Five Frugal Things -- Yes, I Would Enjoy some $1 Pizza!
- I joined Papa Murphy's My Slice Rewards to qualify for a $1 one-topping medium pizza. For those not in the know, they're a take-and-bake pizza chain and there's a location not crazy far from the house. So so pizza, you had me at $1!
This isn't sponsored, I just enjoy the opportunity for cheap food! - I enjoyed some lovely apple slices with my Winco oatmeal this morning. Stewed for a few minutes with brown sugar and cinnamon for maximum deliciousness. Extra frugal since the apples were free from my friend Lise!
- I took sliced cucumbers and added them to the leftover brine from a jar of bread-and-butter pickles I'd just finished. ($1.25 from Dollar Tree!) Super easy and cheap way to make "refrigerator pickles" that straight up optimizes something that would otherwise get poured down the drain.
- I used an inside out Amazon bubble mailer to pad the Bose remote control I that I just sold on eBay. The envelope was from my mom's house and I'm happy to give it an extra use. No reason to buy packaging supplies when there's so much available for free.
- We're using the furnace, but I have the thermostat set for 64 degrees during the day and 58 degrees at night. I crank it up if people are over, but would rather wear a warm sweater or cozy up under a throw blanket if it's just me at home. No reason to heat the entire house when I can just heat myself.
1. I have our thermostat set at 67° day and 65° at night. I’m cold all the time so I just wear a sweatshirt and use a heated blanket in my basement home office.
2. I’m on a diet so I’m cooking a lot more.
3. I started watching Tulsa King on my free paramount plus trial.
4. I didn’t leave my house at all yesterday!
5. Tonight we’re going to a friends bar/grill where he is having a bingo night and free pizza. (The bingo is free for us from him)
I have a heating pad to use if I'm feeling too cold and am sitting still.
I feasted on homemade spaghetti today! A few days ago, I told my cleaning lady, who is a good friend, that I'd bought her some canned goods, as she is a SNAP (food stamp) recipient. (Our store was selling Libbey's brand corn, green beans and peas for 69 cents a can, so I got her a couple dozen). She made a ginormous amount of spaghetti to help out all her friends and family members who were affected by the SNAP thing, and she brought me some over. I'd meant for the canned goods to be a gift, not a trade, but she wanted to share. Bless her heart!
Used my 20% coupon at Goodwill and found a valence for the laundry room window; a watering can with a spray mister attached for my houseplants; a fancy clipboard that may be a holiday gift; and some history books. Still no draperies for the bedroom. 🙁
Frugal fail: after going all over town trying to find those #$%@*&! drapes, I saw a matching comforter and drapes on the Belk website. On clearance, no less! Fairly decent price! Attempted to order them but the thing didn't go through. It just kept spinning and spinning and spinning. I was going to get 12% off with Rakuten and another 20% by applying for their credit card, and again the thing just kept spinning and wouldn't go through. So I called their 800 number. I thought I was talking to a real person but it turned out to be an AI voice that sounded like a teenager. How dumb can you get? Super bad! But not as horrendous as when the call got transferred to a Real. Live. Person. Who must've been in outer space or something: noisy background and an extremely thick accent I could not comprehend. He couldn't understand what I wanted, bc he barely spoke English. Needless to say, I promptly canceled my order and hung up. I won't ever be using Belk again!
Also called Discover card to make sure the purchase wasn't charged. Just in case. (I'd ordered it via this card before the popup offered me a Belk credit card.)
Hoping that I can find the matching comforter and drapes I want, hopefully from a discount place or second hand, before my birthday next year.
What a huge pain in the tuchus, I'm so sorry.
However, your friend/cleaning lady sounds like a keeper.
Have you tried Collections, Etc? They have some nice stuff and, depending on what you're looking for, it may be reasonably priced. I've bought some bedding from them (sheet sets and a comforter) and they have held up quite well.
I just have to say you did her a big favor taking the spaghetti. Makes it a more level playing field.
One of the things that won my husband over was that the first time he visited my apartment when we were dating, I had the thermostat set to 62, and I was wearing a sweater. (I had a horrible, inefficient heater and didn’t want to end up with crazy bills.) Anyway, he was impressed with my frugal nature, and the rest is history.
Is the pizza deal just to get you to sign up for the app, or do you have to buy a certain number of pizzas first? I’m not a huge fan of their pizza, but for $1, I could love it.
I'm sure it's to get you to sign up for their rewards program, however it's not an app and you don't have to buy anything first to get the deal.
Fun tip: if you want extra toppings with a Papa Murphy's pizza, always ask for them on the side. You pay the same amount as if it's on the pizza but you get a full portion rather than a "prorated" portion that they measure when it's included as a topping. I used to do this all the time when I worked there. I was very frustrated when I found out.
I sliced up the bread I baked the other day and got it in the freezer so we can pull slices out as needed.
I whipped up some oat flour yesterday in a pinch to make some gluten free brownies and they turned out really well! I had to bake longer than I normally do with this recipe but the result was worth it.
My husband's marketplace sale was a success! A happy buyer and a happy seller made for a happy deposit in our bank account.
Finalized our Thanksgiving plans, keeping it small and low-key this year. A welcome change to making and hosting a large event.
My daughter was too excited to eat more than a few bites of her lunch as a gift came in the mail while we were eating. I finished it for her so it didn't go to waste. She had a homemade peanut butter granola bar shortly before lunch anyways so she probably wasn't very hungry anyways.
1. My hairdryer fizzled out. Was all set to go to Walmart for a new one. I stopped by the thrift store & got one for 3$. I also got a small hot glue gun for 1$. The thrift store helps support the food bank in my small town. I paid cash as the store charges a service fee to use a CC.
2. Got a 1$ iced coffee using the McDonald's app. An inexpensive treat.
3. Had Knorr tomato soup for lunch. A lady on Nextdoor Neighbor gave me 5 pouches of the dried soup & some parmesan crackers. Both were surprisingly good.
4. Stopped by the bread outlet to get sandwich bread for .99 a loaf. I also got some Entenmanns small individually wrapped crumb cakes, apple & cherry pies for a small, sweet treat.
5. Sent husband to Habitat store w/ a 10$ off 40$ purchase. He got 2 bags of fertilizer for 30$. I don't need it right now but can use in the spring. Husband said fertilizer is 40-50$ a bag at Home Depot.
6. At another thrift store I got 2 18 oz jars of organic mixed berry preserves. I think they are a Target brand. They were 2$ each. Like everything else, jams & preserves have gone up in price. I am learning where the bargains are in my small town.
7. Attended a free online CEU activity to earn one hour of credit. My school sponsored the event & I needed the CEU. Plus, it was free. What's not to like?
8. I curb picked 2 women's knit shirts. I washed them. The tee fit well. The other one I'll put in the donation box.
9. Found 21 cents in the return change slot at Walmart.
10. Found a dime on the pavement outside the local Dollar Tree.
1. Made a dip/spread using up cannellini beans, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, cumin, lemon juice, and salt/pepper. Also called for lots of garlic, which we avoid.
2. Received Benadryl from Buy Nothing.
3. Just when I didn't think I had anything extraneous left in our house, I was able to give away a lot more on Buy Nothing. Enjoy this odd list: boombox, planters, plant caddy, arthritis gel, vintage Christmas stocking, vintage Christmas candle, eye masks, face masks, pill splitter, makeup bag, journal, and foot care gizmo.
4. Also went through my various gift ribbons and gave away around two dozen on Buy Nothing.
5. Completed October financials. Spent $354 on groceries through careful purchases and use of pantry and freezer.
Man I wish I could get our grocery bill down to that
Emily, November is bound to be higher for us as we deplete what we have on hand, but it sure felt good to see that lower number for October. We're just a two-person household in our 60s.
Thank you for the pizza, Katy! I enrolled, too...
Just found a source for red potatoes -- taters are a very big crop in our area. I can get 50 lb for $20...and it's close by a hot springs pool we have been talking about visiting. So I'll have 100 pounds to get us through the winter. (Now if I could find onions for cheap, too...)
@Cindy Brick - you cannot go wrong with potatoes. Especially if you a cool spot in the basement where you can store them. Keep your nose "attuned" to the smell of a rotting potato. That smell is hard to miss IMHO.
I love that you have that $1 pizza deal front and center! I saw an ad for this deal earlier today on FB and quickly sent it to my husband and my mom (who lives in our granny unit). We now have 3 medium pizzas that cost a total of $3 to us + our 3 teens for dinner. I plan to make a salad to go with it from ingredients on hand. $3 dinner for 6 people is hard to beat, especially since our Papa Murphy's is 2 blocks from our home!
With the high winds overnight, I drove my Honda ATV with dump trailer on the county road to pick up fallen branches and simultaneously clearing the county road. Cut up almost 2 cords, stacked in the barn for next year. That was also my workout for today!
Made a big pot of loaded baked potato soup, green salad from the greenhouse, broccoli, walnut & dried cranberry salad from the garden and crusty loaf of GF bread. Shared with good neighbors down the road.
Today is a snuggle under a blanket with a good book kind of day.
I, too, use a heating pad. It is one that I picked up at an estate sale. It has jade and tourmaline stones with a leather backing. Heavenly!!
I admit sometimes I go to work even earlier than normal in the winter so I can cut my heat off at home… lol. An Aldi opened up 30 miles from me and I had to be in that town so I stopped by. I bought sourdough bread, eggs, sliced Swiss cheese, a block of cheddar cheese, for $12.48. I actually went there to get eggplant but they didn’t have any. I decided eggplant could wait until next week. Their eggs were a bit cheaper, as were their cheeses, but their sourdough bread was higher than the Pig (Piggly Wiggly). I will not be making special trip there bc there is a Pig in the town where I work and ai can pick for on the way home. I just don’t have a grocery store where I live.
FYI: I go to Aldi often and I have never seen eggplant there, unfortunately.
Glad you enjoyed Papa Murphy's (which is one small step above Pizza Hut, Dominoes, and Little Caesars). We live in an area that has multi-generation Italian restaurants. A lot of Italians (read: immigrants) called the "big" city near me home. And Chicago has an endless supply of multi-generation Italian restaurants.
I too put sliced cucumbers in leftover pickle water. I love bread and butter pickles.
1. Our electricity went out at 8:00 am yesterday. It was still out at lunchtime. Did I go out to get something to eat? No, I ate an apple that was on the counter, with almond butter. I also ate a protein snack bar. When the power was restored around 12:45 I ate a couple slices of cheese.
2. I walked to a friends house for a weekly visit.
3. I am using small amounts of yarn to knit prayer squares for a friend that would like to have them for her church. I can knit one in about thirty minutes and it is a great way to use up yarn remnants.
4. Because the electricity was out I walked to the closest grocery to buy a few bananas instead of buying perishable items as well. I found a penny on the way.
5. I am bundling up inside and outside the house to stay warm. I put flannel sheets on our bed and also put the electric mattress pad on it.
30 minutes for a prayer square? I can crochet one in less than 10 minutes. Although maybe we aren't talking about the same thing.
Mine are about 1 1/2 inches square. It gets put on a keyring as does a laminated tag which reads:
"PRAYER SQUARE - There are prayers stitched in every square for comfort, encouragement, love, and hope for you. When you feel lonely or need to know comfort, reach into your pocket or purse. You are not alone. GOD is with you. You have been covered in prayer. May God bless you." (Name and address of church)
Unfortunately, there is no Papa Murphy's near me!
1. I used my Ucard to buy free groceries yesterday at Food4Less. I had $10 credit on it and that's what I spent. I got a half gallon of lactose free milk, 18 eggs, 16 oz. of peanut butter, and 8 oz. of cream cheese spread. The eggs were a digital deal, only $1.99. I downloaded the app to get that.
2. I rode the train to the bank to "buy" quarters but decided to walk home -- about fifty minutes. On the way I found two receipts for Fetch.
3. I cut off the bottom of my tube of sunscreen so I could use up the dregs. There's a lot more in there than I thought!
4. I had leftover mashed potatoes from my veggie dinner yesterday, so I'm going to make potato soup today. I still have vegetable soup to use up, so it's going to be a very soup-y day.
5. The purse I have been carrying is starting to come apart. I rummaged around in my closet and found a smaller crossbody bag that I thought was too small. I'm going to make it work.
* Did 9 work shifts in the past 2 weeks, as opposed to my regular 6
* Picked up 5 empty cans left by my colleagues in our small office recycling bin
* Sticking to a low groceries budget and using up what we have at home first (and keeping an eye for sales, marked downs, Flash Food, price matching, etc)
* Got a free bag of chips because of price error (I suspected it was the wrong price. So I checked first, then bought them, then got a refund)
* Will serve those chips and home popped corn at my monthly girly game night (at my place - no cost)
I have subscribed to your blog for many years but last received a post on 11-1 before you made changes. I've searched your website & am not able to locate an email address to connect, so could you please add my email address back in? Thank you!
1. Sold a pair of boots that I thrifted, making around $65.
2. Cousin and I picked about 30 lbs of apples from his orchard. He gave them all to me as he is leaving the country for the winter. I'll make apple sauce and freeze sliced apples for baking later.
3. DH had to leave our island to visit a sick friend in hospital on the mainland. By taking an alternate ferry route than he normally would, he is savings quite a bit of $$$.
4. Visited my cousin for two days at his island home, DH was free on the ferry as he is a senior, and we travelled on non peak travel days. Used discount ferry card, so saved on my fare and the car's fare.
5. Roasted two of my homegrown pumpkins, made two loaves of delicious pumpkin bread, and fed my dogs the remaining pumpkin over a few days. I usually buy canned pumpkin for them, and it is getting very expensive.
1. Babysat a neighbor's dog for two weeks while they were on vacation. We refused payment, but they gave us a $150 grocery gift card anyway.
2. Husband did a mystery shop that paid $350 because of the travel involved in getting to this village. Distance/snow/weather conditions/crappy two lane highway meant it took 8 hours round trip. Lesson learned, we are going back to not doing out of town shops until the snow melts in May.
3. Sold a piece of jewelry on eBay. I have not worn it for over a decade so am happy to have it replace by $50 in my pocket.
4. Library for books and puzzle exchange
5. We like stuffing at our house so this week I baked several loaves of artisan bread, to be cut up and dried out. Cheaper and tastier than commercial bags of dried bread squares.
How frugality can lead to talk about your bed habits:
My 10 year old neighbor is a lovely chatterbox who comes over a few times a week to pick up or deliver foods that her mother and I share. Eggs, fresh bread, garden produce, an extra pan of lasagna...anyway, I have known her since she was about 5 and I have tried to model frugality in front of her because her parents are very young and short of money and I figure if she tells her mom about something I do, that it may prove helpful to them and less annoying than having the old lady next door giving tips. (They have a set of infant twins, too, and the mom is staying hone with them for the next few year...and her husband is a federal employee so they are frightened that he may lose his job that he once considered totally secure.) The other day the youngster was over and telling me about how excited she is to be helping to pick out the family Christmas pajamas that they buy new every year. I was only half listening so when she said this, I answered without really thinking. "Miss Lindsey (parents insist adults are to be addressed as Mr. or Miss), do you get new pajamas for Christmas?" she said. "We don't wear pajamas," I answered without thinking. Then wanted to bite my tongue when she said with wide eyes, "You mean you and Mr. X sleep naked?!" Great, now I am telling a 10 year old about our bed habits. I was thinking how to get out of it when she made it worse by saying, "I can't wait to tell my mom and dad you sleep naked!" Then she says, so innocently, "That is SO frugal, not spending money on pajamas! We should do that at our house!" I managed to call her mother to alert her before the child reached home. Note to self: Pay attention when someone is talking.
Miss Lindsey, what a great story!
@Lindsey - lol to your "little buddy" - things are sinking in. And a kudos for giving mom a heads up.
Pet sitting - all I can say is good pet sitters are hard to find. While I've made it clear I am not expecting cash, I've allowed my neighbor to slip in a gift card or cash every now and then. Usually a gift (often edible) from their travels suffices for me. A few of the pet sittings times were related to her parents moving in with her and her family (yes Lindsey a good husband she has). Two times were the deaths of her parents - a no doubt about it yes I will pet sit for you - do no worry about it.
Lindsey, I too enjoyed the "no pajamas" story to the LOL point!
lol … I think I actually snorted.
Bathed, brushed and trimmed up both my dogs. Clippered the long-haired cat's backside so that she stays clean and brushed her coat out. Trimmed the claws of my son's grouchy old girl cat and used the nail grinder on our old dog's claws, which she tolerates far better than trying to clip them. All this pet spa treatment would have cost a fortune to hire out.
Cut my own hair again (saves $23). Mended the dog bed slipcover made from an old store bought quilt. It's wearing thin and they sometimes snag a little hole in it.
30 minutes for a prayer square? I can crochet one in less than 10 minutes. Although maybe we aren't talking about the same thing.
Mine are about 1 1/2 inches square. It gets put on a keyring as does a laminated tag which reads:
"PRAYER SQUARE - There are prayers stitched in every square for comfort, encouragement, love, and hope for you. When you feel lonely or need to know comfort, reach into your pocket or purse. You are not alone. GOD is with you. You have been covered in prayer. May God bless you." (Name and address of church)
Went to my SIL's salon for a haircut. Will be seeing her during tax season as she works for H&R Block during tax season and she does out taxes. (Technically, she's not my SIL because she is divorced from DH's brother. However, she will ALWAYS be my "SIL" even if she's not married to DH's brother as she is the mother of my nephews. She is remarried to a great guy, who I actually like better than that BIL.) Got to catch up as we haven't seen each other in a while. Had a great visit and got a FREE haircut.
Made homemade mac and cheese and waldorf salad for supper. A friend gave us some cinnamon rolls, so that was dessert. Took some mac and cheese to another BIL. He's baking apple pies tonight and bringing us a couple of slices tomorrow.
Taking some mac and cheese, waldorf salad, pineapple cake my DH made (which was OK, but I didn't think it was that great) and 1/2 dozen eggs to my sister tomorrow when I take her for errands. She's 81, widowed, doesn't drive, and really doesn't cook for herself much. I try to take her some REAL, HOME COOKED FOOD every time I see her. She lives 45 minutes away. She will give me gas $ and take me to lunch.
@Melissa N - had an aunt who was married to two family members. Divorced from both but she'll always be an aunt. Understand why she divorced family member #1 and I think the circumstances of marriage to family #1, eventually played into divorce #2.
1. Lots of foods came back from our lovely family holiday, and I am in the midst of planning some baked burritos or some such to use up a plethora of rice and beans and chicken.
2. I attended an afternoon workshop on how to facilitate grief circles that was offered by the hospice where I volunteer. I had told our hospice that I an feeling a little overwhelmed this Fall and don't know how available I will be to facilitate in the near future, however they had room in the course and really encouraged me to attend.
As I absolutely adore the woman who was facilitating this workshop, I decided that a free training in something that is up my alley was probably worth me 'giving up' the afternoon, and it certainly was. As is often the case, I come away with much to think about.
3. My new roommate's father has taken a not-unexpected yet still painful turn for the worse and is now in palliative care. Her dad is almost 86, and has been frail for a couple of years. She is feeling such gratitude that she chose to move across the country 3 months ago in order to be closer to him.
She continues to express appreciation for the safe place that I am offering her (and the access to a vehicle which she really is needing during this sad week). It is a win-win, however: my mental health is so much better having another living being in the house (beside the new dog). Who knew that I had a bit of low-level-loneliness going on? Even while my roommate is having her challenges, there really have been no downsides for me, having her living with me.
4. I got my hydro bill – I am noticing that the hydro use is up a bit with two of us in the house, however the solar panels have paid so much into the grid that I haven't paid a hydro bill since they were installed, even with the monthly fee they charge. (And A. Marie, I am sorry to gloat here but the monthly fee they charge to be attached to the grid is a measly $14.00). Currently I have a credit of over $900 which will more than carry me through the winter, particularly as the panels continue to contribute a reasonable amount of power to the grid even in January.
5. Using Flash Foods I picked up a couple of chopped salad packages. At home, I added a bunch of chopped celery, cabbage and grated carrots to increase the quantity of good-for-us veggies (and help use up same from the fridge). I added some meat from the costco chicken from our overly supplied holiday trip, used only some of the dressing, packed two big glass fridge storage containers with un-dressed salad, then sat at the table and had a chew-fest. Delicious! I find there is far too much dressing in these mixes so adding again the quantity of cheap-af fridge veggies to what is already in the bag means I get more goodness and I am inspired to eat a slightly different salad.
OK, Ecoteri, now I have utility-company envy (re: your #4). Around here, we don't call ours "National Greed" for nothing.
1) Got a whopping $1.34 back from our Lyft ride last weekend. We got a ride to the airport from DS19, but he was working when we came back on Sunday. I saved the cash back offer to my credit card, and also stacked a $10 Lyft reward, so all in all, it was a lot less than parking.
2) Made a variety of impromptu dinners this week, as I had to work "at the office" (vs at home) & had social events in the evening + no time to meal prep. The freezer did a lot of heavy lifting keeping us fed.
3) Roasted three large pans of veggies this afternoon, along with the last of some chicken sausages that needed to be used up. Those will be used in lunches this week + likely some dinners as well.
4) Met a friend for a walk at the local nature preserve. Free exercise + time with a friend.
5) Planned out all of our meals for the week (lots of emphasis on veggies), took advantage of some Costco sales to keep on hand filler meals/appetizers, and generally made plans for all of the food in the fridge.
1. Grabbed a wreath from our BN group to upgrade for our front door Christmas wreath.
2. Hit the GW outlet yesterday and got some books and toys for my little guy for Christmas, pjs for my nephew for Christmas, and a few odds and ends to flip. I also found a handful of bombas and Smartwool socks for myself , which I was very happy about. It was a bit chaotic in there and I was not in the mood for competition. So I found some goodies and left.
3. Got a bag of play sand to flip our free water table into a sand table for my toddler. It’s a mess but he loves to be outside and it keeps him very entertained.
4. Picked up a free train table off of marketplace that I am going to up cycle for my little one for Christmas.
5. Hit a great diaper deal at the grocery store by stacking coupons and a bonus coupon off of a pickup order!
As I sit here thinking of all I have done and "frugalled" this week, it is snowing outside.
It is way too soon for snow in my book.
1. slowly using up the ripening tomatoes as they turn red. When they are done, I will close up the cannery that I call my kitchen. The family picked them and said if I didn't want to mess with them, to give them to the chickens....I just could not do that.
2. wood stove going, laundry hung around it drying and the wood heat feels great.
3. strained the citrus peels from the vinegar and made some awesome cleaner
4. foraged thru the freezer and found the saved raw chicken bits and bones for making into a pan of chicken pot pie and broth for noodles.
5. blowing, raking and hauling leaves into the chicken pen but next year I will have some kick-ass soil, and the chickens do all the work...
My hens get the wrinkly tomatoes.
We went from over half the kitchen island being filled with tomatoes to less than a dozen