Five Frugal Things -- Macaroni & Counterfeit Money
1. My husband took the leftover cheese fondue from Christmas Eve and turned it into a sublime pan of macaroni and cheese. Mind you, I, the "Leftovers Queen" had assumed it was spent, as it had transformed into an article of congealement; but my guy figured out a way to reverse the congeality.
Mixed with macaroni and topped with bread crumbs, it became the tastiest dish I've had in ages. The fondue's Pinot Grigio might've had something to do with the elevated flavor profile.
2. We attended a restaurant supper with my husband's new workmates and his boss picked up the tab for everyone's entrees. This was unexpected and since I only ordered a water, turned the meal into an extremely frugal evening.
3. The store where I bought a secondhand iPhone for my daughter replaced both my screen protector and case for free. I'm limping along with my iPhone 8 and will continue to do so until the wheels fall off.
4. I've just a few days left to complete my 2025 Found Change Challenge and am pretty sure that it'll be the paltriest one so far. Doesn't help that all my found paper money was counterfeit.
5. I didn't plaster my name across an esteemed entertainment venue, thus causing multiple entertainers to cancel their engagements.
Now your turn, what frugal thing have you been up to?
Yikes on the counterfeit money!
1. I walked in my neighborhood all weekend, and at the local COE park by the river. The temps all Christmas week were in the upper 70's to 80, but sadly, cold weather is back.
2. I have sliced and frozen the Christmas ham and carrots, which will be made into swamp soup on New Years (greens, black eyed peas, ham, carrots, maybe rotel like tomatoes)
3. I also defrosted cooked chicken quarters and will enjoy that with rice, Monday, Tuesday and probably Wednesday.
4. I continued my decluttering, which I am going to concentrate on this week because work is light this week.
5. I took a glorious nap!
My daughter and I shared Christmas hosting. She offered an assortment of finger foods, perfect for a lunch time buffet. Around 6 o'clock we headed over to my house for dinner. Later we had our gift exchange.
It was such a nice lowkey day. I loved it. I had made a salad and prepped some green beans before I left for her house. The roast and the sweet potatoes were cooking in crockpots during the day which made it so easy.
Yesterday I put away the Christmas tree and all the other decorations. It felt good to get the house back to neutral. I had a fun time putting it all out and enjoying the color and festivities of the season. Now I'm ready to sail into the New Year with ease.
1. The weather is pretty bleak. I've stayed home the last few days, so nothing spent.
2. I sold two higher priced items on Ebay. I packaged both of them up and took them to the post office before my driveway gets too deep with snow.
3. I celebrated Christmas on Saturday with all my kids, mom, sister and my MIL. I filled the kids stockings with useful items. They always enjoy this because it's mostly surprises. I try to be thoughtful with my gifts which included several thrifted items. I did not order anything from "that guy" this Christmas.
4. I made a large Christmas breakfast - homemade monster cinnamon rolls, egg strudel, bacon, sausage and mimosas. Dinner was prime rib bought on sale at Meijer. I used my rewards to help pay for it. My mom made a delicious cherry pudding for dessert which I haven't had since I was a kid. The recipe was from my grandmother and was so old it called for sour milk and butter the size of an egg. We snacked on a gift box of meats and cheeses from my BIL between meals. Feeding nine people all day wasn't cheap but it was much less expensive than eating out and definitely more delicious.
5. Enjoying my new status as "Radical Left Scum".
I would love it if you could share the recipe for cherry pudding!
I think we need to start a movement to plaster his name on buildings appropriate to his behavior and demeanor--port-a-potties.
hehe this is happening already: https://washingtonian.com/2017/04/29/people-lot-fun-putting-signs-porta-potties-trump-hotel/
And their slogan...park your rump in a tRump.
1. Frugal fail -- I had a bag of frozen blackberries from the little free pantry, and I made a pie for Christmas Day. It was so seedy it was inedible. I hope my son's family threw it away. I still had berries to use up, so I tried to make jelly (thus getting rid of the seeds). Because of a faulty thermometer, I overcooked it, making blackberry rubber. I can barely get any out of the jar. And there is a hint of a scorched taste. So disappointed.
2. I still have to give a Christmas gift to my SIL, whom I will see when she returns from Florida in a few days. I bought post-holiday markdowns from Jewel -- Bonne Maman preserves, Starbucks cocoa, and hot fudge, which I will present in a recycled gift bag.
3. Today I will make cranberry relish from a free bag of cranberries and an orange on sale. Hope I don't mess THIS up!
4. I found another tequila bottle -- this time Don Julio brand. Tequila bottles are so heavy! There must be a reason. Anyway, I'll try to sell it.
5. I found a winter stocking cap with an interesting Nordic pattern. It's getting washed today. I don't need another hat, so it will go to Goodwill.
The description of your mac 'n' cheese is making my mouth water.
1. Received a ginormous head of cabbage from Buy Nothing. It was the size of a basketball and must have weighed 10 lbs.
2. Didn't have any maple syrup or honey for making granola so I melted some coconut oil and dissolved brown sugar in it. I think I'll be doing this from now on as I received a huge container of coconut oil from Buy Nothing.
3. Found two nickels in a gas station parking lot.
4. On our way to Arizona, one hotel gave us a welcome bag for our dog with treats and poop bags.
5. Took advantage of the complimentary breakfast at our hotels.
With the penny going away, I’ve wondered how long it will be until I’ll no longer find them scattered on the ground. Hey, maybe we’ll start finding more nickels!
I found $25 cash in a parking lot a couple of months ago. That was exciting, and I felt a little terrible for the person who lost it.
When I first read your headline, I thought you were eating counterfeit money along with your mac and cheese. Bleh! But now that you described the cheeseball macaroni, you've got me hungry! Kudos to your husband, the chef!
1. For Christmas Day services, the weather was in the 70s -- much too warm for my usual pretty-looking Christmas sweater and red skirt (or black velvet slacks) ensemble. Instead, I wore an old lightweight Easter dress, coupled with a dressy long-sleeved red chiffon jacket that I'd thrifted for just such an occasion. The dress was made out of a print fabric that had red accents. So the two items of clothing looked sorta like they were supposed to be worn together. Anyway, I didn't have to spend any $ on another Christmas outfit. And I didn't sweat to death inside the church. (No chance of me sweating today: Yesterday, it was 80 degrees and then a cold front blew in during the night. It is now 49 degrees as I write this, and it's almost noon.)
2. The only new ornaments and decorations this year were 2 ornaments and a small nativity figurine gifted to me, a bag of scented and glittered pine cones from Aldi (alas, there are no pine trees in our area or I would've picked pine cones up off the ground), and 2 battery-operated taper candles purchased for Grandma's 1920s wall sconce. I put up a 1970 artificial Christmas tree bedecked with decorations dating back decades and a tree skirt my mom made, lights purchased a decade ago, and that was it.
3. The cardboard box, in which the Christmas tree ornaments have been stored for no telling how many years, is coming apart. So I went to some post-holiday sales and bought a plastic storage unit designed for ornaments. It should last forever. Also picked up some more battery-operated candles -- small votives this time -- that fit nicely into various candle holders. The new ones are more realistic -- they even flicker.
4. The entryway chest of drawers contains many rolls of gift wrap, boxes of bows and gift bags, tissue paper and the fronts of old Christmas cards (reused as package/bag decorations). I also keep multiple rolls of (off-brand) Scotch tape around the house. So nothing was purchased to wrap up presents. Actually, I just plopped them all in (regifted) gift bags this year. Many presents were thrifted/bought on clearance or from my gift closet, or both.
5. I didn't start decorating or celebrating the holiday until fairly late in December. This keeps me from having the "Christmas blues." My Yuletide was short and sweet, and Christmas itself was a lot happier than in the recent past, as I got to go to 2 church services and 2 get-togethers.
Oh, and I did not buy anything from Amazon either. I never do.
Local stores are much cheaper and better.
Esp. the GW Boutique and Salvation Armani.
But regular Mom and Pop stores, too.
The fork pictured in your photograph of mac and cheese is lovely with the intricate pattern. Do you have a full service of this pattern? It is gorgeous.
I do, it's Gorham Chantilly.
That's my parent's pattern from when they got married in 1955!! Comes out every holiday
It is 45 below zero as I write this, although luckily there is no wind to make it worse. I think we have not left the house for three days now, not for frugal reasons but because it is dangerous to drive in these temps due to ice fog and the possibility of a deadly breakdown. Plus it is a royal pain to put on enough gear to stay warm; a lot of vehicles have a hard time keeping the interior of the car warm at these temps so it is not as easy as putting on a jacket. And even if your vehicle gets sufficiently warm, you need to take gear in case you have a breakdown. It is supposed to warm up soon.
1. Listed 8 items on eBay that had just been sitting around waiting and waiting for some attention. Amazing what you can do when you don't leave the house.
2. Trimmed husband's hair. Alas, the chemo thinned it out and it does not show signs of coming in as abundantly as it once did. All those beautiful curls, sparce now...well, small price to pay for this round of miracles.
3. Husband trimmed my hair.
4. Husband repaired one of my shoes, the soles. The tops are made of merino wool and had developed a small hole, so I did a knitting repair on that. Between the two of us we salvaged a $100 pair of shoes. We have to buy this brand to accommodate my leg brace.
5. Switched a savings account to a slightly higher yield one. This is our emergency fund so we keep it easy to access but i still want to get the best interest I can.
Stay warm. I love hearing about your Alaska lifestyle.
Happy holidays to all! I checked and turns out leftover cookies are considered a healthy and nutritious breakfast.
1. Went shopping through all the Christmas boxes to pick out snacks my family won't eat but DH and I will to bring home
2. Raided my mom's leftover christmas cookies to serve at our NYE party this week
3. Stayed with my sister alongside other family so no one had to book hotels
4. Sat on the couch working on a baby blanket with yarn I already own. Walked to the bar to watch football and walked home, avoiding ubers/transit costs
5. Back to routine today - coffee at my WFH desk 🙂
Yep, number 5 is just gross nastiness.
Take a deep breath, find your light, ohmmmmmm.
I did not do a good job of accounting found change.
Neighbor friend brought me the contents of her fridge as they are heading to Texas. I have a rotisserie chicken, veggies, mushrooms, ice cream and heavy whipping cream. Cream is screaming to become caramels. Soup for the rest.
Wearing unmatched wool socks. My work boots don't mind.
It is a dry very breezy day. Washing the quilts.
Edged the front lawns with neighbors fancy edger. Gave him a filet of salmon as barter.
Katy,
As for your congealed mac and cheese...you know how some homemade mac and cheese separate into a greasy, watery, cheesy mess? To prevent that from happening, add about 4-6 oz (for a 9 x 13 baking dish) of softened cream cheese when making your cheese sauce. A trick I learned on some Facebook post (when I had Facebook), and it really works!
Before DH became disabled, we'd go to his work Christmas party. Since my birthday always fell about that time, it was his "frugal" way of taking me out for dinner for my birthday with his boss picking up the tab.
Trying to get in contact with unemployment is a nightmare. I tried yesterday to file a partial claim for last week, but kept getting hung up in the system. I won't get much, but I do need what I can get as my next actual check will be practically nil.
Keeping the thermostat down and the blankets piled on, living on oatmeal (cheap and filling) along with the fruit salad my BIL gave us and staying home as to save gas.
Pretty sure cream cheese make everything better!!
I have been lucky finding clearance eggs at our grocery store (got 18 organic eggs for 3.86 today), so Dutch babies are our alternative to oatmeal for cheap and filling breakfasts !
Yum, I love Dutch babies!
I have been eating leftovers from Christmas. Lunch today was end of it. I have started pulling several items from my freezer at once and cooking batches so I can have easy meals but homemade. I am off work this week so I am going to some deep cleaning and a whole lot of reading
It seems like good days for selling stuff, I've had steady FB marketplace sales. I relisted some things today to make the most of it.
1. Cleaning/thinning as I go along. I gifted some things on buy nothing. I received a lavender lotion and bar soap and 2 new men's deodorants from by nothing.
2. I'm taking one week off from cooking and every meal is from the freezer or pantry. It has been blissful. That was an awesome save of your husband with the cheese fondue!
3. I'm working on my last few goals of 2025, one of them is finishing photo books. I scanned the baby albums of my older two children before I gave them and now I'm making a photo book that I will keep.
4. My husband cut down a tree for a friend of ours (he worked as an arborist in his younger days) and I gathered a few branches for some crafts. She gave him cookies as a thank you.
5. Enjoying hanging laundry on the line now that the rain has stopped in our area. I'm making the most of it because it's forecast to come back
1. I used my Kroger points to get $1/gallon of gas, making it $1.15/gallon.
2. We passed the bin of gift bags, tissue paper, and tags between the 4 households that make up our family. All were new at some point but some of the bags we have had for over 20 years and they are still looking good. We are working our way through tags I bought on clearance a few years ago, and some I found at the thrift store.
3. I manage my mil's finances and I paid her property taxes for a piece of land she has in a very rural part of another state. The bill is very small, less than $100. By paying by the end of the year she got an "early pay" discount of $1.24. Ha. Not much savings but it's still a win.
4. Made potato corn chowder with some potatoes and celery that were circling the drain, and the only thing I needed to buy was some corn.
5. I received a $10 coupon off my next service by my hairstylist since I booked an appointment for next year already.
1. After a long month of snow my car was looking rough. We need to get the undercarriage cleaned because of what they put on the roads. So I headed to the carwash finally and they gave me a coupon for a free one! It was my lucky day I guess.
2. We lost power this morning for about 3 hours. We dug out candles and flashlights and I grabbed water bottles leftover from the wedding last summer to get us through. When we lose power we lose water so it gets tricky.
3. I needed to get some injections and was able to squeeze them in today - just under the wire of the new year. They were free for me as I met all my deductibles months ago.
4. We woke up on Christmas Eve to no heat. Our furnace had quit working in the middle of the night. My dh was able to fiddle with it and get it working again so there was no high cost service call on a holiday
5. Spent many an evening while my parents were here playing board games. Free entertainment and lots of laughs. Especially when you teach a new game to almost 80 year olds.
Regarding #2, if you do any canning and have empty jars, can water! I know, sounds weird. I was in a canning group when I had Facebook. Someone talked about doing this and made the point that "an empty jar takes as much space (on the shelf) as a full jar." If you can water in your empty jars, you will have clean, drinkable water most of the time. If you need jars for actual food, empty the jars of water into a pitcher, your ice cube tray, a glass (with a squeeze of lemon) or another vessel you can keep it in to use later as needed.
I do this too. I have a well, so when power is out, so is the water. I started canning water because I don't want to drink old water from plastic bottles. Now I have an emergency supply of water stored away.
Some rodents got under our hood and chewed through some important engine parts (we do live in Rat City after all!), and were practicing frugality by ordering the parts and doing the repair ourselves!
In the meantime, I’m using it as an excuse to get out and walk places in the Seattle winter sunshine. Yesterday I walked to Costco and today to the library.
Concerning your rodents under vehicle hood, did you check with your insurance company? Typically that's covered (I used to sell insurance).
Thanks for the tip Gina! I’ll reach out to my agent!
1. We went to lunch with my in-laws on Saturday since they traveled to visit my sister-in-law for Christmas this year. They treated us to lunch and had gifts for our family which was very generous! I sent them with a gift for my nephew since they'll be seeing him in a few days and I wasn't sure when we'd be traveling their way.
2. After lunch we packed up the kids and went to visit my grandparents. They made a roast and made sure we were completely stuffed before we were allowed to leave, like all good grandparents do! My husband helped my grandma with some TV tech support while the kids played with my grandpa.
3. We've been eating through a variety of leftovers from the week of Christmas and have finally consumed almost everything except for some of the (very large) ham from Christmas. I plan to freeze it since it's too good to waste.
4. I reached day 178 on my Duolingo streak! My husband and I have talked about learning a new language together for a very long time and this year we finally started. We're using the free version and it's been a lot of fun, albeit a challenge.
5. I finally got my Huggies gift card in the mail! Previously I was lamenting about how we had terrible problems with leaks so I wrote to the company and they sent me a $10 prepaid card. It's not much but it's something! I realized that I hadn't received anything from Tyson Chicken, who I also had written to, so I messaged them back to see if there was an issue. Apparently my address was off by one number so it was returned as undeliverable. They were very apologetic and let me know that they will resend it asap. Winner winner, eventual chicken dinner!
I've emailed about product on more than one occasion.
The best thing I received, was after sending pictures of a fatty ham. Like 3 cups of grease, I received a coupon for a free cooks ham. Then 2 $5 off of a cooks ham
1. For Christmas Day I made 2 pans of giant cinnamon rolls from scratch to feed 9 people plus send a couple home with each family.
2. I bought some 50% off clearance items for future needs. Little toys for Easter gifts for my daughter, niece, and nephew. Some chocolate for treats that doesn’t expire until June. Gift sets for hygiene items we use (toothpaste set, skin care, and deodorant) I also got some half price hand soap that I will dilute and fill my dollar store foaming soap dispensers.
3. I had some coupons for Meijer so I picked up a pound of strawberries, 2 bananas, and a 4pk of jello pudding for a grand total of 60¢! I also received a coupon for 50¢ off per gallon of gas that saved me $6.13!
4. My daughter has a friend over today while I am working from home. For their lunch I used up 1/4 full box of spaghetti noodles with a tablespoon of butter, 1/2 bag of frozen broccoli, and the rest of the blueberries and raspberries in my fridge that were about to turn bad.
5. I am committing to only getting coffee out if I have a gift card. I was buying 2 iced coffees a week at Dunkin which costs $8.58. So that will help me save $446.16 this year.
1. During the annual post holiday declutter, I found items to list on eBay, as well as items to redistribute within our household (UConn winter hat for my husband and an LL bean quarter zip & Travelers Championship golf shirt for my oldest).
2. Froze leftover homemade cookies as a treat for future us!
3. Froze leftover (yet to be) baked ziti. We’ve all had our fill for now of rich foods and this will be an easy dinner on a cold winter night next month before the kids head back to college.
4. Potted pathos I propagated from a 25 year old plant.
5. Swapped out Christmas theme decorations with things I already own (make do!). One exception - after making the sale on eBay for something I found when I was decluttering (see #1), I bought a cute wall hanging from another seller. I am not a model of non-consumerism or thrift, but little steps matter. You don’t have to be strict all the time to make a difference.
I think we need to start a movement to plaster his name on buildings appropriate to his behavior and demeanor--port-a-potties.
Bobi,
That is the best idea I've heard all year! Maybe we can call them Trump-a-dumps. We should make sure there are dozens upon dozens of such outhouses, labeled with his name in gold, put out there on the next No Kings Protest day!
I saw a meme of three His Name Memorial Port-a-Potties that claimed to be from the East Wing construction site.
We have our granddaughter for today and tomorrow while her parents work. Day care is closed, but they still have to pay for the full month. They are closed for 8 week days. I wouldn’t expect them to work Christmas or New Years Day, but it does put a pinch on parents who still have to work those other days. My kiddo would have to have used vacation days (which she doesn’t have a lot of after her maternity leave), her husband would have to use vacation, or they would have to pay someone else to watch her if we were not off work.
We needed diaper wipes, and my husband ran to CVS and used an ECB I had from a previous purchase plus one I received for my birthday to pay for those and a little treat for both of us. All he had to pay was 35 cents for tax, but he had to swipe our debit card as he had left the house with no cash! Lol
I used leftover Christmas turkey to make a pot pie. I top mine with the canned crescent rolls and had a few rolls left, so I baked them and had those as dessert with apple butter we made in 2024. No one had any extra apples this year, but we are hopeful someone will have some to share in 2026 as we are almost out.
One of my favorite gifts is a blank journal that I then turn into a reading journal. I use supplies I already have and ideas I pick up from Pinterest or other readers. This gives me all kinds of joy all year long.
I am doing a decluttering challenge in January to get rid of 496 items (one for each number of the day of the month). I’m excited to get started on it, so I may start and just wait to donate/toss/sell until January 1.
1. We also have an abundance of leftovers at our house from Christmas, so for dinner I chopped up some leftover ham and added it to a couple packages of Indomie noodles and included some green onions that I froze from our summer garden.
2. It's my mom's birthday this week and instead of a pricey gift, I opted to make a garland of pet caricatures for a gift! I painted some salt dough ornaments in the likeness of her furry children. I also received a $25 *~Whole Foods~* gift card from one of my customers for Christmas, so I'm also going to pick up some of her favorite cheese for her birthday!
3. I placed a hold for some CDs from my local library to jam out to.
4. The audiobook I placed a hold on through the Libby app is ready for me to listen to, so I will be entertained at work for the next couple of days.
5. I was able to snag three bags of bagged salad for .79 each and two bags of organic red potatoes for .99 each at my local grocery store's quick sale aisle, so my family will be set on veggies for the week!
1) DH is attempting to repair our dishwasher for the umpteenth time himself. The day after the warranty expired, this dishwasher started having problems. DH has repaired 4 different problems. (He is not, in fact, an appliance repair person - just a guy with YouTube & a lot of patience.) We want to keep our new (it's only five years old!) dishwasher out of the landfill, so fingers crossed this works.
2) We attempted to DIY a tree removal, after a big storm here. That was not happening, even with all of us helping, due to the location of the tree against our fence, a steep hill on the other side, etc. DH got several quotes with a huge price variance ($900!). We went with the cheaper bid & the guy did an amazing job with his crew, and actually indicated that we needed a second tree removed that we hadn't yet noticed. All was successfully removed without needing to go onto our neighbor's property (although they had already approved that) & he trimmed up a few other trees & saved the fence from collapsing.
3) DH hemmed DS18's work pants, as the hem had come out of one leg of his pants. These pants have seen some things, given he wears them to every work shift & they have to get washed each time.
4) We had leftovers (again) from the rotisserie chicken. I also cut green onions from the plant outside, which provided a nice crunch on top of our dinner.
5) We skipped skiing this week, due to the low snowfall, but it will definitely save money. We've been hiking, using our paid for gym pass, and prepping for a trip tomorrow. It all worked out really well. Plus, the teens could work the days we were home.
I chuckled at "these pants have seen some things." Reminds me of my years in a catering kitchen coming home smelling like italian dressing and stale beer! Definitely rode those clothes into the ground.
I had a college dorm mate who worked the morning shift making donuts for a large grocery store. She would come home about the time I left for my first class. She always smelled of grease and sugar. It was all I could do to not lick her as I passed by!
Did she bring donuts?
DS18 works in a fondue restaurant, and his clothes come home smelling like grease & cheese!
In the post-Christmas quiet:
1. Eating from our house - leftovers for lunch and dinner yesterday that were from our football tailgate on Sunday and some veggies from Christmas. Lunch today will be spicy chicken soup from the freezer that my mom gifted us (my freezer is never without at least one or two kinds of soup from my mom, it is her love language). Snacks are leftover chips and dip from the tailgate and having guests over the weekend. Dinner tonight will be a tuna noodle casserole from the Tin to Table cookbook that my partner got for Christmas, using ingredients we have on hand.
2. We got invited to a NYE party at a friend's. I'll wear something I own (although I was tempted to buy something fun and glittery or velvety), and we'll bring a cheese and cracker platter. We always have some sort of cracker in the pantry, and since my partner works for a dairy company, we always have a nice assortment of cheese.
3. Working on setting goals for 2026. I liked how The Frugal Girl framed it - "Does this make me feel good?" Overspending my budget 7/12 months in 2025 did not make me feel good, so that is one of my main goals.
4. I'm working from home all this week instead of my normal 2 days. So that will save on gas.
I just put on hold, at the library, Inconspicuous consumption : the environmental impact you don't know you have
by Schlossberg, Tatiana
I was sorry to hear of her death and look forward to reading her book.
1. Was gifted a huge bag of broccoli from our BN group which I turned into copy cat Panera broccoli cheddar. I used two stale sandwich buns to turn into yummy croutons to add to it. It was delicious and toddler approved!
2. Was gifted some play food from our BN group to go with our free play kitchen.
3. Sent my husband over to someone’s house in our BN group that was having trouble with her deadbolt to save her the expense of hiring a handyman. Maybe not so frugal for us but community sourcing is important. I also have a soft spot for single women, so am happy to lend my husband’s handiness out.
4. Laying in bed watching free shows on peacock (we get for free with our internet). I’m not feeling great today.
5. Despite it being NYE, I will not be popping any champagne (or consuming any alcohol ) tonight, as I’m finding alcohol is a huge trigger for endometriosis flares! Will be enjoying my peach sleepy tea and husbands short ribs & mashed potato’s for dinner at home with our dog and 19 month old. No babysitter, no fancy outfit, no booze. Full hearts and pockets going into 2026.