Five More Frugal Things
by Katy on April 2, 2025 · 44 comments
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I listed my recently thrifted counter-height chairs on Facebook Marketplace for $300 and am willing to be patient to find the right buyer. The exact chairs are no longer on the Restoration Hardware website, but the armless version is still available starting at $575 each, that is if you pay for a $200 membership. Otherwise they’re $770.
Click HERE to see my listing.
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My husband and I went to Costco yesterday and although our grand total was unpleasantly high, I did pick up a $4.99 rotisserie chicken, eat four samples and enjoyed a $1.50 hotdog. I can’t really complain about the grand total, as we stocked up on standard single ingredient staples such as eggs, coffee beans, frozen whole berries, frozen chicken breasts and honey. The only “convenience” food we bought were the bags of granola that my husband likes. I know we can make it from scratch, but neither of us enjoy that task.
I also found a dime and a penny near the self-checkout registers.
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I made more homemade sweet chili sauce, as we ran through the last batch at an impressive speed. This recipe couldn’t be easier and tastes so much richer than the bottled stuff. Plus, it’s super cheap!
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I gave away an annoying, yet thriving cactus leftover from my youngest’s pandemic-era plant phase. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve painfully grazed my hand across this damned plant.
I love, love, love my Buy Nothing group!
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I was too busy watching the last hour of Corey Booker’s filibuster to buy a lear Jet.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
YAY Corey Booker!
I can’t talk nonstop for an hour, let alone eloquently for 25+ hours!
Seconding your “ yay Corey Booker”!! Here in Brisbane Australia anxiously waiting to see how all the tariffs are going to affect our economy. Seriously impressed by your female politicians like Elizabeth O’Connor, AOC etc., and always a big fan of Bernie Sanders. Like the majority of this group I think,and hope ,our main concern regarding politicians in your country and mine is that they consider the needs and rights of ordinary citizens to live a peaceful and productive life with their families.. We want this for ourselves and for our neighbours, worldwide.My thoughts are very much with refugees, deportees and their families.
(So annoyed–I had my answer ready and then the page refreshed and I lost it. Grrr…)
1. I have been spring cleaning and rearranging my office while the weather is terrible (yet another atmospheric river/hail), and have tossed a ton of papers, removed a 4-drawer metal filing cabinet, and shredded a ton as well. At least 4 big bags of waste paper in the recycling bin, and lots of shredded paper in my compost.
2. I also shopped my house for furniture, and brought down an almost new office chair from my sewing area (needless to say that I never sit there!), and put the old chair in the garage for future garage sale in May. I also brought down a velvet chair and some cushions, and made myself a reading nook in the corner of my office. I love it! I even switched out plastic and metal holdalls for wicker and pretty dishes for paper clips, etc.
3. I found a piece of old mail, unopened since December, that was a plea for a donation from an org I disagree with politically. But it had a dime and a penny inside (why do they do that?). So I consider that found 11c mine. That brings my found change total to .49c so far.
4. I also found a card someone sent me that was made of wildflower seeds in paper, so I will plant that outside and see if it sprouts.
5. Following the advice of commenters here, I made a leftovers-casserole from chicken, veggies, a dented-can cream of chicken soup, and a crust of cheese and crushed stale crackers (including some airplane snack crackers). Cheap AF and so good, we ate it for three days.
6. Even I am not so annoying that Drumpf doesn’t want me around anymore, despite my billions.
6 made me snortle!
Decluttering and using what you always have so satisfying!
Julia, I love the idea of your velvet chair reading nook! I love velvet and have a velvet couch.
Three cheers for Corey Booker! If only all the MAGA people would listen to him. But they’re still all brainwashed by Faux (Fox) “News”. I just read a blog that was blaming Biden for the bad economy; they got it totally backwards. Biden was fixing the economy he’d inherited from Trump version 1.0, and it was getting better. The egg price increase is because of bird flu, not Biden or anyone else. Now that we’re in Trump version 2.0, inflation has gotten worse and the economy is tanking….and may even crash land when his new tariffs are announced later today. I had a person tell me yesterday “It’s going to be a lllooooonnnnngggg 4 years!”
Yes, to everything you just said!!!
Anon,
Lol, my hubby had a very old t shirt that says “Faux News” with the Fox logo/design as part of it. (He used to work in TV on a local level, and has always been VERY skeptical of Fox News and other less than ethical media outlets). I wonder if he still has it!
Katy, my husband has cactuses and I fantasize about setting them out on the curb with a Free sign. They ruined my favorite shirt, I have been stuck repeatedly and inherited the chore of tending to them during the winter. So over the cactus phase, although the non-deadly succulents are okay.
We are repairing stuff, cooking at home, hanging laundry, and doing our own chores as usual, just sticking to the frugal routine.
Bonus: I have not tried to liberate my fellow citizens from their money, their civil rights, or the protections of the Constitution.
Cactuses are beautiful but I truly believe they belong OUTSIDE!
When I was a Camp Fire Girl, their summer camp had a lot of cacti around the grounds. The maintenance people or yard crews, whomever, prepared for each camping season by taking a blow torch, I think it was, to the plants and burning off all the needles. Not sure how it was done since I was only about 7 or 8 years old, but maybe you could look it up online. Certainly there would be some kind of instruction to be found somewhere on the internet! (Where, I don’t know….) However, I would definitely not do this indoors or on days when an outdoor burn ban is in effect, LOL!
One of them grows out long spikes at the tip of each leaf. These would put the eye out of a cat if one rubbed on it, and I have been skewered by them. So for the past year, tending to it has included trimming off the spikes. As far as taking a torch to them, don’t tempt me with a good time.:-D
Ruby, my sympathies are with you re: cacti as houseplants. Although I inherited a good many desert plants/succulents from a neighbor who died four years ago, I turned thumbs down on the cacti, for the reasons you mention. I’m not about to have plants in the house who are trying to do me in.
Cacti are warts on Mother Nature !
Frugal things:
1) Am still eating out of my pantry and freezer- with the addition now of my garden! My collards and a kale stalk overwintered, giving me fresh tender leaves and even raab like stalks to eat! Plus my herbs overwintered as well, so I have celery, parsley, thyme and marjoram to use fresh in the kitchen as well as dandelion to eat and juice!
2) Got back up to 12K steps -woot! This plus my pilates and body strength training means no need for a gym. No window shopping- just walking in Parkrose, admiring the beautiful tree blossoms.
3) Fixed a hinge on my bathroom cabinet- yay! It wont be there for long- I plan on redoing the bathroom with a new cabinet, vinyl. shelving and fresh paint- but at least it does not look like a trap house.
4) Mopped my ground floor using mop water that had lavender essential oil in it. Wow! My house smelled calm and peaceful. I had a couple of bottles of locally produced lavender essential oil, so I will be doing this more often. I also used lavender buds from previous summers crushed up and sprinkled it on the carpet and let it sit from a while. Then I vacuumed. So nice!
5) No shopping for spring clothes while I declutter my sad overstuffed closet.
6) Bonus for Katy, since she is local: I found a dented can store on 118 and Halsey. They sell Williamette Farm eggs for $3.79. They seemed fresh. I did not buy because I already bought at the farmers market.
Not so frugal:
1) Bought oilve oil at Wellspent Market (oof, so aptly named!) – a half gallon for $60. While I could have bought cheaper at Costco, I don’t think I could have bought better. This will last about 4-5 months- yes, I do eat that much salad, herb sauces and even use a few drops on my face!
1. Went to cardio rehab covered by my health insurance
2. Got a free bottle of water at rehab
3. Picked up free book from another book club member. I didn’t have to buy book we are reading
4. Used street taco sized tortillas to make mini quesadillas for lunch. Hubby had soup and added rice from Monday night to it
5. Ordered bath tile for remodel from local retailer
These are regular frugal habits, as I don’t have anything new and exciting today:
1. Packed my lunch to take to school as I substitute teach. No school cafeteria mystery meat for me!
2. Air dried the laundry….except for a 10-minute “de-wrinkle” cycle in the clothes dryer for only those garments that were too wrinkled to wear. Then, they were put on hangers for the rest of the drying. No big electric bills for me!
3. Made my own coffee. No Starbucks for me!
4. Watch over-the-air TV broadcasts. No cable or streaming bill for me!
5. Brought my own grocery bags when I shopped Aldi. No buying their sacks for me! (Tip: Earth Day is coming up, so watch out for promotions where you can get free or cheap reusable bags from stores….here’s looking at you, H-E-B….and I’ve also found some really reasonable ones at thrift stores.)
I have so many reusable bags! I always try to make sure I have a a couple in my bike panniers and my handbag when I go out!
The house/country move chaos continues with way more spending than we would usually be comfortable with. We did save thousands of dollars by not shipping our furniture, so I guess it all works out in the end.
Travelled to check out a big, second hand, furniture store about 30 mins away. There aren’t many large secondhand stores here. Well worth the trip. We bought 2 large sofas for 70 pounds, and they will deliver. The leather is really good quality and I have ordered restoring cream. I am fairly confident they will look almost new with a couple of hours work and less than 40 pounds spent on restoration.
Found a couple of other items there that were on our wish list.
Husband is tidying up the second hand car we bought, polishing in value!
Continuing to use the furniture and housewares the previous owners left in place for us.
Attended the village “knit and natter” today. Two pounds 50 for my pot of tea and getting to know our new neighbors- priceless!
Well made secondhand furniture can be such a delight, and gives soul to a place. I am still proud of you for scoring that leather couch. I am still proud of my second hand slipcovered feather filled sofa- I could not justify buying it new, but second it was perfect!
Corey Booker!! Thank you!!
1. Walked 3 miles with a friend to catch up this morning. It is a beautiful day after several rainy, windy, and generally gloomy days. The sun is the best mood lifter — and it’s free!
2. Made Scottish shortbread from a recipe I found online and 3 simple ingredients I had at home (butter, sugar, flour). One of my sons really enjoyed the shortbread found cheaply and widely during our UK trip, so I was happy to surprise him with an afterschool treat. He had it with his tea, which was NOT cheaply purchased as a gift for him by my sister while in London (she delights that a 14 yo boy likes tea time). Does anyone know Fortnum & Mason? Very la ti da! My sis is a huge tea lover, so it was a dream for her! I bought nothing 🙂
3. I made the curry recipe that Rose posted in the comments earlier this week for dinner last night. It was received, but I could tweak it to be thicker. Thanks for the nudge to cook more varied cuisines, A. Marie!
4. Walking as many errands as I can. I walked between 6 – 9 miles a day for almost 10 days straight during our trip and I want to keep that momentum going.
5. I’m currently abstaining from the news to protect my mental health.
Mmmmm, Fortnum’s. mmmm shortbread. Yum.
Rose, and Lindsey G.,
Yummmmmm, I looooove shortbread. Have never been to Fortnum & Mason – maybe some day – but I have heard of them. I want to make the Ted Lasso shortbread. Lol.
Back in my palmier days–when still married–I often gave my inlaws F&M gift hampers on holidays. FIL was from Yorkshire, and MIL was American, but moved to London in 1965, and adored it. My ex was born in London.
The wicker hampers stamped F&M are international status symbols. Not that I have any.
Hello pocket friends! March was a pretty spendy month, but it was mostly in preparation for our May wedding.
Some frugal notes:
1. Found all of the table decor and such that we’ll need 0n Facebook Marketplace. Someone got married a few months ago with very similar taste as us, so we bought her whole lot of artificial greenery, votives, frames, card box, etc. Negotiated a discount for buying it all.
2. The table numbers I was gifted from a friend who moved 6 months ago will work perfectly – yay for free!
3. My wedding dress wasn’t second hand, but it was only $125 and purchased from a zero-waste store locally! The store owner decided to try her hand at clothing design. The dress is actually 2 pieces that can genuinely be worn as separates, so I’ll have a great top and a great skirt that I can wear for years. And I was able to buy my floss refills at the same time. Win, and hilarious.
4. Bought something on eBay I needed for my new office. I’d also posted in my Buy Nothing group looking for it, but no one had responded. The eBay order was delivered and was shipped directly to me from Amazon. Failllll. I reported the seller (bc I also had a very scammy-sounding exchange with them), and returned the package via Amazon bc I wasn’t able to via eBay. In the meantime, someone in my Buy Nothing group responded! So now I have what I need for free. Although I will get my Amazon refund as an Amazon credit, so I’ll have to buy something from them. I’ll make sure it is something I need, and that it doesn’t go over the amount of the refund.
5. Used the library to rent a DVD when we couldn’t find it on any of the streaming services we have access to. I almost rented the movie for a small fee, but then remembered to check our library first. Very happy.
My goal is to do a low/no spend April, as we have wrapped up most of our wedding purchases, except for final payments on a few things that are due in May. As a way to be accountable, I want to try and comment more regularly on the FFT posts! Thanks, Katy, for being such a constant in such a wild world.
Congratulations! My own wedding was done on a tight budget as we were brokety broke broke and my parents never had any money. I sewed my own wedding dress, Mom made the delicious wedding cake etc. I look back on it fondly.
First and foremost, blessings on Cory Booker for his epic efforts, and I’m all in if he decides to run for President in 2028.
Now, FMFT, Free Beer and Good NDN News Edition:
(1) For unknown reasons, someone has been dumping beer bottles at the end of our cul-de-sac, including some unopened ones. So far, I’ve snaffled 4 unopened Coors Lights and 3 Red Stripes. These aren’t my preferred brands, but at the price of beer these days, I’m not going to be fussy. And, of course, I’m taking all of the empties in for their NY State deposits. 😀
(2) I walked NDN (the next-door neighbor I’ve been helping for a couple of years now) through all her returned tax paperwork, helped her produce signatures and checks as needed, and dropped everything off at the PO today. So this task is done for another year. Whew.
(3) And NDN is **finally** letting her current home care aide (the third one we’ve tried) help her with some desperately needed household chores. Progress!!
(4) On a somberer note, NDN2 (the other next-door neighbor, who had the catastrophic water break in her house two weeks ago) has finally agreed to return to TX with her son, at least temporarily if not permanently. Honestly, it’s the best thing: As noted in earlier comments, the house needs a complete interior gutting, and she can’t stay here in a hotel room indefinitely.
(5) Finally, like Katy, I do still go to Trader Joe’s for a few things–now including eggs. The “cage-free” eggs are still $3.49/dozen at my local TJ’s, though of course there is a limit of one dozen per customer. And I grabbed some 99 cents/lb. pasta, some recycled toilet paper, and a couple of other things while I was there.
A. Marie, I thought of you just now when I saw a pop up ad on another site with a t-shirt that said: “Run Like Mr. Collins Just Proposed.”
cynthia, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that my NDN’s other close friend gave me that t-shirt for my birthday last year!
1. Spent the workday at my office yesterday and brought my lunch, coffee, and snacks.
2. Had a great dinner with an old colleague after, and got to take the leftovers home as she’s leaving town today. The vegan general tso’s “chicken” was even delicious heated up today and made my lunch much nicer!
3. I almost got roped into the siren song of Lands End’s 50% off sale today – I love their dress pants and coats, both of which I could use new ones of. However, the ones I have are fine, and do I really need a pair of nautical striped chinos? (The answer is, sadly, no.) I filled my cart and then abandoned it.
4. I was reminded of other expenses as this fake shopping spree was happening as a cousin of DH is getting married this summer. The bridal shower is coming up, so I spent the money I would have dropped on new pants on a gift off the registry. Scratched the shopping itch and ticked a task off the list.
5. I also made it through my low(er) spend March with no purchases at Target and just one purchase at Amazon. Not bad.
Thank you all for your excellent remarks about my cat on the last FFT – he is indeed a smarty pants and he is my baby! The door locks are working beautifully as he has not managed to get the bedroom door open since Friday. Now he has moved on to trying to open dresser drawers in the guest room, so stay tuned for whatever the next antic is.
Yay Corey Booker!!
Cory Booker is my new hero!
Once again we are sitting under severe weather warnings…ugh.
1.sorted garden seeds, found enough saved squash seeds of various types for the entire family and friends.
2. found a packet each of lettuce and spinach, scratched my gardening itch by planting them in 2 very large tub planters on and around my kitchen deck.
3. Rescued 5 corn muffins, an almost full quart of BBQed pork from a catered “do” at DD’s office. Muffins in freezer to become cornbread stuffing, BBQ will be eaten on and then frozen tomorrow.
4. DD also brought 3 hot dogs, If not eaten by humans they will become dog treats by baking until dry.
5. repaired a rip in a chair with materials on hand….thank you pup.
Haven’t shopped even for groceries and will probably put it off until next week, I am using what I have and making everything by scratch that I possibly can.
Made some kick-ass cinnamon rolls and bread, along with burger buns.
I hate going shopping.
JC
When I was a newlywed, my husband had a friend who was notoriously ̶f̶r̶u̶g̶a̶l̶ cheap. Just before our move from the southwest to the west coast, the friend called and said he had a going away present for us. I thought, “Oh! What a pleasant surprise that Ted spent money on something!”
The present turned out to be a prickly pear cactus in a pot, that Ted must have dug out of his back yard. It had loooonngg sharp needles. I hated that thing. My husband insisted on driving it 2000 miles to our new home. Ugh! It snagged my legs repeatedly, for years, until it accidentally got left outside during a Portland snow event and died.
Good riddance prickly pear!
Li,
“Accidentally”….(wink wink) 🙂
Ha!
That’s hilarious!
YEAHHHHH for Cory Booker!! His spirited performance was inspiring to say the least. We won’t give up!!
1. I was cooking dinner for just myself so enjoyed grilled cheese on sour dough bread that needed to be used and home canned tomato soup. I saved half for my lunch tomorrow too
2. 2 months out from ds’s wedding. I found 24 pks of Waterloo flavored water at Costco for $6.99 each and snagged 2. I have to provide the drinks for both the rehearsal dinner and wedding. I’m hoping to accumulate what I need cheaply over the next 2 months.
3. We were at Lowes buying wood to retrim our doors and I found a lovely fire place screen and tool set on clearance for $27. Our screen was attached to the brick but falling off and didn’t open anymore and half our tools were broken. Such a nice surprise upgrade.
4. We also had to replace our microwave, we found a good one on sale at Lowes too. We took the old one to a metal recycling place that melts down the metal into bricks. I’m glad it won’t go into the landfill. We were replacing a microwave that was given to us 5 years ago
5. I’m working on spring yard clean up myself and putting out 1 trash can a week or hauling it to the back of our property that is wooded. It’s good exercise and most importantly free
1. Helped a friend prepare her house for sale and she treated me to a delicious, homemade lunch. I also received several canning supplies and a wire basket from her.
2. Received two pairs of new socks from Buy Nothing. Gave away close to 10 things. I love my group!
3. Brought leftovers home from a family birthday party. Enough for two more meals.
4. Saved $3 using Target Circle rewards and saved another $6 by ordering at least $35 worth of items to get free shipping on my order (the items weren’t available at my store).
5. Entered expenditures into finance spreadsheet to see how March compared to monthly averages over the previous 12 months. Had mixed results, but lowered expenses for both groceries and meals out.
I’ve been wanting to try to make a chili sauce condiment, thanks for the link!
1. I’ll be packing my husband’s lunch today as he has an out of town job, this will be good for the budget and for his health.
2. I almost bought a $4.97 aloe vera plant, but instead asked on FB, a lady I know said she can bring me some cuttings from her plant when I see her later this week. So glad I asked!
3. We got our first raised bed fill and ready for plants! The bed itself is made from old wood siding from our house. My husband has been replacing the siding on the gable ends.
4. I did laundry after 8 when we have free electricity. We also turned the AC on then.
5. My kids walked to and from youth group.
DH has a real thing for catci, and whenever neighbors set them out as “Free”, they are always coming come with us. 😐
1) Reworked our budget to ensure we can manage the cash flow & pay for COBRA until one of us gets a job. (DH was recently laid off). Current me greatly appreciated the fiscal conservatism of previous me. We made A LOT of good choices & they are giving us a ton of flexibility during a still stressful (but, greatly reduced) period.
2) Picked up scallions from our neighbor’s planter box on Buy Nothing. Used them to top pad Thai. We were out of peanuts, which I like to chop & serve on top. I found an unopened container of cashews in a fancy glass jar that DH had somehow tucked away in the wrong spot. Chopped those for dinner, and now have the cashews front & center in the pantry for future snacks.
3) DS18 starts his new job this weekend. He needs lots of money for his upcoming senior trip, so this is great news.
4) Related, DS19 had a successful interview yesterday.
5) Was double charged for the fitness studio I attend. Called & had that sorted out & credited back.
Katy, do you use the red pepper flakes or the sambal oelek in your sweet chili sauce recipe?