Five Frugal Things — So Much Free Stuff!
by Katy on September 9, 2024 · 59 comments
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I walked a mile to pick up a Hydroflask water bottle and hiking headlamp from someone in my Buy Nothing group, even though it was hot and kind of humid and I was sorely tempted to drive. I dropped them off at the house and then walked another mile or so to pick up the books I’d ordered from Powell’s Books for my niece’s birthday. (Which I also got for free, as I used gift cards from selling books!) Picking up the books in person saved me the cost of shipping, plus it became a zero waste packaging transaction.
Buying from Powell’s Books allows me to support a local business while keeping to my 18-year (and counting) buy-nothing-new goal.
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I discovered a small amount of frozen sliced red peppers and a partial bag of frozen blueberries when I cleaned out my freezer last week. I used the peppers in a stir fry and the blueberries in a smoothie. I hadn’t realized I had these items, so I’m pretty happy to have rediscovered them.
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I stopped by my daughter’s apartment and ended up curb picking a slightly grubby, (but otherwise perfect) office chair from one of her neighbors. I then came across a pair of Article brand “Svelti” chairs that normally sell for $69 apiece. I’ll sell all three chairs, although the desk chair’ll need a half hour or so of elbow grease.
EDIT: I sold the chairs for $30 apiece in under 24 hours!
My favorite items to sell are things I got for free as I can charge less and make a quicker sale. Plus having zero dollars tied up at the get go makes it easier to be patient when finding a buyer.
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• I found a penny on the ground outside Powell’s Books.
• I grabbed a “free box” glazed flowerpot while out walking home from picking up the Buy Nothing stuff.
• My son didn’t end up wanting the curb picked drafting table, so I listed it on Facebook Marketplace.
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I didn’t curb pick any Lear Jets.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
Katy, great point about being able to sell freebies for less (so faster). There are so many trickle-down benefits to being a nonconsumer! Love these curbside posts.
Zero dollars in makes it all so much better!
We have been expanding our raised bed gardens. Protection from deer is a big thing. Prices for plastic supports for netting are more than I’m willing to pay. Yesterday on our walk I noticed someone had tossed a very long set of supports for soccer netting. Perfection. The Mister was a bit cranky about walking back to pick them up, but they are now leaning against the back of our house. I need to get rid of the falling apart net, but I noticed it is held to the frame by wrap around velcro. Fabulous info–we had been using string or binder clips, and the velcro would be much easier to open to get produce out.
@mary in maryland
We’re trying to keep out other types of critters in our garden, but we use Velcro with the netting across our raised bed gardens, and it makes it reasonably easy to open up & pick things or weed.
Velcro for the win!
1. Had my family picnic this weekend. It is local for me. Sister #3 offered to pick me up as she was driving past. I then offered to pay for parking. We packed our lunch, snacks and drinks. A cousin ended up bringing 3 3 foot heroes that he made so we ate those for lunch instead. I brought bags of cherry tomatoes and people gladly took. My sisters took lots of figs. Another cousin made 4 peanut butter pies and I had a slice. I had gotten summer clearance at Stop and Shop for 90% off. I bought all of the kites at 70¢, 2 kickballs at 50¢ and 6 boomerangs for 30¢ each. The kids loved them. Some of the adults were flying kites too. Several of my cousins offered me money but I told they I got them for 90% off. They were impressed. A few people from other groups came over to watch us fly kites and we let them join in on the fun. Later they brought over a goodie bag for my cousins 4 year old daughter. She is the only little girl in the group. She was very excited. The weather started out gross, light rain, but got sunny by the afternoon. People came as far as Florida. It is the same day every year and its been going on for over 60 years.
2. Hubby and his dad went upstate apple picking. It is a tradition for them. I packed them a cooler with drinks and snacks. Hubby treats his dad to lunch as its his birthday this week. The apples are $1.25 a pound upstate verses $16 for 1/4 peck here. Hubby only got 50 pounds of apples since we have so much applesauce still from last year. With the kids moving out we don’t eat as much. My son already came and got some apples. His dad got 100 pounds. That man loves apples.
3. My daughter had a wedding upstate this weekend. Her and her fiancé turned it into a weekend getaway. I am dog sitting for them. I love all the extra puppy kisses.
4. We cut the cable cord earlier this year. Hubby was able to watch football with the antenna on CBS and Peacock. I had found a special for the year for $19.99.
5.Our neighbor turned 75 the other day. I brought him a bottle of our homemade wine. I put some ribbons on it that I had. I grabbed a birthday card from my card stash. My favorite thrift store sells card bundles for 12 for $1. His family came over to celebrate. The next day his wife texted me if we wanted some leftovers so I said yes. I gave her a bag of tomatoes as a thank you.
6. The garden is kicking my butt. I have vegetables all over my kitchen and dining room. I have sauce going as I type. I need to make more pickles. I have spaghetti squash curing. I need to shell beans and get the dehydrated going for today. Then I need to go out and pick more for today. We are so grateful for the food I’m just tired after a long weekend.
6. Windows are open, laundry is hung outside, bills were paid online. Life is good.
Your #1…I thought I was the only person around who uses the word “gross” to describe inclement weather! Glad to see I have company.
Wow, you’re a dynamo!! Sounds like so much fun all around!
Re: your No. 1. At first I read it as a 33 foot sub sandwich. For a few seconds I was seriously impressed.
That would have been amazing. There would have been lots of leftovers that way.
1) Brought wine that we had from a long ago COVID wine order to a friend’s house for dinner
2) Sold things on eBay & got something listed that I’ve put off for ever, because it was a hassle to list & I knew that going in.
3) Going on a hiking trip with a friend, and used miles for the flights.
4) Similarly, sharing a hotel room with said friend, to cut down on costs.
5) DS18 will take me to/from the airport, so no additional transportation costs. Bringing electrolytes & protein bars from home.
Sounds like fun!
I love all the free stuff posts. It be fun to see a tally for the year of what you’ve sold, kept or given away.
1. I sold a vintage magazine rack on FBMP for $20. I also donated some winter clothing and boots to a thrift store that serves the homeless and needy. Crap out and money in.
2. I knocked over and broke a barstool. My husband repaired them so many times but this was beyond my skill set. I gave the pair away to a friend’s cousin who needs furniture. My friend’s husband will repair it first.
3. I found a new to me set of Ethan Allen barstools on FBMP for $80. They are very heavy duty so hopefully they’ll hold up.
4. I invited a few family and friends over for dinner. Everyone brought an appetizer. I made soba noodle spring rolls with peanut dip, cake, dill dip and fresh veggies. We had a nice time, played a couple games of Rummikub and ate way too much.
5. I ordered dog food and treats from Chewy. They had a coupon for $20 off and my credit card was offering a cash back reward for $15 off. I also ordered enough for free shipping.
Games and yummy shared food? Sounds like the perfect evening!
Katy, do you keep track of your inventory for selling in an Excel sheet? Or how do you keep track of how much you paid for an item (or how you didn’t pay anything)?
I’m old fashioned paper and pen. I don’t sell that much on eBay these days.
I so wish that Chicago neighborhoods would put things out on the street! Or that my enormous residential building would dedicate a small room where we could leave things for our neighbors to consider. It would have to be cleaned out regularly (I know someone would use it to offload their garbage…) but I know that we drive to donate things at Goodwill that someone within a few hundred yards of me (vertically!) could use.
big hugs from Chicago,
Janice
I live in an 8 story vertical retirement village in sub tropical, inner city, Brisbane ,Australia.We have Giving Table in the garage area, as well as recycling bins, bottle bins, a vegetable garden is being established, composting, and air drying for clothes, as well as public transport on our doorstep ( direct to 2 major hospitals, as well as shops etc)ALL public transport journeys in Brisbane( train, bus, ferry) are 50c, and off peak buses and ferries are free for seniors! Our 1 bedroom units are approx 500 sq feet, compact and well designed., This is as close to heaven as it gets!
Coral: That sounds wonderful!
I am waiting for the movement of senior housing for seniors with children who have disabilities. I don’t think it has happened yet.
It would be wonderful to know that our son, (approximately 30 years younger than us), could continue to live with us and then live on in the same location when we are gone.
We would love that too! We have a disabled son as well.
That’s sounds amazing!
Coral, that sounds like a wonderful place to live.
You could just start one, I’m sure other residents are thinking the same thing.
1. After lurking on FB marketplace a few weeks, I spotted three bar stools for the counter at our new house. $60. Similar ones were going for much more, and prices for new are ridiculous, so $20 each was a deal!
2. Mentioned we needed a screen/room divider to my stepsister, and she offered one she has for free. Picking up tomorrow.
3. Also, during our conversation, she mentioned she ended up with my dad’s old rototiller. Since we will have a garden now, she also offered that for free, and better yet, said her husband got it running.
4. Darling Daughter spotted a neat framed poster of a cyclist pulling an Airstream trailer at a thrift shop. It’s going to look great in our bedroom.
5. Paid .99 for a bee scarf at a nearby thrift shop. We’re beekeepers so I couldn’t resist.
Opened first electric bill for our new house. It’s much higher than att the previous place, due to running A/C (old place was in the woods, so we rarely ran it there) and two aerators and a fountain in the pond. Can’t do much about running aerators, but we’ll need to work on using the A/C less next summer. Think we can accomplish this by closing the light blocking curtains and strategically opening windows.
Hooray for free working rototillers!
Even better than free rototillers (which are useful for starting a new bed) is the current science that shows no-dig is the way to go. Simply layer new compost onto last years bed, and plant into it, no turning needed.
1. I found $.88 in the Coin Star and a nickel in the parking lot at the grocery store.
2. I made banana chocolate chip muffins for visiting relatives. They were happy to accept some of the leftovers, as was my daughter, and a friend that has a birthday today.
3. I was able to give away stuff using the Facebook Buy Nothing group. I’d prefer to use Freecycle but it does not seem to have many users these days.
4. I continue to water the shrubs we bought a few weeks ago. The instructions are to water twice a week for one year. Our water is cheap (kind of, we receive small bills but also pay for it with our property taxes). We are transitioning to plants that are good for attracting bees and butterflies.
5. The weather has cooled, at least for now, so I pulled out warmer clothes from previous years. I am grateful that I am able to fit into clothes from year to year, at least for now.
Yeah, Freecycle has been left behind in the wake of Buy Nothing groups. I prefer Buy Nothing though, as they’re hyper local, so I can walk to pick things up.
I don’t love the Meta connection but what are you going to do. Our large suburb has two Buy Nothing groups so some people in it are at least a few miles away but that is better than Freecycle where some people travel quite a distance for items that are not worth that much travel.
Our Buy Nothing group split three ways a few months ago–not nearly the action we were seeing before. I notice that most members post things that weren’t rehomed via BN on Freecycle after a couple days.
Katy, finding good stuff in the freezer is always a boost.
I accidentally thawed too much ground beef in preparation for making a meatloaf, so cooked the extra separately and made a casserole to divide up and freeze for my lunches. Altered the neckline of a thrifted blouse so that it fits better. Used up some apples and the last few blackberries to make a fruit crisp. Dried laundry on a rack on the back porch. Refilled my kitty’s freshly washed litter box with a bag of cat litter bought with a coupon.
Making food ahead of time is such a gift to your future self!
In solidarity with a couple of commenters today at The Frugal Girl, I’ve decided to do an FFT, Passive Frugality Edition:
(1) Thanks to my friend Mr. Fix-It’s heroic efforts, I still haven’t replaced my garage door opener (to the tune of $600 or more). And he’s still rewarding himself for these efforts from DH’s tool and supply stash, with my enthusiastic encouragement.
(2) There was some Reduced for Quick Sale beef at Price Chopper this morning, but I wasn’t even remotely tempted to buy any of it: It was still *way* more expensive than my 1/4 steer, and paler/punier-looking to boot.
(3) This isn’t entirely passive, but I still think it counts: I finally downloaded the manual for the Timex Ironman Triathlon wristwatch I found in the middle of the street back in July. Now I can reset the watch (it was running about 5 minutes fast when I found it). Beats buying a new watch.
(4) I’m watching the goldfinches and chickadees flit in and out of my sunflowers and coneflowers, instead of watching something on any service (cable, streaming, etc.) I’d have to pay for.
(5) And I haven’t yet bought a new car, let alone a Lear Jet.
Free road watch is indeed a passive purchase!
I consider watching birds and looking at flowers free entertainment too!
A friend gave me an almost full package of organic brown rice that she had an allergic reaction to.
Family gathering at Sisters over the weekend, she catered Chipotle and texted to “bring containers if you want leftovers to take home”. That sorted my meals this week without me spending a penny or lifting a finger 🙂
Reading Library books.
Continuing to rescue perishables from the office kitchen on Fridays.
Gotta love free food!
!. I had $4 off anything at CVS and used it to purchase a bag of Hershey Kisses for my friend residing in a nursing home. Cost me $1.99 and will keep her in chocolate for quite awhile.
2. We’ve had a beautiful stretch of “laundry-hanging-weather”. Mostly dry and sunny. No dryer until Daylights Savings ends (or begins). I can never keep that straight.
3. I’ve been pulling out my fall decorations in dribs and drabs. Besides the 2 cornucopias I purchased for $1 each at a thrift shop, I won’t need to purchase new decor for autumn.
4. The somewhat major newspaper we subscribed to over a year ago for a very. very low price ($30 per month) on a super special has not yet raised it to the normal price which is $3 a day and $4.50 0n Sundays. So, what would normally cost us $96 a month…I would cancel it at that price…costs us less than 1/3. Don’t know if it’s a mistake or they extended our cheaper subscription. Kind of waiting for the ball to drop here.
5. I purchased a bag of New York state apples at the grocery store for .89 lb. and butternut squash for .69 lb. There’s something about the cooler temps and lower angle of the sun that makes me crave these foods. Also makes me want meals with gravy for the meat and mashed potatoes. Fall is right around the corner.
Christine: One of my favorite comics, (maybe “Non Sequitur”, not sure), published perhaps in February:
Man is standing in front of an open closet door in a hallway. Fall vegetables are spilling out of the closet that he clearly just opened. He calls, “Honey, I think we forgot to turn off the cornucopia when we put it away last year.”
Ha, I need one of those!
Lol. I love that! If only things like that really happened.
So Gravy weather instead of pumpkin spice? That’s a movement I could get behind!
1. I had leftovers for breakfast and lunch. And breakfast was purchased yesterday on my company’s dime, so even better.
2. I returned a pair of shoes I ended up not loving. I had purchased them online, and there is usually a cost to return them when shipped back. So I retuned them to the store in person.
3. Batched the return with other errands: dropped some items at a donation center, got a discounted car wash, and stopped at the grocery store.
4. I also returned 2 dresses I bought online and didn’t end up needing for an event. Unfortunately only online return option, so I will be out a little bit of cash. Lesson learned – I’ve been spending a bit impulsively lately.
5. I had a long work week and a long weekend, and realllly wanted take-out last night. I made boxed Mac and cheese instead.
Not frugal, but so happy. We lost one of our 2 dogs in December. We’ve felt the hole, and our remaining pup has not enjoyed being solo. We had a great meet and greet last week with a rescue, and she is coming to live with us tonight!
Happy Day!
Thank you!!!
Congratulations on your new pup! Have fun with your new family addition!
Thank you! We made it through the first night without a single issue!
1. Carpooled with a friend to an event 25 minutes away. Saved me gas and my own energy (which is in shorter supply).
2. Too tired to cook so I’m having leftover GF pasta and making tuna casserole for my husband. Garden fresh veggies redeem the meal a little bit.
3. Pruned and staked my collard tree, overdue since the spring. I almost cut the whole thing down in exasperation, but I didn’t and I’m very happy with how it looks now. Collard trees are an abundance source of greens, they will grow year round here in California where it sometimes gets too hot to grow greens in the summer, and my tree was free. I don’t water it, though it receives water that the berries get since I planted it at the end of the berry row for the express purpose of watering 2 things with the same amount of water as one would get.
4. Freshening up my house by decluttering, rearranging and cleaning. All free.
5. We removed 2 dying bushes at the side of the house. These were a needed screen for the tight space between us and next door. We put up wire (free curb pick) and trained the climbing rose (free cutting) along it. It doesn’t quite cover, but in time it will be lovely. And free.
Katy: Impressive finds, as always!
1. Drove to meet a friend for a walk this morning and combined it with running errands. I made sure to pack dried fruit and nuts as I wouldn’t be home until early afternoon.
2. During errands, I was delighted to see that gas prices were significantly lower, and prices on certain items at Target were noticeably lower, too.
3. Subscription to our local paper has more than paid for itself. So far, we’ve saved close to $200 using coupons for gas, an oil change, and truck repair.
4. Favorite use-it-up concoction lately: Two elderly corn tortillas made into a quesadilla topped with leftover sauteed zucchini/onion/mushroom mixture, the last of the salsa, the almost-gone habanero sauce, very ripe avocado chunks, and the remaining sour cream scraped off the sides and bottom of the container.
5. Stocked up on nuts, oats, rice, etc. from the bulk aisle at a local grocery store. Ethical situation: They also have bulk sugared nuts, banana chips, etc. which we don’t spend money on, but on occasion there are a few remnants left in the tray underneath the bulk dispensers. I’ve been known to take some off the tray for a taste/treat – discreetly, so it doesn’t look like shoplifting, which it isn’t under the assumption that the store tosses the remnants rather than puts them back in the bins and doesn’t need to account for the loss. Anyone know? What would you do? I’m generally a rule follower, so this has me thinking. I’m not concerned from a sanitary standpoint because I don’t know where any of my food has been, even when it’s packaged. I think I’m driven mainly by a deep-seated desire to not let anything go to waste. Am I justifying the unjustifiable? Am I on a slippery slope to a life of crime starting at age 65?
Regarding the stuff under the bulk bins–I have always discreetly eaten the nuts. The Mister thinks this is highly questionable behavior, but I think they throw it out at end of shift.
I think you should eat those nuts and banana chips. They would probably be required to throw those out so you’re doing them a favor. Waste not, want not. If you find yourself with an urge to rob a bank then I would get some help.
So envious of all your free piles, nothing like that here! And congrats on over 18 years of buying nothing new, just incredible <3
* Got a reward through the Lidl app for 5% off a grocery shop so I stocked up on non perishables. 5% is not a lot but it all adds up.
* I substituted cream cheese for cream in a sauce recipe as I forgot to buy cream.
* I cut DH’s and the teens’ hair.
* My face cream was almost empty so I cut open the tube as I always do and am still using it 3 weeks later. I don’t use any skincare/beauty products other than face cream, magnesium body butter (a supplement and body butter in one, I guess that counts as a saving, too 🙂 ) and – rarely – lipstick.
* I returned a packet of strawberries as the strawberries were partly mashed/mouldy which I had not unfortunately seen when buying it. Got my refund.
1. Remembered to cancel my free one-month trial subscription to a company that makes political yard signs and bumper stickers. (I’ve been campaigning like crazy.) The subscription let me order things and get free shipping, but after the first 30 days they were going to charge my credit card a monthly fee. So I ended it on Day 28.
2. Found the gift card for a fast food place that said “we want to buy you a drink” (non-alcoholic, of course). They had passed these out to the teachers last school year and it was at the bottom of my purse. Redeemed it for the free lemonade but did not buy one of their overpriced entrees.
3. Big Lots advertised some reusable K-cups for Keurig coffeemakers. Bought a package, as the lid to my old one was lost. Now I can spoon some coffee from the can and brew a cup, as opposed to having to buy the more expensive K-cups that you have to dispose of after only one use. Even better: there were 2 K-cups in the package. (Not frugal, but very useful: I finally broke down and bought a new Keurig from Target. Designed for a dorm room, it doesn’t take up much space and it works lots better than the old one I got from Goodwill. The new one makes a really good cup of coffee in a jiffy, and I am greatly enjoying using it. I got tired of swallowing coffee grounds with the old one — now I know why it was donated! Totally useless!)
4. Since the big, old Keurig wasn’t working, I cut off its electrical cord for recycling, salvaged the tank to use for watering the houseplants, and put several other plastic parts into the plastic recycling bin. Threw the rest — oh, no! — in the garbage; that’s because we couldn’t figure out any other uses for the base and stuff.
5. Took 3 different last-minute substitute teacher jobs, all on the same day. (Two teachers’ doctor appointments were over faster than they had planned for, then another teacher went home ill.) Luckily they were at the same school. But it meant I got paid for a whole day instead of just for an hour or two.
I’ve been grateful to get a nonworking toaster oven and Instant Pot, because I could use parts to complete another.
1. Dinner last night was almost entirely out of the pantry/freezer – ground turkey, black beans, corn, and tomatoes over yellow rice. Tasty, filling, fast! Lots of leftovers for today too.
2. We finally bid our old, well-loved (and cat scratched) couch adieu. We were able to get a new one from a company we really wanted for half prize on a 4th of July sale and they came and set it up this morning. Having some patience with delivery really paid off, and we’re very happy with the new one!
3. A friend sent me some beautiful throw pillow covers as gift earlier this summer, which I put on my old throw pillows for some new life. They look great with the new couch and match the decor perfectly! Upgraded vibe at no cost to us.
4. When we pulled the old couch out I decided to deep clean the living room before the new one arrived today. Learning the grout in our tile was once a light color was…horrifying given the current color. I fired up some Netflix and got to work scrubbing. Free using cleaning supplies I already had and some good old elbow grease – pretty sure it’s now cleaner than it was when we moved in and I’m so satisfied!
5. I was getting so sad that my over the ear headphones had worn out ear pads – literally the fake leather is flaking off (and they’re white, so walking around looking like I had dandruff on my shoulders was not ideal…). I learned from another group that many companies sell replacement ear pads. I’m so excited! I found a pair with very good reviews for $12 on Ebay as my headphones are discontinued. Very excited to get more life out of these and avoid buying new ones!
My husband has the black ear pads–I’m always peeling melanomas off his ears and cheeks. I suppose ear pad dandruff would be another choice.
Katy – You amaze me!!!!
Maura 🙂
1. My son needed new cleats for flag football since his old baseball ones don’t fit anymore. I used a $5 birthday rewards and another random $10 coupon at DSW and got him a new pair (Nike) for $16.96! He loves them and thinks they’re super cool looking.
2. Sold an item on Ebay for a profit of $32. It was something I got from a free pile. And also a bundle of my son’s old toys on FB marketplace for $40.
3. For the last two years, our garden has gotten out of control with amall white pumpkins. Three years ago, I threw some old ones in the compost tumbler and the rest is history. My husband picked all of them and we probably have about 20. I used some to decorate the mantel and gave some to a friend for his house.
4. Same old usual stuff. All meals at home, no drive thru coffee (or any coffee for that matter!), and no frivolous spending.
5. CVS sent me a random $4 in extrabucks that expire today. I’ll grab something small that is as close to $4 as I can find.
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