Five Frugal Things — Seam Rippers, Cheese Rain Checks & Bus Passes

by Katy on September 22, 2013 · 32 comments

  1. I used a Redbox free movie code to rent the Tom Cruise movie Oblivion. (MCPC213S – Good until September 25th. You’re welcome!) The movie itself was a bit of a yawn-o-rama disappointment, but since A) I paid no money and B) I love shared time with my older son, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable evening. (My younger son was spending the night at a friend’s house.)
  2. I kept my hands busy by using my trusty seam ripper to remove the broken zipper from my younger son’s backpack. Although I am a laughably amateur seamstress, the work of removing stitches is well within my skill set. (Luckily, my friend Lise will hold my hand through the installation of the new zipper.) As an aside, don’t you just love my vintage United Air Lines seam ripper?! I have absolutely no idea how this item added itself my sewing basket, but I do feel deep nostalgia for a time when airlines would have kept potentially lethal items on board for passenger use. Sadly, that age of innocence has passed.
  3. Last night’s dinner featured delicious and on sale chicken basil sausages from New Seasons Market. However, money is currently tight at my house, so I walked to Fred Meyer for the rest of my shopping list. They were out of the sale Tillamook cheese, ($3.99 for a 2-pound loaf) so I got a rain check for when it’s in stock again. The rest of the meal featured a big green salad and sauerkraut whose origins hark back to a soccer league picnic from at least a year ago.
  4. I picked up library copies of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount CultureFarewell my Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local living  and the new Kinsey Milhone Mystery. Because even I need a break from Non-Consumer obsessiveness!
  5. I hung a hook by the front door for my sons to hang their school ID cards. Since these cards also function as their public transportation passes, it’s imperative that they bring them to school every day. Hopefully this little life hack will cut down on all the “Mom, I forgot my bus pass, will you come pick me up?” phone calls. It’s been a week, and so far so good!

Now your turn. What frugal activities have been filling your days?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }

Mauren September 22, 2013 at 10:26 am

Besides working 60 hrs this past week, I’ve been doing a decent job of staying together. I hope I don’t burn out from all this work in Mid November because it will last until January. Love paying off my bills and stashing some cash in the bank for a rainy day.

Ate some leftover spaghetti instead of ordering pizza.
Took leftover chicken chili and spread some into tortilla shells with cheese and made some quesadillas for dinner.
Used some frozen pumpkin and chopped apples to make some apple pumpkin muffins for hubby’s lunch.
Looking up new recipes to cook.
Even though it’s the first official day of autumn and it’s cool in the New England area, my laundry hanging will move inside unless the temp will be over 70. And that’s not expected until the end of the week.

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Katy September 22, 2013 at 10:31 am

Apple pumpkin muffins? Lucky husband!

Katy

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Sharon September 22, 2013 at 10:38 am

Son #2 is following my lead and trying to avoid wheat. I’m supporting his efforts by grilling up a bunch of chicken, then freezing it, so he can have a healthy meal at school, or at home instead of his usual pizza. Drinking iced chai made using spices from the Indian grocery.

Pulling out my fall decorations from their bin in the basement, all purchased years ago from thrift stores. They look great, because I take good care of them and rotate them out as the seasons change.

Dishwasher running using homemade detergent. The dishes and glassware are all thrifted.

Lunch was a lot of leftover vegetables. I’ve lost so much weight this summer that my thrifted summer wardrobe will need to go back whence it came, and I’ll be in the market for a smaller size.

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rebecca September 22, 2013 at 1:55 pm

Can you share the recipe for dishwasher detergent?

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Susan September 22, 2013 at 10:40 am

That thing is actually a coupon cutter.

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Katy September 22, 2013 at 11:05 am

I think that it predates coupon cutters.

Katy

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Susan September 22, 2013 at 11:08 am

I can remember my dad, an avid couponer, using one of those in the seventies.

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Katy September 22, 2013 at 12:01 pm

I did a little digging, and I think you may be right. Works as a great seam ripper though!

Katy

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Vivian September 22, 2013 at 11:06 am

Last night we had an awesome late birthday celebration with our fair recent new friends in the neighbourhood. It was a potluck and so much fun. I made an awesome brownie which my gf and her husband loved it but I felt could have been even better. We traded our frugal tips on where good but cheap eats could be found and I will be buying some cheep steaks and chicken breasts when the next pay cheque comes around. Yes things are tight around here as usual but I was was supper stoked to buy 3 bras that looked brand new from the Value Village for under the price of one new one at the local Target. Big score for me. I won a $50 dollar gift card from our local butcher last wee and that is a real boon to our grocery budget and I then found a %10 off coupon for them too. My husband also came home with a bunch of free deer pepperoni sticks on of his guys gave him from work. Also a bonus is all the tomatoes my neighbour is letting me harvest from her garden. I’m going to freeze a whole bunch today. Things are good this time of year in the Okanagan because there is some much fresh veg and fruit available at the cheapest prices of the year.

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Sharon September 22, 2013 at 11:58 am

Also cleaning the silver using the sink of hot water, aluminum foil, and baking soda method. My candlesticks and bowls are shiny and ready to look pretty for fall.

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Betsey September 22, 2013 at 4:06 pm

Can you tell me about this method? I have lots to clean and I have been dreading it…

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Amanda September 22, 2013 at 12:50 pm

I bought three pair of jeans and a maternity shirt at the Goodwill for $19, including the use of a 20% off coupon for donating. I tailored the shirt and one pair of the jeans to fit me pefectly for the next couple months.
I sold a piece of furniture that i no longer needed on Craigslist for $40 and then bought a piece we do need for $40.
Taking advantage of the cooler weather to turn off the AC. Can’t wait for a cheaper electric bill next month.
I’ve been prepping to go back to grad school and taking advantage of inter library loan and library database access to get scholarly materials instead of buying them.

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Belleln September 22, 2013 at 1:11 pm

It’s the real start of gardening season here in SW FL but I harvested lots of greens for salad; started tomatoes & peppers from seed; as a trial for my hubby, we are only buying what we absolutely need including at the grocery and have saved over $100 so far just on groceries; collected newspapers from the neighbors to use as the first layer of mulch around the citrus trees and then topped that with mown grass – of which we have tons as it’s rainy season and has been raining a lot; rehemmed 2 pair of pants for hubby so he doesn’t need to buy new ones; frogged a shawl I didn’t like and am now knitting a wrap that I do like. Basically my life is filled with frugal activities – almost always has been and will be. Our life style suits us – we are happy and content.

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AnnDenee September 22, 2013 at 2:01 pm

Farewell my Subaru is a fun story. I enjoyed his adventure as he moved to a more sustainable life. I also learned from him just how much of a challenge goats can be.

I just found a local CSA type connection for locally grown fruits and vegetables. Our first box comes on Thursday — can’t wait!

And after visiting the local pool 2x, I’ve decided to go with a sarong cover-up, so I’ll be heading to the thrift store this week to see if I can find a sheet to convert before looking at the fabric store for new fabric.

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marie September 22, 2013 at 4:22 pm

My father also had that coupon cutter! Funny, I borrowed a seam ripper from my daughter over the summer to redo a blouse and it’s still sitting on my dresser. Now it’s fall and won’t need the blouse until next summer Mmmm!
Canned 10 1/2 pints of Bosenberry jam, and 8 1/2 pints of raspberry jam today. Husband got the generator tuned up and ready to go, so I guess we’re ready for winter. Make me sad!!

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Marie September 22, 2013 at 4:24 pm

We’ll try this again. My mouse fell and I lost my post!
I read Cheap. Good read.
I went to my favorite department store to shop on the 70% sale rack.
In the men’s department, I found two long sleeved shirts for next spring that I will use for blouses. Of course I had a coupon! I find that men’s shirts fit better and seem to be better quality.
I needed a new quilt for my upstairs bedroom and found it at a garage sale for $1.00! All I need to do is fix the raveling on the outside edges and it will be gorgeous. PS. This will frost your buttons: it was handmade.
Put up tomatoes until I couldn’t stand it any more.
That’s about it. But like Katy, I love watching every frugal thing I can do. It is fun to have money in the bank and food in the larder and a pleasant home.

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Katy September 22, 2013 at 5:21 pm

Not sure what “frost your buttons” means, but $1 handmade quilts make me frost each and every button!

Dang, that’s the deal of the century!

Katy

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Marie September 23, 2013 at 12:14 am

It means that it will make you jealous.
There was another quilt there but too stained to do much with. I offered her fifty cents, but she held out for the dollar!

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marie September 22, 2013 at 4:29 pm

I forgot, My 91 cent chicken from Fred Meyers fed us for 2 nights then roasted the carcass for chicken vegetable soup. We ate that for 3 nights, then I took the carcass and boiled it in water for the dogs. They got 2 qts of liquid for topping on their dry food.
So that 91 cent chicken went a long way

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Katy September 22, 2013 at 5:23 pm

We ate the 91¢ chicken with mashed potatoes, peas and gravy the first night, and have been eating chicken soup for two separate nights. Although tonight I made dumplings to make the soup a bit more filling and exciting.

Katy

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Lilypad September 22, 2013 at 5:22 pm

While shopping at Trader Joe’s (a twice monthly trip to pick up a few things I can only get there—the rest is done at my local hippie co-op, PCC, because, well, I’m a hippie vegetarian), when I mentioned my husband would be watching the Seahawks football game here in Seattle today, he said ” you go to the mall and spend his money”. Them’s fightin’ words! First of all 1) sexist!!!!!!!!! and 2) do I look like the kind of idiot who goes to the mall and shops and thinks that’s fun? No sir, I do not. (My worn-out old clothes should have tipped him off to that.) I am not that kind of girl! I just had to share this story with people who could appreciate why it made me so furious. 😉

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dusty September 23, 2013 at 6:38 am

One time my mother-in-law apologized to my husband when she and I returned from shopping together by telling him she didn’t make me spend the money. My husband though just laughed and told her how I worked and had my own money and he didn’t care what I spent. She was a homemaker and had to account for every penny. You should have seen the look on her face when her son told her it was none of his business what I spent. Just like the guy who said that to you, basically that you should go out and punish your hubby by spending all his money. Hard to believe it’s 2013 sometimes.

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Diane September 22, 2013 at 5:23 pm

I talked myself out of going to stores and instead went for a morning and afternoon trail walk as well as a nice cool swim…all free! And finished knitting a hat with donated yarn while sitting on my porch on the first day of fall and it actually felt like fall in Austin.

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oil sketch sale September 22, 2013 at 11:35 pm

nice list! must say that coupon cutter is awesome!

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Jo@simplybeingmum September 23, 2013 at 2:35 am

I had a particularly cheap-date-night on Saturday. After reading your post mentioning Breaking Bad (and chairs) I decided it was time to take our chances on our hit-and-miss internet connection and join Netflix.
So lining up Sons Of Anarchy on Netflix (our freebie trial month), I cracked open a nice bottle of red (a thank you gift from a friend) and knocked up a couple of the new ‘Save With Jamie’ (Oliver) American Pizza Pie’s – approximate cost of 60p per pizza.
Frugal Fun at it’s best!

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Jo@simplybeingmum September 23, 2013 at 2:40 am

forgot to add – the recipe came from a library book!

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Katy September 23, 2013 at 7:19 am

I haven’t watched “Sons of Anarchy” yet, although I’m sure it’s in my future!

Katy

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Jo@simplybeingmum September 24, 2013 at 5:59 am

Started watching it as we like ongoing series so we can get to know the characters. We then discuss the story as it unfolds…we’re so rock’n’roll here!
It’s good – I’d say a modern-day-western – motorcycles rather than horses. The SOA lead Charlie Hunnam has been cast as Christian Grey.
Enjoy!

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Susan September 23, 2013 at 8:18 am

I spent most of Sunday reading, gardening and knitting. Dinner was a roast chicken dinner with leftovers to be a chicken pie for Tuesday. I spent all of five pounds the whole weekend…as I meet my parents out for lunch and they treated us so I got them some treats from the local bakery. That was £5 well spent in my opinion.

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Tonya September 23, 2013 at 9:17 am

Hemmed some pants
Ate some leftovers
Had pizza/movie night with a library movie and a take and bake pizza
Picked up our CSA veggies
Stuck some chicken in the crockpot for tonight

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Denise Arneson September 23, 2013 at 11:13 am

I love rain checks but half the time I forget to use them or leave them at home.

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Mr. Everyday Dollar September 23, 2013 at 5:05 pm

Katy – would love to hear your review of “Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture”.

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