Five More Frugal Things
by Katy on April 10, 2025 · 49 comments
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I invited my neighbor over for tea and a cozy catch up, which scratched my itch for socializing. I happen to have made pumpkin bread the night before, which we enjoyed while sipping our tea. Having a social life doesn’t have to be expensive.
By the way, the pumpkin puree was from last year’s uncut Halloween pumpkins that I mooched off the neighbors.
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I did a big Winco grocery trip to stock up on standard ingredients, produce and bulk food items. I rarely shop for specific meals and instead just keep the kitchen supplied with food that can be combined into a variety of different meals. The total price was $77.41, which included four pre-tariff boxes of Tetley tea and an extra parmesan for my parents.
I picked up three abandoned receipts in the parking lot to scan into the Fetch app, as I’m unhinged that way.
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My husband fixed a roof leak around a vent pipe, where the silicone had completely disintegrated. I was nervous about him going up on our steep roof, but he survived and the total cost of the repair was $14.48 for supplies. Luckily it was over our unfinished attic, so there was no damage to the interior of the house. I have no idea how much it would’ve cost to hire out this repair, but I’m guess it would’ve been a hell of a lot more than $14.48!
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My husband reinstalled a large trim piece that he removed from our car in January when installing an aftermarket backup camera. I was worried that the plastic piece would get broken or lose pieces if we didn’t get it back into place. As you can see, we’re both in T.C.B. (takin’ care of bidness’) mode! Again, DIY for the win!
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I didn’t pass a bill to suppress voter rights, including millions of married American women who took their husband’s last name.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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1. I cooked an acorn squash given to me by my niece. It was good.
2. Face time my great nephew that lives 3 hours from me and read him a story.
3. My husband and I have been doing our own storm clean up in the yard utilizing tools we already had.
4. Having family over for a birthday celebration instead of taking everyone out to eat. We are cooking instead of catering.
5. We are walking every morning to enjoy time together and to see nature at it’s finest.
I like “cooking instead of catering,” I’m not not entirely sure what you mean.
Where we live people have events catered instead cooking themselves
Nice grocery haul!
1. Also did some pre-tariff stocking up on things that we use all the time – coffee, chocolate, tea, etc.
2. Went out to lunch with some friends, but suggested a place where I get a discount.
3. 4 nights of plans were cancelled for me this week! A few of them would have meant me spending some money, so money saved.
4. My dog needed some basic vet care, so I took her to the vet clinic, which has the same vets and is associated with the fancy expensive vet office, but is much more affordable.
5. I’ve been needing some small tables for my new office – one for my tea station and a few for plants. I lucked out and found a great, old fashioned wooden school desk on my Buy Nothing group. Brought it home, cleaned it up, and now I have the perfect tea table. I wasn’t have any luck with plant stands after weeks of looking. I decided to stop into Joann’s as they’re going out of business and found 2 perfect plant stands for 50% off. Boo buying new, but yay for affordable!
Hooray for low pet care costs!
1. I remade my salisbury steak and mashed potato leftovers into a cottage pie that fed four of us for dinner. My mom and sister loved it and it gave my mom a break from cooking.
2. I went to an estate sale with my mom and my youngest daughter. My daughter found a rug and a small microwave that are perfect for her new apartment she will be moving into next week. She also picked up some cleaning supplies.
3. My mom and I helped my daughter go through all of her household items stored away from when she was in college. We made a list of items we need to look for at estate sales and thrift stores.
4. I broke my glass pie plate. I’m so clumsy. I found another at the above estate sale for $2. I also saw one at Goodwill but it was $5 and I knew I could find one cheaper.
5. I made a trip with my daughter to the new town she’ll be living in. It’s a two hour trip both ways and we were there over lunch. We packed water bottles and a light lunch instead of eating out.
1. I have been incredibly grumpy, anxious and in a foul mood lately so was thrilled when a friend invited us for dinner next week. She said it would be “casual and low key”( which I’m sure she has no idea how to do that) and I told her I’d bring a fruit crisp for dessert. Some much needed socializing.
2. I finally listed and gave away our 20 year old tv on Buy Nothing. It was a hand me down from former neighbors but still works.
3. We have booked a camper for this coming weekend in western Colorado for 2 nights. We’re bringing all our own food – I’m just emptying the fridge into the cooler – and hiking at a close by state park. A very inexpensive, and much needed, getaway.
4. We are in the midst of planning a two week trip to Ohio this summer with our grandson. We are calling it the Tour de Ohio and we will be driving and staying with friends and family. We haven’t seen most of them in quite awhile and none have met our grandson. Then our son and daughter will come in for a long weekend during. I wish I could get credit for it but it was my husbands idea – and he’s doing all the logistics. Also, I’m excited to visit my college alma mater. I haven’t been in 25 years.
5. I :
– pruned all our flowering bushes
– had an appointment at the dermatologist (after a 2 month waitlist) to have a look at my rosacea which is getting worse the older I get.
– Visited a different library after my appointment combining errands
– Sorted through all my grandsons clothes and shoes that we have at our house and put a bunch aside for the next consignment sale in October
What happened to Red Rose tea?
We usually go on a sort of frugal/sort of not trip or two here and there,especially during hot Arizona summers.But personally,I LIKE being home in July and August, as I love to go in my own POOL morning and evenings.I like sitting with my morning coffee out back and enjoying our gorgeous back yard, and I like the slow pace of summers here.
Mu HUSBAND “needs” to get away, but, we are not in the mood for a spendy summer vacay..the mood is off,ya know???!!! So, DH has reserved a nice campsite for himself in a nice mountain town 90 minutes away for July and again in August. Savings= very nice. I am feeling reclusive lately and will be happy to be home all summer,with maybe a small break somewhere in the fall.
Other frugalities:
Purchasing as much coffee as is reasonable on a 2/1 sale this week.
Reviewing my “ dry bean and rice” stash.
Library books only
NO food waste!
I absolutely adore hot summers. I can deal with winter, but January and February can get very tedious.
My husband also has frugal time away doing the same as your husband. He is dedicated to finishing the Appalachian Trail so in addition to camping he gets Trail sections accomplished. During those times, I get a lot of reading time and visiting time with friends.
FMFT, Keeping Ahead of Tariffs (or Trying To) Edition:
(1) As noted in my Thankful Thursday comment today at The Frugal Girl, I’ve bitten the bullet and bought a Mac Mini (late-model, refurbished) to replace my ancient iMac as my office computer. My friend Mr. Fix-It (who is my tech consultant, as well as a home repair master) has been recommending the Mini for some time, and once he offered to provide a large monitor and a keyboard from his considerable tech stash at his cost, I went ahead and bought the Mini he recommended. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth as I make the transition, but this move is long overdue. And given this article from yesterday’s NY Times about what’s likely to happen to the prices of Apple products (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/opinion/tariffs-china-iphone-apple.html), I urge anyone who’s been postponing a similar purchase to do the same.
(2) Mr. Fix-It and I are also monitoring what seems to be a roof leak around my main plumbing stack, similar to the situation Katy describes in her #3.
(3) I found $1.25 in mixed Canadian and US coins in the coin machine at Wegmans this morning.
(4) I took two boxes of clothes and two boxes of books to the Rescue Mission donation trailer behind my Wegmans. More to follow. Spring cleaning is afoot.
(5) And I haven’t repeatedly jerked the entire world economy around, based solely on what I feel in my gut.
1. The ongoing saga of a Dane who won’t let us touch his feet has been a nightmare. I don’t know what happened to him before he ended up in the puppy pound, but he is phobic about his feet being handled. We tried drugging him, hiring a dog nail clipper who comes to the house to do the job, and even took him to the vet where three techs struggled and failed to subdue him (even when he was partially sedated!). Well, the dog fixed the problem himself by chewing down his nails. The vet said he has known dogs who bite their nails and apparently we have one. It just took them getting long enough for him to take care of it. Given how much we have spent trying to do it, with drugs and vet visits and so on, this is going to be a frugal savings in the hundreds of dollars if he lives a long life.
2. Repaired a zipper on a jacket. This is not in my skill set but with You Tube tutoring, I made it.
3. It took buying a special tool for $30, but my husband was able to use it to fix two pairs of shoes that had the soles falling off. The tool has already paid for itself, since we have no cobblers in this town so would have eventually had to discard or send the shoes to a recycle place.
4. Made a birthday cake but had no confectioner’s sugar for the frosting. I know how to make it from regular sugar but was close to being out of time to do that and then also make the frosting. So, I made Russian buttercream, which is just butter and sweetened condensed milk, both ingredients which I had in abundance. I don’t care for any frostings, but this person does so I went with it.
5. Made myself eat something from the kitchen, rather than going out to eat. I was bored with what we had around but then reminded myself that the purpose of food is to nourish me, not entertain me. Tuna melt it was.
Frugal fail: Our winters are desert dry and my skin shows it. I decided to try my grandmother’s old trick of smearing some bacon grease on my skin for a few hours. Gross and, more to the point, Grandma did not have a Great Dane. Clobber Paws became so obsessed with licking my face that I had to scrub it off after only about 10 minutes.
My 94 year old next door neighbor, who had very few wrinkles, had been using Crisco as a moisturizer her whole life. I buy it only to grease pans for baking and cooking, and a small can will last for over a year if refrigerated.
OMG… Lindsey, you had me in stitches as I was picturing your GD (ol’ Clobber Paws, great nickname) licking bacon grease off of you!!!
Coincidentally, I’ve just finished using bacon fat–the only acceptable fat for this purpose–to grease two cast iron skillets for a batch of (No @#$%!! Sugar in the) Cornbread. If I wake up in the night to find Betty the cat trying to gnaw my fingers off, I’ll know why.
I absolutely have to remember that food is to nourish me, not to entertain me. I often think, why don’t I have anything fun to eat? What I really mean is junk food. I blame TV commercials for that kind of thinking. Thank you for saying that.
I will say, after owning a zillion pets by now, that many dogs and cats are just eccentric and quirky on their own. It doesn’t relate to past abuse. Like my parents’ Pyr, Charlie, who was a complete adorable nutcase. He was scared of shiny floors, for instance. Gravy on meat made him nervous. He was the sweetest, most beautiful dog but also barking mad. He was a rescue but we knew his history.
I had a vet tell me that she never cut her dogs nails. She just played ball or threw a toy on a cement driveway and it filed their nails down.
We have snow nine months plus a year, so no ability to do that during that time. And when we got him, he was 10 months old and for giant breeds activities that encourage running, jumping or climbing stairs, are not supposed to be done because their bones are not yet connected securely and it can damage their skeletons. He will be two this summer so I hope we can use the natural nail trimming method your vet does.
My daughter has a cane corso mix who will not let anyone cut his nails. We have trained him to use a scratch board. Now he will go over to it, do a few scratches and then bark by his treats. Apparently he has us trained too.
1. From Buy Nothing, I received a wire hamper for our closet and numerous condiment packets for next winter’s two-month stay in Arizona.
2. Gave away on Buy Nothing a bunch of stuff from my friend’s house decluttering project, including 100 canning jars along with many lids and rings. There were 40 people interested in this haul, and I split the gift into two.
3. Brought two child gates (that we used for our dog) to Once Upon a Child and received $12 cash on the spot.
4. Fished the container of saved sour milk out of the freezer. Oh my, it was blue and bubbly. Best used in a science experiment than in our pancakes.
5. Needed to update both of our wills and our home’s Transfer on Death deed to reflect an unexpected change in relationship with a family member. Out $1,200 for legal fees. But we used to spend a fair amount of money on this once beloved family member, so I guess there’s an offset to take the sting out of the whole damn mess.
100 canning jars. I am so jealous. You made 2 people very happy.
The red lentils are one of my favorite things to purchase when I’m in panic-buy mode.
1. I bought some Roma tomato starts. Every year, I grow tomatoes and preserve the sauce to use throughout the year.
2. I went to the bins and came home with yak-tracks in my size. I’m ready for the next Portland snowpocalypse! I also found the art supplies my daughter asked me to look for, brand new “Stance” socks, and a vegetable steamer basket.
3. I knocked the frost off a few items from the freezer, and told myself to hold off on shopping for one more day!
4. I made flan from some expired milk.
5. When I was at the bins, I heard a group of “pickers” saying generally positive things about Trump and his “policies”. It was disheartening thing to hear, but I managed not to pick a fight. Trust me, these guys are not going to benefit from a Trump presidency, but there’s no way to explain it to them! Four years from now, they’ll blame it all on Biden. Sigh!
I feel your frustration at the things you overheard. I overheard a pack of young adults talking about how their econ professor told them to just hold on during the tariff wars and not worry about investment loss. That they could easily work an extra ten years. They seemed to take this positively and feel they were going to make a lot of money. I wanted so badly that not all of us have the luxury of youth and time anymore to compensate for our loss in retirement funds at this point in time.
It’s doubtful that these guys have any money in a savings account, much less in the market. It’s all abstract.
1. Turned two marked down packs of chicken drumsticks into the current lunch entree. Three days of meals for $6. The prep used up the last little bit of a free seasoning blend from Penzey’s.
2. Trimmed up my older dog’s shaggy feet so that the long hair would not get caught in the little grinder we use on her nails. Trimmed a couple of mats out of my cat’s super long, super soft coat, which will get mats if she so much as leans on the door frame.
3. It’s raining buckets, but small laundry will still dry when hung up indoors.
4. Ate lunch out with friends and paid cash to avoid the $2 (!) card processing fee.
5. Dusted the rust off my crocheting skills by trying out a free video tutorial pattern with some Dollar Tree yarn, which is not terrible.
Yeah for being handy at fixing things!
1. Decided to try to alter a top instead of donating it. Still a work in process so we will see but since it is costing just my time and a bit of thread it may prove frugal.
2. Pre tariff shopping was minimal but did get extra coffee so we could survive the morning news. We do have a stock of non-perishables for emergencies so not much room to stock up.
3. Sticking with my buy no books commitment and hoping my county library system can continue to acquire them after the federal funding cuts.
4. Some yard work, some organizing, some socializing outdoors with neighbors while walking dog – zero cost.
5. Verified my SS was deposited yesterday and the system was not screwed up by DOGE minions or the incompetent or just plain malicious MAGA temporary SS Administrator
Yet!!
Frugal fail two vet visits this week=$280
I’m in So Cal on my jobcation and took a friend to breakfast. I gasped when the check came $50.51. No Toto we aren’t in Oklahoma anymore.
Received a message that $40.76 had been deposited in my Venmo for a class action lawsuit. Happy Dance
Redeemed air miles for snacks on plane
Meals should be covered aka free for the next few days
For your class action, was it Facebook? If so, I received the same one today & was tickled.
Yep Facebook
Replaced my laptop screen after some dog walked on it and broke it. This is actually a pretty easy repair.
Made baked ziti with leftovers last evening. Cue the Sopranos memes!
Twas my birthday recently so Daughter re created a favorite and somewhat odd restaurant dish. (Said restaurant is two hours away.) She made an enormous creme brulee for dessert so I could stuff myself.
I pick up parking lot receipts to scan into Fetch too. The embarrassing part is that I enjoy reading them to see what strangers are buying and how much they are spending.
1. There’s one gas station near my office that is much cheaper than where I live, and there’s an additional discount when you use the BP credit card, which I got specifically for this station. I filled up, stopped at the bank to withdraw cash to have on hand because Trump is a moron and God knows what will happen, and then returned a part I didn’t need to Home Depot. Ugh, chain of errands done.
2. I accidentally paid my credit card late and requested a refund of the $30 late fee via chat, which they granted immediately. I went and told my teenage son you can get one a year, if you need it, just ASK.
3. I browsed Goodwill briefly on my lunch hour and found a vintage Harley Davidson leather belt with buckle, and eagles aplenty. It was $1.99 and I know it will fetch a nice price on ebay.
4. Walked up to the library, returned some books and checked out a few others, including some cookbooks.
5. Sold one shirt on ebay and someone from Marketplace paid me $5 for a little pottery dish that I had bought at a yard sale for a quarter.
Let’s see:
1) Picked lettuce from our planters for DH’s salad
2) Picked out the questionable parts of a bagged salad, and had that for lunch, along with some chicken from the freezer.
3) Froze leftovers
4) Also received $40 from a class action settlement I’d forgotten about.
5) Job interviews, interview prep, recruiting calls, helping the teens find jobs…. all of the job related fun!
We are away from home and I don’t have my list. I will see what I can remember.
1. I found 3 pennies and 2 days later found a penny and a dime.
2. I thrifted a dress that I really like but the collar was weird and floppy. With careful ripping and hand sewing I was able to push a piece of interfacing inside and stitch it in place. The interfacing was free from the craft thrift store. Not perfect but much better.
3. I somehow lost some medication after getting the prescription filled . It took some persuading for my Dr to give me a replacement prescription without an office visit. Then I had to persuade the pharmacy that I knew it was too soon to refill and I knew insurance wouldn’t cover it but I needed it anyway. My husband went to pick up the meds and the pharmacist said they had a card that would reduce the price. Then they found an even better deal so the medicine was only half the original price.
Can’t remember any more. Will do better next time.
My try for 5FT, but I am stretching it and a bit on the ranting side:
1. Attended my small village’s public board of trustees meeting last night. The topic was the 25/26 budget increase which will lead to a 8% property tax hike (alongside a 6% school tax hike). This follows a 7% hike last year. We also pay town taxes as well. While I support reasonable taxation, I feel they are not even trying to help lower costs and the rapid increase year after year is not sustainable for families, including myself. It was a big turnout, but few people were speaking, so I did! I am a horrible public speaker (causes bigtime nervousness), but I prevailed and let them know my concerns, how it will impact the neighborhood and myself, and a few ideas for reverse budgeting and places to look for cuts. Everyone was against the hike and eloquently spoke from their own perspective. However, in the end, we received a lecture about maintaining a high quality of services over reduction, a huge condescending politicians’ attitude, dismissal, and a whole lot of gaslighting. Afterwards, the trustees unanimously passed the budget without addressing our concerns. I could go on and on, but I will say this is the very first time I have attended a meeting (in my 4 years of living here-I even started my talk with “You know it’s not good when the village introvert shows up…”) and I feel being involved at the local level is important. I also feel asking for your politicians to listen is pretty darn frugal. I also know who to vote out next cycle. I even walked the mile or so to the Firemansion that caused some of the tax hike last year.
2. Still taking my own coffee, lunch and water to work. I have not ate out or stopped for coffee since I returned-to-office in early March.
3. I did my teenage son’s taxes for his summer job and he is getting $156 refund (not so frugal, I am mailing my owed $1500 taxes tomorrow despite feeling we are getting the shaft for our taxes at the moment. I forgot to change my withholdings when my son turned 17 last year. I made sure to change it for 2025).
4. Made a delicious Moroccan-inspired bowl with some pantry items: cous cous, za’atar and other spices, and a can of faba beans and onions.
5. On Tuesday, I saw the Broadway rendition of Addams Family at our nearby historic theatre. I had bought the tix back in January for my DH and me, but he had to work. I didn’t want to waste his ticket, so I took my friend. We enjoyed the show and bringing an evening of happiness to my friend (and fellow Fed colleague) for the night was well worth the original non-frugal cost. Plus, we supported the arts.
Gina, I feel for you on your #1. So frustrating. But at least you had your say.
1 DH and I had a 3 night mini vacay at favourite cousin’s island home, while he is away. We took friends with us, a couple who had never seen the house. Weather was raining and stormy, but it was still a nice break.
2. Cooked and ate at the house mostly, going out for dinner one night to a pub, that had a “burger and a pint” deal on. The pint ended up being free, which was a good deal.
3. DH travelled the ferry for free, as he is over 65. We have a discount card as well, which discounts my fare, and the fare for the vehicle.
4. I continue to collect Home Exchange points from those people on the site who are booking our cottage this spring/summer. We hope to have enough points to book a nice place next year in Mexico.
I am very concerned for my Dad, who is almost 90 years old, and collects Social Security as a survivor of his wife, who was an American. My dad is Canadian and lives in Canada. If the US government decides that he shouldn’t have it anymore, it will be a big hit to his finances.
1. I have been finding a lot of change on the ground lately. I also see it when I am walking through downtown Philadelphia on my way to work, but have been hesitant to stop suddenly and have someone run into me. New plan: if I see it, cut off to the side, wait for a good moment, then grab it.
2. Used cilantro from the garden and lettuce thinnings on tacos last night.
3. Bought five dozen eggs from BJs at something like 34 cents an egg, much cheaper than I have been paying. Now to see if we can really eat them all (if not… I’m sure a family member could use them).
4. Packed lunch to bring to work for all of my in-office days so far this week (one more to go).
5. Cancelled a streaming subscription that my husband accidentally set up (long story). They got me for two months but I got rid of it just before they were about to get me again.
1. After substitute teaching and working a 4-hour store shift, I came home dead tired with back spasms last night. Hot shower instead of using Rx.
2. Decided to stay home today because of #1 and also getting over a cold. Better than relapsing.
3. Called a handyman from Craigslist and he came over and installed the six den lights I’d bought to replace the circa 1965 recessed ceiling lights. Half of the old ones don’t burn and were hanging down from the ceiling like a loose tooth. Light fixtures were from China and had to be special ordered due to weird (non-standard) size/shape, so I’m glad I bought them when I did last winter. Before all this tariff $#*t hit the fan, so the price wasn’t increased 50, 125, 145%. (Or whatever it is by now.) The handyman charged less than what a certified electrician would charge, but he knew what he was doing and put them up correctly. Plus he’s under no legal mandate to make me update and replace every single plug and wire in my 60 y.o. house. If I ever have to sell the house, I’d need to have good light fixtures that aren’t falling down, and I got them. My den is super bright now, so I can relocate several table lamps to use elsewhere in the house. Oh, and the lights are energy-saving ones.
4. When he left, I carefully salvaged anything I could from the new light fixtures’ packaging and the old light fixtures. Will re-use the light bulbs (new fixtures have built-in LEDs.) and donate the old fixtures to Habitat Re-store. I have six good white boxes I can use for Xmas presents or whatever and some sturdy plastic bags, among other things.
5. Did not undo 20 years’ worth of environmental laws just because I can’t wash my ugly-looking orange hair with a blast of water the way I used to before the water-saving showerheads were mandated. (How vain can he get?)
Hope you feel better soon. Sounds like you are working extra hard!
I also love your #5.
1. I’ve needed a new (to me) car for a while. We’ve been looking for a while and decided to go ahead and do it ahead of the tariffs so I can have a reliable car for the next decade. We got it about a month ago. It only had one key. They told us they would overnight us another and we could go to the dealership here in town to have it programmed. They kept not sending it. My husband kept sending emails and phone calls to a number of people at the dealership. Finally, a month later, after persistence, they finally sent it. Now we’ll just need to keep calling once we get it programmed for reimbursement like they told us they would. Persistence is worth it to save several hundred dollars.
2. I’m wearing my son’s hand-me-down pajamas. There was a hole in the armpit. I sewed that right up and they look as good as new!
3. In a time where it feels like nothing is quite going according to plan, one thing worked well today. My son goes to a huge university where finding parking spaces that aren’t two miles away from your building is notoriously difficult. He had on the calendar today to call a realty company across from his apartment for next year at 8am to see if they had any spots leftover after their tenants claimed what they needed. Luckily they had a spot! While not cheap, it is less expensive (about $70 less a month) than had he been able to get one at his apartment building.
4. Tonight was one of my bookclubs on zoom. It’s a deep reads project where we read 6 books from one author and have professors join us. This go around is Kazuo Ishiguro. We’re on our third book. I always get the books from the library, the meetings are online as people join from around the country (so no money on gas) and I always feel like I’ve just had a PhD literature class when we finish!
5. I’ve been trying to wear all my clothes. I’m doing that thing where you wear something and turn it (or the hanger) around so you know you’ve worn it and then chose something that hasn’t been worn to wear the next day. In doing this, I’ve been able to get rid of a lot of things that I put on and just don’t love anymore (I have way too many clothes).
Oh, and we paid for the car in cash. Well actually we got a better deal if we financed. They took $800 off if we financed. So we financed it and paid the whole thing off with the first payment (I think we only paid about $100 in interest).
1. I made banana chocolate chip muffins with leftover bananas and chocolate chips from my daughter’s bridal shower pancake bar. I used aquafaba that I had saved from my chickpeas. I cooked 2 potatoes and 2 sweet potatoes while I had the oven on.
2. I ate leftover pancakes and bacon from my daughter’s shower for breakfast. Hubby finished the scrambled eggs. We ate the leftovers every morning this week. I froze the leftover blueberries and strawberries. All the other food was used or eaten.
3. The family of the lady I help take care of has been sick all week so they are home with her. I did food shopping for them while I did my own. I dropped it off. I also got a few things my son needed/wanted. He will get them this weekend.
4. I have been using my time to work on the garden this week. Getting the garden beds ready, planting more seeds and transplanting my tomatoes into bigger pots.
5. I went to the thrift store. I got a full golf club bag of clubs and a caddy cart for $15. Hubby has been looking at caddy carts. He golfs with friend’s and they walk the course. I listed the bag and clubs for $40 on FBMP. I got 3 round glass Pyrex containers and lids for $5. That is cheaper than buying new lids for mine. I got an apple peeler, corer for my son. I got 5 coloring books for $3. 1 had a little coloring in it. The other 4 had nothing. They all sell for $7.99 each. The lady I help and I color a lot. Her family will pay me back for the coloring books. Her daughter is amazed that I can find nice books at the thrift store. I got a metal horse and cart Coke thing for my neighbor for her birthday. She is going to love it. She collects Coke memorabilia. I almost bought a shirt for $4 but decided I have enough shirts at home.
6. I cooked chicken bones to make stock. I saved foil that has already been used before. I wiped off a cereal bag and cut it up to put in between homemade burgers. I saved laundry lint(I need to make some fire starters).
What a lovely, inspirational “article” and comments.
In Miami it seems like people forgot the beauty of being frugal.
Everything is luxurious, vip and expensive.
I felt at home and real reading all the comments.
Thank you all for the inspiration.
Ps. We marched on the streets of Miami last Saturday to remind people of the importance of watching out for others. What a lovely, inspirational “article” and comments.
In Miami, it seems like people forgot the beauty of being frugal.
Everything is luxurious, vip and expensive.
I felt real and at home reading all these comments.
Thank you all for the inspiration. I must remember to go back to the basics, where my heart is.
The museum sounds like one for the list if I ever get to Portland (which is definitely on the list to visit).
1. I took the rest of the cous cous from yesterday with a can of lentils I’ve had for a while. Reused a dressing container and brought fresh onion and parsley to top the lentil/CC concoction (super delicious lunch!) Fortunately, no one talked to me today post-lunch (I think a lot of folks took the day off-it was eerily quiet at work today).
2. Doggo and I had a nice long walk in the cemetery near our house. I noticed garlic mustard growing in the fence line so will return later to harvest. I forage so many things from this old cemetery (raspberries, mulberries, chives, dandelions, lilacs, fiddleheads, walnuts, and garlic mustard). I like to think the dead don’t mind.
3. Stopped by Aldi on the way home from work and bought just the pizza dough I went in for (I could make it and often do, but it’s just a 1.29 for a dough ball and convenient. I am putting make dough balls for the freezer on my goal list).
4. Watching free YouTube and learning some new skills.
5. Supported my colleagues by listening, especially the ones that are retiring early or taking the “derp” (as we call it-deferred resignation plan/fork 2.0). It’s bittersweet for them and they needed to share their stories and achievements from decades long careers. I can attest they are dedicated, hardworking public servants. I am going to miss them terribly!
Gina, I am so sorry to hear of the people who are being thrown away, and admire your strength as you grieve with them and work to take care of yourself.
1. I put off my haircut another day. I have been doing this for two months, and my hair has actually grown out into a style like better.
2. I called my sister, and we exchanged ideas about weathering these awful years ahead. I am stretching food and swearing off new clothes, as well as postponing a nonessential home repair. She has decided to stick with her minimal furnishings and is contemplating selling her townhouse in a few years.
3. I didn’t leave the house today, thus resting after working out yesterday, and not feeling tempted to spend.
4. Ate leftovers all day.
5. Continued sorting pictures, which are reminding me of happier days, and also of some of the struggles my parents and grandparents had.