Five Frugal Things in Albuquerque

1. My husband and I spent $12 apiece to go to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, (their prices are lower for state residents, seniors, students and teachers.) deliberately choosing Saturday to catch their weekly dance performance. The North South Tewa Dancers performed two long numbers, accompanied by their father and grandfather on drums.

Beautiful skilled dancers, it was an honor to watch them perform.

I also splurged on a 51¢ flattened penny after touring the museum.

2. Our hotel room offers $5 bottles of water, but I'll ignore their existence as there's handy free ice water dispensers in the lobby. Perfect opportunity to show off my "Women Support Women" sticker from Women's Personal Finance.

Remember when I thrifted this water bottle at the Goodwill bins?

3. My husband and I took advantge of the perfect 64 degree weather and ventured across town to hike the Petroglyph National Monument area, which was gloriously free. (Although I would've happily paid for the experience.) These ancient carved figures and symbols date from 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1700.

It was Super Bowl Sunday and few other people out. It pays to not care about sport ball.

4. It was still early enough in the day, so my husband and I enjoyed a picnic lunch next to the Rio Grande in Albuquerque's Bosque park. The hotel offers free apples in the lobby, so you know they're featured prominently in our daily meals. I do take them up to the room to give them a thorough wash.

5. We also ventured over to the town of Corrales, right outside Albuquerque, as my husband and briefly lived there while students at the University of New Mexico. To say that it's changed since 1994 would be an understatement, as what used to be empty roads along the route are now crowded with large chain stores.

We did pass by an independent thrift shop and pulled the car over, which was perfect timing as they were "closing in six minutes!"

It was kismet, as a couple of my white cotton pillow cases are fraying most annoyingly. Yes, I've been mending them, but had put a note in my brain to keep an eye out for extras. This pair of pillowcases set me back two entire dollars and were 100% cotton and seemed to be high quality.

I'll start to refer to these as my "New Mexico souvenirs."

5. You can't visit Albuquerque as a UNM alum without stopping into the Frontier restaurant. We split one of their classic Frontier burritos and it was more than enough food for the two of us. Sadly, we didn't have room for one of their famous cinnamon rolls.

They used to be open 24 hours per day, but noticed that they now close a midnight. This used to be the perfect spot to hit after the bars closed! Not exactly the lifestyle I currently enjoy.

Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.