Five Frugal Things -- Garbanzo Beans & Collectible Bells
1) My sister left her rain jacket behind, so I crammed it into an inside out used bubble mailer and used Pirateship.com for a discounted UPS mailing label. I'll drop it at the UPS store this afternoon while on my way out to run other errands.
She's lucky that I have a deep stash of shipping supplies and can bang out this task in a matter of minutes!
2) I rewarded myself for dropping off my daughter's state tax return with a quick stop into the Woodstock Goodwill store. Although I didn't buy anything, I looked up a dozen or so items, using both Google Lens and completed listings on eBay.
I took a good ten minutes or so to research this donated bell collection, as many of them were hand painted European porcelain. I suspected that these souvenirs wouldn't hold value, but I needed to see it for myself. After all, I did buy this sterling silver bell at this exact Goodwill for $4.99, which I later sold for $150!
I'm now more knowledgeable on the resell value of collectible bells, and you never know when that'll come in handy.
I almost bought this pair of Converse to resell, as they were the half-price color, which brought the price down to $7.50. They might look grubby, but they were actually in excellent condition and it would've been easy to make them look new.
Unfortunately the asking prices were all over the place, so I left them behind. If I'm taking a risk on something to resell, I'd prefer to only be out a couple of bucks.
The only thing I probably should've bought was this bag of random dollhouse items. Not for the kit furniture, but the assorted few items that I was able to identify. Specifically the teeny tiny stovetop espresso maker and hand crank coffee grinder. There were likely other gems in that jumble.
It was senior discount day, which would've dropped the price down to $3.59. Oh well . . .
Here's a previous blog post where I spell out my process for selling on eBay!
3) I took a container of home cooked garbanzo beans and added yellow curry paste, chicken broth, coconut milk and assorted veggies to make a yuuge pot of food to be served over rice. The garbanzo beans beans were at risk of being shoved to the back of the fridge, so I'm calling this a win.
The color isn't very appealing, but I promise that it was quite tasty!
4) I drove my daughter to Trader Joe's and grabbed a couple items for myself -- frozen edamame, scallion pancakes and bananas. I also asked the cashier for lollipops, which he gave us for free. I chose a pink one, as it's watermelon flavored and my favorite.
5) My husband and I finished watching Dark Winds on AMC+ using a fresh free trial, which we then immediately cancelled.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
I had to Google scallion pancakes as I have never heard of them and I thought it was missing a comma ha ha. Off to search for any local restaurants who might offer them.
A couple frugal...
I figured out how to dry and reuse my paper coffee filters.
A friend at my vet office made sure I knew that the tick med I use does not require a script and I get can cheaper at Chewy.
The vet also offers new payment plans, some with no interest. I won't use it but glad they offer it.
You also can now do some visits with just the vet tech which does not require paying for an office call.
Meijer had a lot of marked down lunch meats and other items in that section for $1 and $2 for 1# ham & chicken lunch meats. The gal stocking pointed out they are clearance due to Meijer no longer carrying them.
Hubs found 3 $10 off $10 off coupons from Meijer which was an offer from last week. He also came back from searching the parking lot with 4 ticks.
I just made my first sale on Etsy! These were bookmarks that I had made for my daughter's baby shower last year, and I forgot that I even had them listed. I had to go track them down. I mailed using an envelope left over from my daughter's college graduation announcements (almost 7 years old) and stamps I already had.
My hubby and I are going away for a long weekend. We stay at our timeshare, so we get a reduced rate, and we cook every meal there with food we bring from home. It is just nice to relax away from home sometimes.
A coworker just ordered 9 paper roses for his wife, mom, and daughter. I'm taking my supplies to work on some this weekend, but I don't think I'll get to his.
Dollhouses seem to be a hot new hobby for adults all of sudden. And some of these hobbyists will pay up for what they want. Some of the dollhouse purchases shown on instagram are ridiculous!
1. Redeemed $40 in American Red Cross reward points for me and my husband. For years we did not claim any gifts but that's changed in the last year. And for a long time, I brought my own snacks. Now I look forward to the snacks, too!
2. Went to a free presentation at the library with my sister.
3. Brought empty containers to Tare Market, a local zero waste store, for other customers to use (pill bottle, little glass jar, takeout container and cottage cheese containers), along with a couple used up plastic gift cards for special recycling there.
4. Received a $5 coupon for an upcoming book sale since I am a Friends of the Library member. Will use it to stock up on reading material for our winter stay in Arizona.
5. Husband received an invitation to participate in a $100/time medical study. Waiting to hear if he's been selected.
Nothing frugal here. I came to help with grandchildren, which means paying for Airbnb. But the time together is priceless. This stage of toddlerhood is so intense for young parents, and so short in the scheme of things. I'm thankful to have the money and the freedom in my schedule to visit often. It is made possible/balanced by reselling, eating in season and from our garden, mostly meatless meals, riding bike for errands, never buying new books, finding 90% of dh's clothes for free or used, growing a garden, not eating out, and a host of other frugal things, big and small. I realized yesterday as I drove for my visit that my trousers were the only thing I was wearing that coat money, and that I had altered the trousers, sewn my blouse from scratch from thrifted fabric and my jacket was free and also altered. It felt quite satisfying.