Five More Frugal Things
by Katy on July 23, 2025 · 41 comments
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I stopped at Fred Meyer this morning for butter and eggs before their sale ended. ($2.99/lb butter & 18-egg cartons for $3.49!) I still had my $25 Fetch gift card and wanted to see how far I could stretch it. My first stop was the produce clearance shelf, where I grabbed one variety pack and one broccoli bag for $1.50 apiece. I’d initally been annoyed when Fred Meyer upper their clearance produce from from $1 to $1.50, but the bags are actually much bigger now.
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Here’s everything I bought, for just 45¢ out of pocket! I won’t need to buy butter until 2026! Thankfully it freezes well. Also . . . Hello, Dolly!
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The egg purchase put us over the line with our egg inventory, so I made a quick batch of Deviled eggs, eight of which I’ll bring over to my daughter tomorrow. And yes, I am fancy with my reusable piping bag!
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My husband and I took a day trip over to Hood River Oregon, which is considered the windsurfing/kiteboarding capital of America. (So windy, note my ponytails!) It’s only an hour-and-a-half from Portland, which makes it the perfect lil’ day trip. I love watching all the people on the Columbia river, especially when the wind is whipping and the sun is out! There must have been at least a hundred kitesurfers out today — the very height of entertainment for sedentary me. Here’s just one small area of the river, not even a busy area:
Here’s a spot where some of the athletes were drying out their equipment. Note, this is not even the main area!
I love a day trip that gets me out of town, yet delivers me back home to sleep in my own cozy bed. Frugal, yet scratches that mini-vacation itch.
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None of my handmade birthday cards have ever caused anyone to sue me for 10 billion dollars.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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1. I made an impromptu decision to make taco salads for dinner. We had chicken, shredded cheese, black beans, corn, avocado, tomatoes, and broken tortilla chips. I made a quick dressing using Greek yogurt and some spices. It was a nice meal.
2. I had some geriatric bananas and made a double batch of GF pumpkin banana muffins. Most were frozen for future breakfasts.
3. I found $.35 while walking early. Yes, I did come into some money.
4. DD cleaned out the rest of the stuff that had been stored at our house. She dumped stuff from her college days and I received a lot of paper that I can print on the back of.
5. I helped out a friend that is out of town. Someone locked the car keys in the car. I went to her house (I have a key) and found the code for entry into the vehicle. On the way home I stopped at Aldi (it’s on the way) and bought lactose free milk and a couple of avocados.
Isn’t it great when the ‘kids’ finally take most of their stuff away (or leave it to you to recycle, thrift, offer on Buy Nothing, put out on the road with a free sign, offer to their siblings because why was that thing in their sister’s room when it clearly wasn’t hers, take to the used book store or Tiny Free Library, reuse yourself….?
I am still dealing with the ‘results’ of my DD clearing out her old room the weekend before last (some buy nothing offers to be written and posted, and a thrift store run) – however I got her room totally guest ready yesterday (!!!), and there was room finally in her closet to store things from the other kid’s room so it is guest ready too (!!!). whoosh.
mid twenties, and FINALLY they are mostly dealing with their own stuff
Good morning!!
1. I cleaned the green mildew off the siding on the north side of my house. I used a bottle of Green Envy that attaches to your hose. This loosened it up but I still had to scrub it. I attached a car washing brush to a long extension pole and used a ladder to get to the second story. It took a couple hours but it looks better than it has in years.
2. I gave my dog a bath and clipped her nails.
3. I had a BLT sandwich for dinner last night. This used up the last of the bacon, a half a tomato left in the fridge and a handful of lettuce that I saved for this purpose.
4. I used my very old Fels Naptha bar to scrub the stain off a white pair of Capris. I sat down on the black weed fabric in a lavender field to have my picture taken. Oops.
5. I haven’t accused a former president of sedition just to distract from the fact that I’m a sexual predator.
I’ve bought those Dolly Parton cake mixes on clearance as well! They are yummy but take a lot of eggs. Which, when my hens weren’t laying, made that brand more expensive to make.
1. I sold a brand new never used in box Cuisinart coffee maker that I got from a free move out pile of stuff for $50!
2. I sold a collapsible hand truck from a different free pile for $25
3. Bought 5 1/2 pounds of chicken drumsticks for 97 cents a pound. Made 1/3 into bbq chicken, 1/3 into baked chicken with Italian dressing and 1/3 into chicken corn soup.
4. Dog sitting at our house for a friend taking their first vacation in 8 years! No boarding fees for them and free entertainment for my dogs!
5. Will be making Gatorade for softball practice tonight with the big powered Gatorade mix. So much cheaper than buying individual bottles.
FYI, the referral link came up as invalid.
That’s okay, I’ve deleted it as a link.
I recently read that people have been complaining to Kroger about the quality of its store brand butter. Have you noticed a difference?
Crap, I haven’t used it yet.
I use the same Kroger butter all the time. I freeze it and thaw for baking and spreading and it’s always been great. It’s not Kerrygold or anything fancy, but for what I need it for, it’s perfect.
Also, I rarely do baking at this point in my life.
Recouping from our week long trip to Houston for our son’s cancer surgery at MD Anderson. Very expensive trip, however our son is doing great.
1. Tapped into fetch rewards for Target. I’ll stretch this $35 as far as it will go.
2. Giving up my single serve flavored packets for water. Making a 1/2 gal of freshly brewed ice tea instead
3. Have decided to reduce my daily glass of wine to weekends only. Less calories and less $$
4. Regifting a thank you gift to our hostesses in Houston
5. Cocktailing shampoos and conditioners to stretch them
How wonderful for your son! May his recovery continue!
Kathy, so glad to hear your son is doing so well!
I’m so happy to read that your son’s cancer surgery went well!
I’m glad to hear that your son is doing well!
Wine on the weekend is a good idea. A celebration, of sorts
Gave my husband a haircut. Trimmed the dog’s nails with the little battery-powered grinder. Used up the last of some old dishwasher cleaner packets. Using some free conditioner that DS brought home from the sharing table at his work. Bought two fall/winter shirts at Goodwill on half-price color for $6.28 total and paid with some of the change found lately in the washing machine.
Bonus: DH endured some phone surveys with our health insurance company and received a $40 Walmart gift card, so that’s some free gasoline for us.
I love that you used the word “endured.” It kind of goes with “Strength” and “Fortitude,” which are the name of NYC’s library lions.
Family legend has it that on my mother’s side of the family was a stone mason who helped to work on the lions.
Cool!
1. I repaired the shoes I found last week — just needed a little glue — and now they’re in the bag waiting to go to Goodwill.
2. I am struggling with my thrift-bought popcorn popper. It’s an air popper, and on my first try I got kernels and popcorn all over the place, partly because I wasn’t quick enough to put on the lid. On my second try, I was quicker with the lid, and I used a better bowl and draped a dishtowel over the spout, and that helped a lot. However, there are still a lot of unpopped kernels flying into the bowl. I read about the tipping back tip, but that didn’t seem to help. Ah me. It’s better than using my Stir Crazy with the cracked dome. I’ll keep working on it.
3. A friend gave me a pair of summer pants which were too short on her, but fine on me. They drape beautifully, so I’m very pleased.
4. My weekend trip messed with my budget so I’m planning on eating from my pantry for the coming week. I’m pretty well stocked up, so it shouldn’t be hard.
5. After a nice respite from the hot weather, it’s going to heat up again today. So far, though, I’m doing all right with open windows and fans
I don’t know if these ever come up in thrift stores but I use a microwave silicone popper – quarter cup of kernels for 2 mins and they all pop and no burning. I’m so happy with it. It’s our cheap snack and worth every penny I paid for it (about $9 new I think).
We have an old air popper and the trick is use a flour sack dishtowel laid across thehole in the top. Anchor the towel with the lid that supposedly doubles as a butter melter but never gets hot enough. Tuck the hanging part of the towel around the bowl and fire that baby up.
We always melt the butter in the microwave.
I’m happy that you to have a fun weekend trip. Pantry challenges are kind of fun though, maybe not “weekend away” fun, but an enjoyable challenge.
Somewhere along the line the top part of our air popper bit the dust. We use a doubled up piece of foil in its place. We always pop corn into a paper bag, which fits around the export spout just fine. Then we dump the butter & salt into the bag, shake, and eat. Needless to say, we only use “clean” paper bags. A plus is that the “dirty” bag can go in the yard compost bin. It generally gets filled with kitchen scraps before being tossed!
I have a Nordic Ware microwave popcorn popper that I scored at the Salvation Army for $3 a few years ago. It’s paid for itself many times over, considering the price of bagged popped popcorn. Also, I make it a little healthier by using good olive oil instead of butter, and adding some dried herbs and just a pinch of salt.
My husband’s one brother is a popcorn junkie with an air popper. We get it at an Amish market, but you may be able to find “ladyfinger popcorn kernels” in a bulk food store or online. The kernels are extremely small, and the popped kernels are smaller than the typical size popcorn kernels we are used to. They are just a tiny bit bigger than the kernels on baby corn. However, they pop very well in a hot air popper with fewer unpopped kernels and without popcorn flying everywhere.
1. Helped with our grandkids while our son is away. Cheap meals out were in n out and Costco pizza. I don’t like to cook in someone else’s kitchen and it’s been over 100° so heating up the house is no fun
2. Brought a lot of food with us to Airbnb so the rest of food was cheap. Got amazing peaches at Costco.
3. I unraveled a scarf that was longer and narrower than I liked. I’m enjoying re-knitting it. A totally free project!
4. Taking nice walks and playing cards in the evenings. Also totally free!
5. I have my list of things I’m looking for and I enjoy visiting new thrift stores as we travel.
I love that your free project is just to properly redo an older project!
Today, the roofers are here! I’m getting a ribbed metal roof for my house. (Couldn’t afford the architectural shingles that looked like regular shingles, but I feel these will be OK. Our church has them, so it’s not like I’m the only one in the neighborhood with ’em.) They didn’t cost all that more than asphalt shingles but they are supposed to last longer — a 40-year guarantee– and help insulate the house better.
1. Gathered up some nails that were thrown off the roof along with the old decking. They are still ok and not rusted. What I can’t use for misc. purposes around the house, I will donate to the building supply thrift stores here.
2. Bought some 99-cent packages of pop sickles and gave them to the workers during one of their 5-min. breaks. What’s frugal about that, you ask? I’ve found that doing such nice little extra things encourages workers to do more than expected in return.
3. Used my Ollie Outlet 10% coupon and got a non-Keurig individual coffee maker that uses either pods or a reusable pod filled with coffee from a can. I’ve had Keurigs, both new and used, break on me but I like to have one cup of “joe” in the morning. Set up the coffee maker on my counter and tried it out. Had my favorite Aldi pod flavor (Southern Pecan) and it was delicious!
4. Bought marked-down day-old bakery bread from (shame on me!) Walmart; a loaf of French bread was 42 cents and I saved 2 bucks on croissants and muffins. Also used my Medicare Advantage OTC card there. I get $50 worth of meds free every quarter.
5. Did not adjourn Congress early, stupidly thinking that everyone will forget about the pedophile scandal by September.
That was nice of you to hand out popsicles to the workers. My husband set up a coffee station with seating when we had our roof done so many years ago, The weather was so cold and the workers really appreciated having a spot to warm up and rest.
Huh. Here, asphalt shingles are the cheapest while metal rooves are expensive.
When I reroofed this house, I opted for cedar shakes, as is trad around here. The shakes last for scores of years.
For a couple of years in the 1980s, I think it was, there was a big fad with cedar shakes roofing and siding. But then our state outlawed them, saying it was a fire hazard. Everyone who had cedar shakes had to have them replaced. So cedar is not an option for me.
My metal roof is maybe 2 or 3 thousand dollars more than asphalt shingles, but assuming the asphalts only last 9 years (per the insurance company info, mine are 15+ y.o.), I come out ahead. That’s because the metal roof does not cost 2x as much as an asphalt one, and is said to last many decades (40-year warranty comes with it), so I feel it is cheaper in the long run. Metal roofs also take a pounding from hail a lot better than asphalts; my church has had a metal roof for decades and still looks as good as when first installed. Ditto, several smaller office buildings around our are. After 15 to 20 years, it is recommended that you get a roof inspection to make sure the nails (or screws or whatever they use as fasteners) aren’t coming loose, but it’d only be a couple of thousand dollars to have them redone. Not anywhere near the cost of a new roof.
Your kindness to the workers was totally in the vein of our non-consumer life, here, Fru-gal Lisa!
I remember hearing a plumber I knew telling the story of he and his crew doing a really challenging emergency repair for a lady; his guys were working in tight and unpleasant spaces and for HOURS, to fix something that had gone wrong (due to something she had done, IIRC). Anyway, she had the audacity to complain to him about the language of one of his guys when something went even MORE wrong, yet she never offered even a cup of coffee or a warm place for them – even though it was below freezing and they were way the back and beyond for over 10 hours on a weekend, no less!.
I couldn’t believe someone couldn’t see the workers as humans helping them out, and try to make it as pleasant for them as possible.
When I had my solar panels and heat pump installed I was in a rhubarb cooking phase, those guys got a new sweet treat every day. I got exemplary service. (Apparently both companies were short staffed and juggling jobs, but the owners of both said that they had no trouble getting the guys to show up at mine).
Kindness is my nature, when folk are helping me out. It apparently also pays! 😉
My sister keeps cold water on hand in the summer and gives it to her mail carrier when her mail arrives.
I have a friend who builds homes. He once told me that if you have a metal roof and it gets damaged (for example, hail damage), you have to replace the ENTIRE roof. If you have a shingled roof, you only need to replace the damaged section.
Melissa, my church’s building has had its metal roof for well over a decade, and it’s never been damaged. Not by hail, not by snow and ice, not by hot summers, not by high winds, not by anything. There are no dents or scratches on it that can be seen from the ground. And, believe me, I looked at it VERY carefully before ordering my roof. I also looked at other metal roofs around our area — some bank branches and insurance offices built years ago have them — and they are as good as the day they were installed. I also talked to some homeowners and they were pleased with their metal roofing. Of course, if a tornado ever hits us, all bets are off — but that goes for any kind of roof. My roof comes with a 40-year warranty, so its manufacturer does not anticipate damage.
Katy,
I’m with you on the day trips. We are on vacation this week & doing different daytrips every day. We’ve had so much fun with this.
1. Frugal/not frugal? Got a molar extracted today and plan to get an implant put in.I have another implant of my other molar on the other side working too. Some of the extraction was covered by dental insurance but the implants will be on me. Implants or dentures? Both my older sisters have dentures. I think the implants will be better.
2. Got my antibiotic and pain meds for free as I’ve met my out of pocket deductible.
3. Got to relive high school by breathing in laughing gas during surgery. Bohemian Rapsody was playing. Haven’t been under the influence and listening to that song in decades!
4. Enjoyed our ride into the country to get to the oral surgeon. I love this woman and would follow her anywhere.
5. Eating yogurt that I already have and protein shakes that are in stock in my basement.
I recently had one of those rare days when everything went especially well.
I had a fairly large bank deposit that would qualify me for a nice interest rate (because it was “new money’) so I opened a new account and don’t have to deal with CDs in future -so much more convenient.
I stopped to return a mail order item and purchased an item I didn’t know I needed until I got there (frugalfail) the frugal win was it had just been marked down substantially.
I was killing time and stopped for a quick look at a favorite furniture consignment shop and found exactly what we had been looking for at a substantial discount. I went to bank to get funds to pay in cash and was offered at a very reasonable delivery fee.
I volunteer at a plant nursery because I enjoy it. I recently learned volunteers are welcome to take home one plant free each time.
A friend gave me half of a CSA share because the person she usually shares with was n vacation. I in turn shared with a friend and added in some cucumbers from our bumper crop. I made refrigerator dills for the first time and they are terrific.
Awe, the one free plant every volunteer visit would be the death of me. I live on 2 1\2 very full acres of plants.
But what fun, trying to figure out where to put them!
It’s hot as you know where here in Arizona, so tomorrow we will have a day trip,too.. about 20 minute drive thorugh gorgeous desert to get to the Salt River which flows swift and is ICY COLD when you jump in, a great swimming hole! We go very early and get home early too before we broil int he sun..and yes, it feels like a VACATION.Staying close to home this summer.
Love the produce bags..ours are still 99 cents (for now)