Five Frugal Things -- More Frugal Albuquerque Activities

1. My husband and I had seven hours to kill between checking out of our hotel and our flight departure, but that didn't mean we wasted the last day of our vacation. Instead we took a picnic lunch to the University of New Mexico campus and then toured their free Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. I took enough anthropology classes in college to almost add it as a minor to my degree, so I've always loved this museum. However, it was a first visit for my husband.

I've always loved pondering how humans lived their daily lives throughout the ages, especially when you get to see things like this circa 1100 A.D. "Child's Sandal" that's not dissimilar to what's available in modern times.

You see it too, right?

This artistry of this pottery vessel is such a modern aesthetic, as the maker had their own style and I'd love to have met them! Love this little museum, I highly recommend it.

2. Our picnic, which we enjoyed in a shady spot next to UNM's "duck pond," featured free apples from the hotel lobby and perhaps an item or two from the breakfast buffet. You wouldn't think so to look at it, but this was by far the best apple I've had in years! It was perfectly crisp and sweet, my only complaint is that it wasn't bigger.

3. I hadn't done more than a few minutes of thrifting on this trip and wanted to sneak in a trip to a local Goodwill. You know . . . for the blog. I certainly didn't want to buy anything that would take up much room in my suitcase, so I chose to just peruse the books for my next read. I'd already finished one of my two library books and chose not to continue with the George Orwell book and there was a description of a enjoyable rape, which meant I stopped reading it.

We chose the Goodwill on Menaul Blvd. and I quickly grabbed the above book as it was the 50%-off color tag, which took the price down to $1.50.

What am I, a Rockefeller?!

4. We had an hour or so to kill at the airport, but our gate had tables, so I pulled out a deck of cards to play a few hands of gin rummy. I got this free deck from my web hosting company and I love it as it comes in a handy case -- perfect for travel. There's hardly anything as frugal as the humble deck of cards!

My husband beat me handily.

5. We didn't get home from the airport until after 9 P.M. and were unsurprisingly ravenous. Luckily I'd anticipated this issue and "past Katy" had stashed some frozen pre-cooked rice in the freezer, as well as a bag of Trader Joe's frozen chicken potstickers. It took maybe ten minutes to assemble the meal, during which time I was able to throw our dirty laundry into the wash.

I highly recommend planning an easy after-the-airport meal for all future travel. This falls under the category of "doing a favor for your future self."

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."

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