Five Frugal Things -- Homemade Sushi & a Buy Nothing Score!
1) I stopped into the main Goodwill to kill a few minutes and spent a full 40¢ on this cute Bonne Maman jar. I'd already been thinking that I could use an extra one and the blue lid won my heart.
Why 40¢? It was senior discount day, which brought the price down 10%, plus they no longer give pennies in change and I paid with a one dollar bill.
2) I took my daughter to run an errand and we drove through Taco Bell afterwards. I told her to ask for some extra hot sauces for the house and holy crap did they deliver!
Am I now . . . a prepper?
3) I went to H Mart to grab a few Asian grocery essentials, (gluten-free soy sauce, furikaki, nori sheets) and grabbed a few avocados as 68¢ is a screaming good deal in Oregon. They weren't exactly the height of ripeness, but I stand by my theory that buying avocados is an act of faith in the future.
4) Someone in my Buy Nothing group is moving and offered up this cute side table. Luckily I was at my computer when she posted it, as I've been keeping an eye out for a small bedside table for my daughter's old bedroom.
Look how perfectly it'll match with the spindles! What we currently have is too bulky and meant more as a living room end table. I'll pay it forward and offer it up on Buy Nothing to continue the chain of gifting.
Remember when I got that rug from a garage sale leftovers pile? I still love it!
5) My daughter was talking about how she's been craving sushi, so I brought over supplies and the two of us filled our sushi-loving tummies without emptying our wallets. Homemade sushi is extremely easy and should be on everyone's frugal roster.
I got a takeout order of just pickled ginger on my way to her house. This ends up being both cheaper and higher quality that what I would've found in a grocery store. We experimented with putting ginger in the sushi, which was a delicious success!
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
How exciting, I’m the first poster today!
Congrats on the CUTE table.
Love those jars! I use mine all the time. I have three sizes and they are the best.
Great idea for takeout ginger and putting it in your sushi. Yum. Do you have a sushi rolling kit? I would happily make my own, but it seems fiddly.
Today is a frugal day. Coffee and a cruffin at home. My discount store had 12 frozen ones for $1.99. That beats a coffee shop and I ate it on my lovely deck in my pajamas with bird song as a background.
Working out at home and walking my dog.
Having dinner with family. I will contribute cookies from the discount store and homemade cookies using leftover Reese candy and MM’s. We are going to support my niece in her theatre performance. Happy to spend $12 on a ticket.
Will walk to her performance (if weather holds) as it is just up the street.
I did buy a pair of summer pants on eBay today, but I have a few things to list that should more than compensate for the purchase price and it is still better than the $98 price tag for a new pair-which I would not pay. They are quality pants made with organic cotton, but I have my limits!
All you need to make sushi is a cheap sushi rolling mat. It's as easy as making a burrito.
Thank you! I will try to source at Goodwill.
Katy, any chance of you posting a sushi tutorial?
1. We went out of town for #1 grandson's college graduation. My husband used points for half our hotel stay.
2. I saved $24 on groceries with store coupons.
3. I cashed out Fetch points for a $50 Chewy's card. The dogs eat like horses.
4. I am making rice packs for my daughter and #2 grandson . These are just fabric bags filled with rice and stitched up. Microwave for 2-3 min and apply to aches. The fabric I used is plaid flannel cut off the bottom of husband's too long pajama pants.
5. I sold a board game my daughter gave me. She had it listed first with no results and I had it listed for quite a while too but it is on its way now to a new home.
Ginger and soy sauce are crucial to good sushi.
Does anyone know of a pickled ginger brand that does NOT have aspartame in it?
I can always taste that, and it is nasty to me.
That jar would have been at least $2.99 at my GW. And never a senior discount to be had!
Same here Mary, but the lowest pricing at mine seems to be now $3.18!
1. I needed gas, as I fill up when it gets to the halfway point. I went by H-E-B and it was a$4.75. Thought I could maybe do a bit better so I drove around. A conv. store where it usually is sky high was charging only $3.97 for regular unleaded. Even cheaper than the lowest price on GasBuddy. I filled up fast, before they changed their minds!
2. Was able to fix two pairs of scissors that had rust on them. I saw this on the internet: you stick the blades in an onion, wait 5 minutes, and then the rust will wipe right off. I tried it last night using a big onion I never got around to cooking with. It worked OK. Nothing too spectacular. But I should have tossed the onion in the outside garbage can. Woke up this morning to a strong onion smell wafting throughout my house! Oh, and the scissor blades smell of onion, too.
3. Frugal fail: this is a bad one! I stuck a gallon jug in the big freezer last night. Today, I went into the laundry room and noticed a puddle on the floor. The freezer door had not closed all the way. (I have an upright freezer, not a chest freezer.) I have (raw) meat that is soggy. Can't cook and eat all of it in time. It will have to be thrown out. However, one of the big containers of meat is super old and was probably purchased during the quarantine, so it should have been used long before now. These days if I eat meat, it's usually a Jr. Whopper.
4. Took Snuggles to the groomers because I can't wash him myself. They were giving out freebies: a little container he can wear on his collar that is a holder for plastic bags. So that we can clean up any messes he makes on the go. Not that I can walk him: coming out of the business, he lunged on his leash and almost knocked me down. I'm glad I didn't fall; I could've broken my hip.
5. Stopped by a garage sale and got some flower pots for 50 cents each. They had a lot of history books so I phoned my friend whose daughter's boyfriend is going to teach history. Thought they'd be interested in picking him up some teaching materials. Esp. since it's one of those sales where they let you make an offer, they just want to get rid of everything; I figure my friend perhaps could load up a box and pay them a few dollars for the whole thing.
I’ve made sushi at home, and I find that my silpat makes a perfectly good roller! I haven’t done it in a while, and your post has given me a new dinner idea. I tend to get stuck in a rut.
I haven’t noticed that Goodwill prices anything under $1, but I guess your little jar was 50 cents? Or maybe it was half price day?
I haven’t had a particularly frugal week. I’ve been hanging out in the country again, and there’s little to tempt me, so maybe that’s a frugal move.
They sell their canning jars for 49¢ apiece.
WOW! Nothing under $2 at Goodwill by me (Florida), DVD's used to be $2.18, now up to $3.18......clothes are up to $8, and no senior discounts (in the land of senior citizens!).
1. I asked for, and received, an under bed storage box from buy nothing. I put my stored water jugs in the tub and slid it under the guest bed. That way I won't worry about leaks.
I rotate the stored water in the summer, emptying the old water onto thirsty plants and refilling the storage jugs.
2. Picked up the freebie at Lucky- 3 mini ice cream sandwiches which normally sell for $7.99!!!!!! I would not even for a split second consider paying half that.
Also got the eggs on sale for $1.99 for 18. Walked to do this errand.
3. Continued my fb marketplace selling streak and the house is noticeably emptier. And I am happy about that.
4. Planted Swiss chard among my flowers. In my opinion if there's (paid) water flowing there should be food growing. This way I can get food and flowers.
5. Emailed doctor regarding sinus infection, he put in a prescription, and dh will be at that facility later today so he can pick it up. No copay to see the doctor, no time or gas spent to go to an appointment. I'm so thankful.
In my area Goodwill has become so high priced I quit going.We have a church sponsored thrift called DESERET, run by the Mormon Church.It is HUGE with a rapid turnover of goods and very low priced. Clean as a whistle. And 1 mile from my home!!!! I have gotten gorgeous summer tops for $3. Donna Karan black pants for date nights for $5. Vionic sandals for $4… (A STEAL!!!!!)
BUT I just got am email with the Goodwill discount schedule and EVERY TUESDAY SENIORS get 25% OFF!! So,I. will give it another go!
I have had good success selling stuff on FB marketplace.. I do not have an ebay account. Locals are very responsive! I don’t sell a lot but when I do,so far Marketplace has been the easiest and I get my price most of the time too. It’s easy enough to meet up the street in the Walgreens parking lot if I don’t want strangers at my house.
Way to go on all those sales!!!!
PS: HAPPY NURSES WEEK! Almost over, but still…. one (retired) L and D nurse to another.
I haven't been to Goodwill in a long time. Nothing was priced below $1.99, even items that had an original price sticker less than that.
1. Added a small can of sliced black olives to a frozen pizza. The olives were part of a pantry cleanout that I received on Buy Nothing a couple months ago. I managed to burn the pizza so some of the crust was inedible.
2. Made a concoction of bits and bobs from refrigerator and pantry: Leftover brown rice, red lentils, quinoa, sauteed zucchini, sauteed mushrooms, chickpeas, coconut milk, curry powder, and soyaki sauce.
3. Made a simple tomato bisque using coconut milk.
4. Received about a dozen plants (peonies, daylilies and hostas) from my sister-in-law. Husband dug them all up at her house and placed them on a tarp in the back of his truck. Then he replanted all of them while I pointed where they should go. This brings the total number of free plants to over 100 within the last year; the others I received from Buy Nothing. They've transformed our backyard.
5. Husband picked up four free catmint plants from a neighbor's driveway. We're hoping they will help deter the deer.
P.S. Big day here! I went outside for the first time in three weeks. Husband helped me to our patio where we had lunch and I read for a while, then he helped me walk down the driveway and back. The full-leg splint is my constant companion. Hopefully next week's x-ray will show that my knee fracture is starting to heal.
Fingers cross for your knee fracture is healing.
Good to hear you're getting outside. Hoping your injury continues to heal in a timely manner.
1. I am fighting a cold so mostly stayed home today. I signed up for my regular yoga class virtually and received the recording.
2. I did join a friend for a walk through a wooded trail. She is getting over a cold herself.
3. DH & I started a puzzle a friend shared with me last week. We are building it on an oak table someone in the neighborhood put out with their trash a few years ago.
4. We hit the easy button for dinner and had GF pizza purchased at Costco when it was on sale.
5. I went to Aldi yesterday for produce and dairy products. They are the cheapest around and about a mile from our house.
1. My most frugal thing this week is, a friend asked for advice on some fertilizer for his garden. He went to fancy class at a greenhouse, and they recommended a $40 bag to him. I recommended plain old chicken manure, and since I have 9 chickens I offered it up for free. In return he brought us a meatloaf and cheesy potatoes. Enough for three meals for two. Best trade ever!
2. Continue to get lettuce from the greenhouse and I keep planting more in every spot I can find.
3. This is my second year working on creating a cottage garden. Dividing plants I already have, got feed seeds from the library, and found a few plants marked half off at the garden center since they had already bloomed for the year.
4. It was in the 40's and 50's here all week. It was also very windy, but I still managed to ride my bike to work one day. 14 miles round trip. So saved a little on gas.
5. Amazon sent a $15 off $50 offer on Proctor & Gamble products. I filled my cart laundry products, but managed to resist actually purchasing it. It was my commitment to LESS that changed my mind. I have given up fabric softener, but boy do I miss the smell. I have switched to laundry detergent sheets instead of bottles too, and again I sure miss a nice scented detergent like Gain. All the plastic is a huge turn off, and the products are so overpriced.
That rug in your daughter's old room is really different in the best possible way. I love it.
1. I invited Granddaughter22 out to dinner for her birthday but she asked if instead she could come over to my house to eat. Why, yes you can! In the process you have made your frugal grandmother very happy. I put an on-sale whole chicken in the crockpot using a homemade rub that tastes amazingly like the store bought rotisserie chickens. Mashed potatoes and gravy, on-sale crescent rolls and scratch brownies in lieu of birthday cake. She was a happy camper.
2. I volunteered for 4 hours at the library's annual book sale this morning. I love to see books getting a second, third, etc. life. At .50 for paperbacks, 1.00 for hardcovers, large print, CDs, DVDs and puzzles, people were walking out with bags full.
3. I bought myself two puzzles at the sale for next fall, when temperatures start to nosedive. I do like to plan ahead. In the warm weather, you can generally find me on the deck with a book in my hand.
4. My old boss from the deli called to ask me if I could come in to cover for someone tomorrow. Yes I can. The extra $$$ will be nice since we have some car upkeep issues to address next week at a day long appointment.
5. My cat Bear had a goopy eye which I was thinking the vet should have a look at. Today I looked at him and his eye was wide open and no discharge. Yay for spontaneous healing. I crossed the vet off my "to call" list and saved myself some money.
I struggled mightily with pain last night as I tried to sleep. Tylenol just didn't touch it. (It's my only approved painkiller because I have kidney disease.) In the morning I felt exhausted, but better, and, determined to do what the doctor said, I went to the gym and pedaled the stationary bike for 15 minutes. Which seemed a lot longer! And once home I did my PT exercises. The gym is free (Silver Sneakers) and so far, PT is free. I just hope I will eventually get past this, get back to my normal self.
Yesterday I took a walk around the neighborhood, though not as long as I used to. I was rewarded with some finds -- a full, sealed, unexpired jar of creamy peanut butter sitting in a paper bag! I don't know what the story was, but it appeared to be just fine. And then I found five Santa figures adjacent to a LFL. A friend collects them, so she will be getting those. I used to collect them myself, but my collection is more than complete.
And then -- a cute girl's t-shirt lying in the road -- dirty and run over, but I think laundering will fix that, and I'll donate it to Goodwill.
Today I reheated leftover Mac and cheese in the oven, and made a batch of sugar cookies, since the oven was hot. I also used up some carrots in carrot soup.
I found a quarter in the Aldi parking lot, so I guess you could say I came into some money!
Worked from home today. A friend's company is switching from full time in office to WFH one day a week because of gas prices. I'm going to mention that to my boss next week in an attempt to get more regular WFH days for our team.
Mailed another ebay sale using gifted stamps. Some of the smaller sales wouldn't be worth it without the gifted stamps, but I'm getting more positive reviews and stuff out of my house.
Bought groceries with a digital gift card from a class action settlement. It was almost the amount of my weekly grocery budget! I paid less than $2 OOP.
Avocados that are not ripe just need to spend some time in a paper bag (if you are in a hurry) or on the counter. Conversely, buying ripe means you stick them in the frig when you get home - those are often discounted.
Not even close to a prepper. And I'd not label the Bonne Maman jar as a canning jar. Useful jar yes, storage jar yes, in a canner no.
Vegetarian sushi? I can't enlarge the picture.
I see the lovely Ralph Lauren comforter on the guest bed. I've always loved that navy & green plaid. The little table w/ spindle legs is pretty.
1. I bought 2 paperback books for 2$ each. I have been going to the library to get a book to read for free. However, I'm going on a lengthy trip via a plane. I couldn't keep a library book for this length of time. I signed up to get 10% off w/ my teacher ID so the books were a little less than 4$.
2. At graduation we were served some breakfast food. I wasn't hungry but I snagged a breakfast burrito & ate it for lunch. I also got a cup of coffee to go.
3. My name was drawn at a recent event. I won a heavy tote bag with a sturdy closure. Not sure if I will keep it or donate it.
4. I am glad I bought my plane ticket in March. I think prices are going up due to fuel cost. I got a one ticket to south FL for 84$. I checked & the current price is much higher. American Airlines now has free Wi-Fi for their Advantage members. I will enjoy that on my flight.
5. My brother texted me that he had been notified by a land man. It seems they are tracking down our great grandfather's heirs to buy some mineral rights on land he once owned. I don't know all the details but it seems we may get some money. Not a large amount but I am grateful for whatever we get. Not getting my hopes up but remaining hopeful.
That little table is so sweet and will go perfectly in the bedroom.
Yesterday I took a little bag of donations to the small thrift shop thst helps get women out of homelessness. I look through there every few weeks for sewing fabric, but have not turned up anything yet.
Ollie's Outlet sent me another 15% off coupon, which was used yesterday to buy a lot of gluten-free snacks and cereal, organic applesauce, canned tomatoes, Fab dish detergent, rubbing alcohol, Contact paper, and a little set of acrylic art paints, which we use for touching up nicks and dings to the walls, doors and floors.
Had a big pot of homemade soup for lunch every day for four days. Fixed an annoying little clicking noise under the insole of a sneaker with a sprinkle of baby powder.
That table will look great in your room. I also love the rug. Well done on your repurposed finds!
1) Sold a couple of items on eBay - a misdelivery from Amazon that they didn't want back + a white elephant gift from my company holiday party. All eBay sales are packaged in recycled packaging.
2) Ate the last of the leftovers for dinner last night. We didn't have quite enough when DS19 unexpectedly came home, so I made 1/2 of a Trader Joe's box of mini pizzas to add to the menu.
3) I have been going through and adding credit card rewards, particularly for gas. Earned $4 this month ($2 for each kid filling up their tank).
4) Meeting a friend for a hike this afternoon. It's walking distance from our house, and is a nature preserve, so no entry fees.
5) I do a monthly video call with my sister + BFF. It started during COVID, and we've kept it going. It's so fun, and also more free socialization. We are currently planning our upcoming (and non frugal) trip to Greece.
Saved big bucks and hassle by thinking outside the box. Our bedroom lights up about 5 am and we were having trouble sleeping until our usual 6:30. I was contemplating room-darkening curtains (we already have venetian blinds). In the meantime my husband folded his winter bed hat and put it over his eyes, and I did the same with a sock. It worked. I'll sew something a little classier using the sleeve of his old pajamas.
Would appreciate your recipe (including rice type or brand, etc) for the sushi. Agreed - it is so much cheaper at home. But i struggle getting the rice right.
Don’t post often, but daily reader 🙂
My favorite recent goodwill save of your’s (so many choices!) was the purse handle. I can imagine it’s amazing second life.