buy Nothing fan and got a kick out of your experiences. You are a heckuva writer!
I harvested lettuce, arrugula, and a huge cabbage from my greenhouse -- my first harvest of the season. We had half the cabbage with dinner last night.
I tackled a big pile of mending and tailoring -- I replaced the elastic in a very old but still favorite skirt, shortened the hems on a tunic and a dress so they'll be more flattering, took in the elastic on a pair of trousers and mended a small hole in a seam.
I packed away my winter sweaters. To protect from moths I had my husband fish a stick of aromatic cedar out of the firewood pile and chip off a bunch of small pieces, which I placed in a mesh bag in the sweater storage box.
I took a car full of recycling to the center in the next town while I was there for a doctor's appointment. We have curbside recycling, but it's an extra $50 a month. Once every 4-6 weeks we schlepp all our recycling to this free center.
I started sewing a summer dress from some material I purchased at a thrift store for 3.99. For the pattern I am reusing a ‘Sew Liberated’ pattern for their Hinterland dress, which I love. Am trying to use patterns from small indie companies as opposed to the big commercial ones when possible. I already have plenty of buttons and thread.
My husband cleaned the freezer and found 3/4 jar of pizza sauce I had forgotten about. I made enough pizza for two nights. Used the rest of the sauce in a big pot of minestrone soup.
I got rid of two subscriptions - one, a magazine/newspaper bundle online and another, a TV streaming thing. Not missing either.
I bought some foam board at Dollar Tree for my protest signs.
OOOO, thanks so much for the Hinterland Dress recommendation. this is EXACTLY what I am wanting!!! YAY!
Did you print it out yourself or go to a print shop? (our print shop costs are astronomical!!!)
Hi Ecoteri - This was a while back and I actually had the already printed pattern sent. I tried to print out a free apron pattern once. It worked but I spent a bit of time cutting and taping the pieces together. If Sew Liberated still mails their patterns - well, they come with a really nicely done booklet that clearly explains the steps. I love the fit of this dress.
In regards to this comment from you - "My cousin's daughter is having a baby and I wanted to send her a gift certificate to a local bookstore, so she can pick out some baby books." - you should sign her up for the FREE BOOKS that are from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library at https://imaginationlibrary.com/. The child will then get one book a month from birth until 5 years old.