Five Frugal Things -- Repair Cafe, Apples & Bread
1. I took a bedroom lamp to the Repair PDX clinic, as a recent houseguest informed that that the lamp was running hot. The volunteer wasn't able to identify a specific issue, but he did tighten up a few things and adjust a connection piece.
I also brought in my primary kitchen knife for some of that schweet free professional blade sharpening, but it wasn't available as that the library asked them to not offer this service. I guess they didn't want people bringing knives into the library. I get that.
2. My neighbor gifted me a huge bags of apples from her tree, which is perfect timing. I'd already planned on teaching my youngest how to bake pies later in the week, as their partner's birthday is coming up and they prefer pie over cake.
3. I got myself across town to take advantage of the Franz Bakery outlet's monthly $1 bread sale. I hadn't planned on buying such a large amount, but it was buy-ten-get-one-free and what's the point of having a deep freezer if it isn't crammed absolutely full?!
I plan on using the mini-slider buns for lil' salmon burgers, which I think would be a big hit!
4. My husband and I went to his work's Christmas party, which included a white elephant gift exchange with a $20 limit. We brought a $19 bag of Portland Coffee Roasters beans, plus an additional Oregon lottery scratch-off ticket. I really didn't want to purchase a manufactured item, but figured something consumable would be welcome in any household. Sadly the lottery ticket only won $2, but the coffee beans were a hit!
We came home with a two-pack of fancy hot sauce, which I consider a win as I really didn't want to be the recipient of some random cluttery item.
5. I didn't come home from the gift exchange with a Lear Jet.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
How ingenious to take the coffee! I avoid gift exchanges but that's a great idea if I ever choose to participate.
I haven't commented in forever, but read every post. I'm at the end of the semester so I haven't had time to do almost nothing. My one biggest frugal thing is doing homework and assuring I pass all my classes because I literally paid just shy of $10K for this semester.
I'll try to comment more frequently once the semester is over next week.
1. A neighbor left a large box of oranges near their curb. I grabbed a few when I walked by. There were still a lot the next day so I grabbed a few more. They were small navels and fine for eating.
2. I baked two dozen GF muffins, most of which went into the freezer for future breakfasts. I then baked GF cornbread for lunch. While the cornbread was in the oven I also oven roasted honey nut squash I'd bought at a marked down price.
3. We put up our holiday tree. It is a skinny artificial tree that we've had for several years. It is fun to see the ornaments we made and were given over the years. No new ornaments or decorations were purchased.
4. A friend told me about community solar. She said they are going to save 25% on their electric bills. I don't know if it is true but I will look into it. If we can support solar farms and save money at the same time that sounds like a win-win.
5. I didn't shop anywhere but the grocery store yesterday.
1. I spent the whole day yesterday at home. I finished a library book that I had just started. All my holds have come in at once and I'm trying to keep up.
2. I sold the Cutco knife that I just listed. Money in, crap out. Since I just sold the same model knife less than a month ago, listing was super easy and I made a nice profit.
3. I made chili for dinner last night using sale ground beef from the freezer and tomatoes and beans from the grocery outlet. A cheap meal I will be eating all week. I also added some diced tomatoes leftover from a taco night. These were going to go bad soon, so I avoided a little food waste.
4. Last week I bought a gift card at Meijer for Chipotle. We were going for dinner on our weekly girls night with my sister, mom and now the only daughter in town. Meijer was offering $10 in rewards points for one $50 card purchase. I will be using rewards dollars to help pay for the Christmas dinner rib roast.
5. I received $5 cash back from my credit card for a Chewy purchase.
I'm laughing as I mistakenly read your note about teaching your youngest how to make pie bc their "parent's" birthday is coming up and they prefer pie to cake. Not their 'partner's" I thought that is exceedingly wise of you!
I think you did well at the gift exchange! You'll be able to use the fancy hot sauce for a long time!
I made crepes this morning, totally by accident. Some time I froze a concoction of sour milk, butter and eggs because I got that far into the pancake recipe before realizing I was out of flour. So I froze it with a note about what to add. This morning I thawed it, but even though I now have flour, I thought, well, why not use this funnel cake mix that I got for free? My experiment resulted in some lovely crepes. There is a lot of batter left, so I'm investigating suggestions for crepe fillings.
I don't really have any other frugal stories today -- just doing the usual.
I have been using your tip to cut lotion tubes/bottles in half, so I can scoop out the last drops. It’s really surprising how many more days of lotion you can get out of this frugal hack. I shared the tip with my extended frugal family too! Thank you!
1. I bought two muffin pans for $1.25 each from Dollar Tree. I wanted to replace the old ones with scratched nonstick coatings. These are plain steel pans with no coating, which I prefer. I wasn't sure the quality would be good, but they seem sturdy enough and did well with their first baking yesterday, so I think this was a good deal.
2. I also bought snacks and canned goods from Dollar Tree. They have surprisingly good cookies and chips for the price.
3. My mother offered to pick up a few groceries for me when she went shopping. I got eggs, bread, and lunch meat for free.
4. I cooked dry pinto beans and made a meatless chili with them, which I served over rice for a very cheap meal. I froze some for an easy meal at a later date.
5. I put up the same decorations and artificial Christmas tree I use every year.
6. I stocked up on Aldi's seasonal gluten free, dairy free donuts. They are made by Katz gluten free bakery, but Aldi sells them cheaper. They only carry them in December, though, so I bought several boxes to keep in the freezer.