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I took my shaggy head of hair to the Supercuts training center for a free haircut.
Ahh . . . that’s better!
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I finally got myself to the library to pick up my five holds! I also grabbed an adult summer reading program game card. Sadly, not as cute as the kid’s one:
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I sold a pair of curb picked Birkenstocks on eBay for $20.
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I pruned a leggy pot of oregano and offered the extra on my Buy Nothing group.
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I didn’t gold plate anything. Not a toilet, not plastic Home Depot trim and certainly not Air Force One.
Five More Frugal Things
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1. I had a salad for dinner last night with lettuce from my pots and I added chicken from my freezer. One more thing out of my freezer.
2. I stopped at Costco for gas since I was in the vicinity. It was 50 cents cheaper.
3. I made more dog ice cream with homemade yogurt.
4. I’m reading a kindle library book. I just The Vacancy in Room 10. It was very entertaining.
5. I’m hanging my laundry on racks to dry.
50¢ cheaper gas is worth the effort!
1. Realized that the ikea perler beads and forms were cheaper then the name brand ones.
2. Another free library program on perler beads ironically.
3. Finished up the last of the lunch leftovers when I hosted a party of 12.
4. Didn’t sink an nih rare disease program and destroy all the mice with said rare disease.
Finishing leftovers is so satisfying!
IKEA has perler beads and forms?? My 8yo has actually made it through half of the enormous tub I bought – appreciate the tip!
I had, as usual, put my laundered underwear on drying racks out in the garage. That was two days ago. This morning, I went out there to take in the dried laundry and guess what? It’s so horribly humid that the stuff was still a tiny bit damp. I ended up tossing everything in the clothes dryer for a few minutes. Didn’t want anything to mildew in my lingerie drawers!
That’s the opposite experience I had in college. My husband and I lived in Albuquerque and I was constantly amazed by how fast laundry dried. Also that you could fold towel over after showering and hang it on the rack and it didn’t get mildewy!!!
Although I’m not in west Texas, I’m not anywhere near the Gulf Coast either. So it’s usually not so humid that I can’t have something dry overnight. This was an odd experience. I rarely use the dryer except for de-wrinkling something (10 or 12 minutes), for towels in the winter, or for king-sized sheets.
We have no humidity in Albuquerque or really anywhere in New Mexico at almost any time of year. Earlier this week: 100 degree temps. 14% humidity. “it’s a dry heat!” as the saying goes.
I remember! I’m a proud UNM grad!
1. I broke my 9 day no eating out streak when I ordered pizza last night to support a fundraiser. Had three girlfriends over last night to share pizza and good times. So glad I did. Get togethers don’t have to be expensive or pretentious.
2. Checked out two boxes of goodies on the curb. I scored a shirt and pants, as well as a box of DVDs, some new in packaging. The DVDs were donated to the library Friends group.
3. Making layered candles at work today in preparation for a future craft club. I love this part of my job where I can try different crafts and share them, but not on my personal tab.
4. I have not grocery shopping in over a week. I was gifted 2 bags of groceries from a neighbor, and also received a box of mostly snack foods and drinks from a program that gives food to school aged children in my state. I can get this box once a week for my child. I am trying to focus on eating what is in my house, and will receive food that is available or comes to us for free.
5. Trying to decide how to make extra money in a way that I am comfortable with. Food delivery really slowed down in my area and doesn’t seem to be worth it after the gas and time investment. I’ve been considering doing at home baking. I recently found out my neighbors two adult daughters are on a website that ends in fans. One recently landed herself in prison for two years. The other left her job and is living off of her new online celebrity. Oh boy!
I hate to be judgmental, but I found out one of the neighbors daughters started meeting her ‘fans’ in person. I want to understand, but it just pushes my stranger danger reflexes.
I do not think it is judgmental to fear situations that are dangerous. When you are young, you think you are impervious. That, combined with not being old enough to have heard of the seemingly endless variety of horrors that happen to women, makes young women uniquely vulnerable. I would find it hard not to try some gentle information on at least ways to mitigate the danger. If women don’t watch out for each other, who will?
@Lindsey ” If women don’t watch out for each other, who will?” – especially in this day and age. Wing nut idiots on SCOTUS don’t realize how many low income women AND men get critical health screenings from PP. And I can guarantee you the states aren’t going to pick up the slack. SCOTUS probably got domestic supply of infants (code for white infants) stiffies as they ruled. Tis a sad day so if you can, send a donation to PP. My state is one of the states that has been picking up the slack for women who lives in states that don’t give a sh*t if they end up being a pregnancy related death statistic.
1) I didn’t host a $75 million dollar wedding in a city that doesn’t want me there.
2) I didn’t drop massive bombs on a volatile area of the world
3) I didn’t try to gaslight the nation about needing to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because of said bomb dropping.
4) I did make dinner at home and put up a cute display on a curb picked shelf.
You are in inspiration for us all! Mwah!
Jealous you have a Supercuts training center near you. I have looked before and no luck over here.
My, it’s boring around here lately! Some surprise expenses and trying to lay low in advance of a short vacation have me really scroogin’ it up:
1. At home coffee
2. Same old yogurt and walnuts (I found the walnuts!) for breakfast
3. Water bottle filled up
4. Cleaning my own apartment in advance of houseguests instead of paying someone else to do it
5. Froze my gym account for two weeks to get through some travel and busy season. This’ll reduce my expenses for the next month.
We’re still busy having a heat wave. The electric company asked its customers to raise the temp on their AC, turn off lights, and not use hot water or any major appliances. Not too much of a stretch there for those committed to frugality.
Yesterday I went by Goodwill on senior discount day and bought two shirts on discount color of the day plus my senior discount. Our local Goodwills are among those that have dramatically raised prices, so doubling up on discounts is kind of necessary.
Katy,
I’m in agreement with The Frugal Girl Kristen, I too am envious that you have SuperCuts, and wish there was one by me. I’ll continue doing my little bit at a time method of hair trims for myself. Thankfully my wavy hair hides mistakes.
1. Received several reusable face rounds from Buy Nothing.
2. Friend gave me a stack of white hand towels from her mom’s clear-out. They will be the nicest rags I own.
3. Closed basement vents to save on AC.
4. Husband wanted to go out to eat. We compromised and got ice cream cones instead – spent $9 instead of $30+.
5. Attended a free community concert. Our neighbor’s band was playing. Brought the outdoor chair that I received from Buy Nothing.
@MB in MN – #3 keeps the basement from becoming a true ice box (we run a dehumidifier year round) and helps push more cool air to your main floor.
Selena: You mean the vents should or should not be open?
Should not be open. I just had the HVAC guy in my house today. He said close the vents in the summer. No need to air condition the basement. And then open them part way in the winter for a bit of heat.
@Julia – yep close those basement vents. Keep your dehumidifier running but being below grade, basements are always pretty cool.
That’s a good compromise.
Your hair is so pretty! Love the color and shine. And the new trim looks terrific!
Thank you, although my hair is decidedly more “dishwater” than anything shiny.
1. Got a roofing estimate. OMG! The prices have dramatically increased (up 40% in 3 months, I’m told) due to tariffs. The guy who came out, a fellow Democrat, saw my anti-Trump yard signs and also saw the backyard woodpile. I had promised the wood to someone last March, even called them several times to remind them, but they have yet to come haul it off. I offered it to him, he was happy to get it*, and he offered me a special “friends and family” type deal — 2% interest if I’d pay X amount down. I have close to that amount in my “opportunity fund” aka the emergency fund. *Meanwhile, I am happy to have the wood hauled away at no charge to me.
2. Roofing estimator guy also asked if I’d like some free tomatoes and okra because his garden, with all the recent rains, is putting out a bumper crop. Yum! Yes!
3. Did some budgeting, and while I was at it, I figured out the cost of the Ollie’s Outlet vinyl plank I bought: $1.61 a square foot, with the 15% discount. (It would’ve been $1.89 without the discount, and Ollie’s claims the other stores’ prices would be $2.09 per square foot.) By comparison, the LVP that I got from Lowe’s was $1.99 per square foot. All these prices do not include tax or installation. So going to the Sunday night private sale was frugal indeed!
4. Being an onery, impatient patient, I have not bothered to send in my stool sample for colo-rectal cancer testing. The lab sent me a letter reminding me of this, and offering a bribe in the form of a $25 gift card, if I do so. In the middle of tomato season and watermelon season? Since you can’t eat anything red, I’m not sure about this. Wonder if I delay longer, whether they’ll offer me more $$.
5. Coming back from the oncologist visit, I stopped at a shopping center so I could go potty. The store had a 4th of July sale on, and wreaths were half price. Good news for me since I have a double front door! I got 2 red, white and blue wreaths and both have bows on them. Being a patriotic American, I added anti-Trump buttons to them.
Lisa, my 50 year old daughter has been struggling with bowel cancer , and the chemo etc. since October 2023.She had a really bad car accident in January this year, which was caused by the cancer having appeared in her brain, previously unknown to us. I was in the car with her,she has an armful of plates and screws now, and I had various broken bones , CPR twice. Treatment has meant the loss of a lot of her hearing, her hair, and many of her teeth. Please, DON’T delay your test. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone!
Coral Clarke,
I’m so sorry your daughter has been going through all of this.
I have two friends who were diagnosed with colon cancer by having screening colonoscopies. In both cases, it was caught early, and both had surgery and chemo. Both are now considered cancer free (it was 5+ years ago that both were diagnosed), though one also wemt on to have breast cancer (more surgery and chemo; doing well since, fingers crossed). Yes, PLEASE, get the test!
I like your embellishments.
1. I’m listening to an audiobook for free on the Hoopla app.
2. I made an egg and cheese sandwich on a buttermilk biscuit from my freezer and made coffee at home.
3. I’m working from home today and only leaving for a short trip to pick my daughter up from day camp.
4. I signed up for my library’s summer reading program.
5. I’m making homemade pizza for dinner tonight.
Called the bank and got access to my online accounts. It was a drawn out process that took 3 call backs. I’m being drug kicking and screaming towards online banking. They have discontinued my beloved tellabank, such is life…..
Decluttered. Mostly children’s artwork and excess papers. Mended a sock, mending a winter coat to pass on to another family. Tossed out some crunchy mascaras (why do I keep this stuff?!!), organized my make-up on my recently installed shelf. Used matching baskets I already had. One needed repair, so I hit it with the hot glue gun and turned the repaired side to the wall, problem solved. Went through DS’s closet and collected too small clothes for a friend we will see July 4.
Cleaned a new to us book bag and matching lunch box. Hopefully, this will make back to school one bit easier. I will send the old lunch box and backpack with the friends mentioned previously.
Hung up tea towels over a couple south facing windows that do not have blinds. Not my choice of decor but it will suffice for the time being.
Cooked from scratch using food we grew. Food feet, not food miles 🙂
Just for giggles, I counted the roll of stamps I retrieved from a puddle. There are 45 stamps, potentially!!!! Maybe 6 or so are pretty rough and I may not be able to unwrinkle/smooth/clean them enough to use, but still my tightwad heart rejoices! Lol!
The post office might trade those stamps for new ones.
Ah, vocational schools…
We don’t have a Super Cuts in our area, but we do have a couple of cosmetology schools. At some point, the students need human “guniea pigs” (or should I say “clients”), to train on. My niece went through a cosmetology vo-tech program during her last 2 years of high school. An instructor is there to supervise, so, while there is a risk of having to call “hair 911”, the risk is minimal, and so is the cost. If you have any school of cosmetology or a technical college that offers a cosmetology program, call them if you’re willing to have a student work on your locks and see if they need clients for their students. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
I worked at a college for 16 years as the secretary for the nursing program. Across the hall from us was the dental hygiene program. I live in PA, and can only tell you specifics of that school’s program. You would need to talk to a dental hygiene school in your area.
Where I worked, the 2nd year students (Assoc Deg Pgm) needed clients. Lots and lots of clients. They had a quota of clients they had to meet each semester. The DH clinic could see 16 patients at once. There were always a minimum of 2 instructors (Regestered Dental Hygienists) and one licensed dentist during each clinic session. Students had to count and chart your teeth, probe for pockets between your teeth and gums, give you a thorough head and neck exam, take x-rays if needed, and clean your teeth. Students were seen twice by instructors and once by the dentist during a clinic session. The trade off in price is the time. A clinic session was either 3 or 4 hours, but far more thorough than most dentists. Students are getting graded, so being attentive to detail is paramount. Depending on how nasty your teeth are, you may require more than one clinic session. Students not only have to see a certain number of adult clients, but also children and senior citizens. Typically, they do cleanings, x-rays and sealants. They do not do any restorations, extractions, or anything requiring the expertise of a dentist. Now, I left the college in 2002, but, at that time, a clinic session was $20 (if you needed more than 1 session, there was no additional charge for subsequent sessions. Bite wings were $2 each, panelipse was like $7. Never had sealants, but they were (I think) about $1 each. Students had to learn to make molds of teeth, so they need clients for that. Where I worked, the college brought the state licensing examiners to the college and students took their licensing exams right there. I was a patient for the licensing exam for 6 different students during my time there. If you’ve got the free time to help a student meet their career goals and get low-cost, routine dental care…this is for you…especially if you don’t have dental insurance. (They don’t accept dental insursnce.) At your request, they will send their findings on to your regular dentist for his/her further evaluation. I live in Northcentral Pennsylvania and the 2 closest dental hygiene schools to me are located at Pennsylvania College of Technology (a Penn State affiliate) in Williamsport – where I worked, and Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke (I believe their dental hygiene is located in Berwick, but the college itself is in Nanticoke.).
Search out these types of programs in your area. You could save a lot of “green.”
My husband hadn’t received regular dental care throughout his childhood and early on in our relationship. He had a number of cavities that needed attention and went to the University of New Mexico dental school to get everything taken care of. And yes, it was multiple appointments. Both of us are good about regular dental care.
Still recovering. The cough is almost gone so my ribs are starting to feel better.
1. My son was going to Aldi so he offered to pick up groceries for us. Got us bananas, grapes, tortilla chips, and a dozen eggs. He wouldn’t take money from me when he dropped them off. He is such a good guy.
2. A/C’s are off. Windows are open. It rained this morning so no watering the garden.
3. I have been working on dinner all day, a little at a time. Set the table, did the sugar snap peas, washed potatoes, marinated the chicken. It’s in the oven now. First time all week the oven has been on. Extra potatoes went in for lunch tomorrow.
4. Watching lots of Netflix. I’m not a big TV person. This week I am getting my money’s worth.
5. Not going anywhere. Not spending $
I’m glad your starting to mend.
1. Baked potatoes are in the solar oven, so no heat added inside the house. Eating kale from the garden with the potatoes.
2. Dh cleaned the wood floors and finished painting the crown molding in the living room/entry. It has only been 5 years since it was installed…But he did do the installation and the painting himself, saving hiring it done.
3. Mended a blanket for dd. Washed the fabric for another project. I’ve had a repeat customer on ebay buy cloth napkins (new, made by me) from me. I’m making 8 more to list. Fabric was nice quality but inexpensive and I not only love making cloth napkins, I love to think of another person/family also using cloth napkins.
4. Snacked on blackberries from the garden. Froze 2 over-ripe bananas to make chocolate “ice cream” this evening.
5. Attended a medical appointment for my mother by phone, saving the gas and time of 4 hour round trip drive.
How do you make the chocolate ice cream?
I put a frozen banana in the blender with a bit of cocoa powder and about a tablespoon of plain yogurt. It is really delicious!
I love cloth napkins and I love that you make them!
Kara, can you remind us of the name of your Etsy site?
1. It cooled off yesterday, and since I live near a very large lake, I had lake breezes, too, so I was able to turn off the air for a whole day. Unfortunately, the heat started up again today.
2. Used up the last of the so-so apple butter in pancake batter. Very good!
3. Used up some cream of chicken soup in mac and cheese. Also good!
4. Washed my hair and let it dry without electric intervention.
5. I’m using salicylic acid on a callus on the bottom of my foot. I need to somehow protect my footwear from its effects. Bandaids are not big or thick enough. It occurred to me I could cut up an Amazon quilted mailing bag. I save them but rarely reuse them. I think they will do a good job, and they’re definitely the right price!
Thanks, Schmeff Schmezos! 😉
Your #5 is brilliant!
1. Made homemade oat milk and then turned some of it into sweetened condensed oat milk which I then mixed into some oat milk creamer. Not as flavorful as I had hoped, but that’s easily corrected with some more vanilla extract. Oats are around $0.70 per lb so for 1 cup per 3ish cups of oat milk, I’d say it’s a pretty good diy dairy free solution.
2. Started the book I was on the fence about since it’s part of a series and am pleased to say it’s very good so far! I’ll be able to continue getting the series from my local library.
3. Lunch for the whole family was a variety of leftovers and some carrot cake I made yesterday before the heat set in from some ingredients that needed to get used up.
4. My youngest has started teething AGAIN. It seems like we get less and less time between teeth coming in. She’s miserable so keeping her comfortable has been my number one priority. Going to see if I can find a good deal on some dye free children’s Tylenol and raid our HSA account.
5. Finally got a call back from my insurance adjuster last night about getting a final number on how much we’ll be getting back after a tree took down a power pole, damaged our porch, and apparently hit some shingles on our carport. If the electrician stays true to what he quoted us, then after the deductible is subtracted we’ll actually be about $200 in the green. My husband can fix the porch damage with a few nails we already have and the shingles aren’t damaged to a point that we even noticed an issue. We’ll keep an eye out during the fall when it’s rainy but I don’t think there’s a need to fix it. It pays to be kind and friendly when your insurance inspector is out!
It’s good to kind to pretty much everyone, especially with business transactions.
1. Our house was built in 1950 and went through a flood that reached the roof. All rooms but one were rebuilt and we finally saved the money to have that room, our study rewired for three more circuits. The estimate was in the $15,000 range. Two of our relatives are construction foremen, who volunteered to come up and do it. They discovered that there is no sheetrock behind our paneling, and the insulation behind that is newspapers from 1950!!! They have ripped the room down to studs, are putting in new insulation, sheetrock, wiring, circuit, lamps…Had the contractors who did the estimate found this, the price would have gone up astronomically. These guys refuse to charge for labor or even for the trip up here since they plan to fish when things are done. I am making the meals and not stinting on what I buy if it pleases them. Frugal is having skilled relatives who say they are having fun being together (they don’t live near each other) and helping us, no matter how much they eat!
2. One of them brought a fish box (these are very sturdy waxed boxes used to transport salmon from Alaska and keep things cold or frozen) full of Walla Walla cherries, blueberries and corn. We will never be able to repay them for all their kindness with regard to this project.
3. Donated some of the husband’s formal clothes that are too big for him and received a tax receipt plus cleared out clutter.
4. Was able to give another friend a planter of basil as a birthday gift. I grew the basil, already had the container, and homemade compost for the soil. At the start of every gardening season I plant pots of herbs in fancy containers and give them as gifts to people I know to love herbs and have a birthday in J/J/A.
5. Mended some pants for the husband.
Not frugal, but another thank you to blood donators. I ended up with an emergency transfusion of two units of blood last night, and I again was struck by the generosity of complete strangers. This is five units in two months, so no small thing. If you are one, thank you.
Your family is a gift beyond measure.
What wonderful relatives! Warms my heart just to hear about them.
Yay for ebay sales!!
1. I sold 3 items on ebay. 2 were shirts from a $5 fill a bag of clothes at a garage sale.
2. This week I set my alarm clock for 5 am, because that’s when our cheaper electric rate turns off. So I get up to turn off the ac, then go back to bed. Hoping to see a decrease in the electric bill.
3. Also trying to keep AC off longer in the afternoons, and do more laundry at night.
4. Made a cucumber asian salad using cucumbers from the garden
5. composting