Five Special Frugal Things
by Katy on September 20, 2024 · 17 comments
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My mother is in the hospital right now, as she had triple bypass surgery a few days ago. I spent a maybe four hours with her yesterday morning and brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from home, so I wouldn’t have to grab food while away from the house. There’s no point in being at the hospital and then spending that time in the cafeteria, plus I’d prefer to save money whenever possible. I always bring a reusable water bottle as well.
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I knew I was leaving the house too early on her surgical day, so I routed myself both to the library (I had books to both return and pick up) and then to a drive-through Goodwill site along the way. I had a couple boxes of stale eBay inventory to donate and didn’t want to procrastinate this errand. My priority was certainly not to run errands on the day my mother had surgery, but it felt good to check things from my to-do list.
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I got home late from the hospital last night, as I’d gone a second time to bring the kids by to say a quick “I love you” to their grandmother. I’d offered to take the kids to dinner afterwards, but they were both wiped out so I simply drove one of them through Burgerville for a burger and fries while the other drove himself home. I didn’t get anything for myself as I still have a pot of chicken soup in the fridge.
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• I sold a set of crib sheets for $25 on eBay that I listed maybe two years ago. Them being easy to package up was a gift.
• I renewed my Facebook Marketplace listings this morning.
• I walked to the mechanic to pick up the freshly repaired minivan.
• My friend Lise was going to Winco and asked if there was anything I needed, to which I replied “onion powder,” as they were out of the bulk variety last time I went.
• Although we spent $1200 on car repairs, my husband saved us around $500 by repairing the ignition himself.
• My mother loves sunflowers, so I’ll stop into Trader Joe’s to pick up the flowers for her hospital room. I’ll bring a cheap-o vase from home and my own garden shears to create a customized $6 flower arrangement.
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I didn’t repair a Lear Jet.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
My frugal win this week was snagging some super cute fox crib sheets off eBay for a new grandbaby!
I sell on eBay too and at some point must have saved your shop. I didnt make the connection until I was paying and saw your eBay name again! Small world!
They will be excellent for the grandma house crib and will remind baby of the many, many foxes living around me!
Thanks Katy!
Wishes for a speedy recovery for mom!
Praying for your mom!
Oh Katie! Best wishes to your mom! She is sure to ace the recovery and be better than ever! My husband had a double back in 1999 at age 52. They have come so far in the past 25 years!
2023 was a tough year for him mainly because of kidney disease and ending up on dialysis. Sadly he passed this past January, a month before his 77th birthday.
I say this not to evoke sympathy but to say your mom is gonna do great. I am sending all my best to your mom and your family!
I am glad they were able to identify your mom’s heart problem and correct it with surgery. The first few weeks are hard but things start getting better after that. I had a quad bypass the end of 2022. My daughter was my biggest support system, and I know she appreciates everything that you were doing for her.
Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery for your Mom. What trying times.
Prayer for a quick recovery for your mom. Praying for you and the rest of your family. My dad had dental surgery this week. My sister drove him and my mom. All of his grandkids called him this week. He said he should have surgery more often.
1. My weeks are still revolving around what needs to be used up in the garden. I made a batch of refrigerator fig jam, 8 small jars. My son already took one. My oldest said that there better be a jar for her when we visit her next month. She loves all things figs.
2. I made a chicken brushetta pizza again. Hubby loves them and it uses a lot of tomatoes up. My son was happy to come for dinner. I grilled up extra chicken cutlets(got on sale for $1.99) for easy lunches. I made the pizza dough and sauce too.
3. I had so many tomatoes still but not enough time to cook them so I threw them in the food processor and then put that in the chest freezer. I am really trying to avoid as much waste as possible. All waste did go into my compost bin.
4. I did a library class, it was laser engraving pencils. I am trying to learn about the newest additions in the library in the technology room. It has a quilting machine, and a laser that engraves. It already had 3d printers, sewing machines, a poster/map printer . I love that they are always adding new things. I have an embroidery class coming up soon. I figure I can get some items from the thrift store(cutting boards, glasses, towels) and get them done for my daughter’s bridal shower next year. The pencils are put away for Christmas presents. They came out really cute.
5. I started with my new client this morning. She is very sweet. I have an appointment for next week to meet with a potential client. It would only be 6 hours a week but I’ll happily take it.
Oh, Katy: I know you referred briefly to “family health problems” in an earlier post, but this must have come as a quadruple whammy on top of everything else. I send best wishes for a full and speedy recovery to Su Mama, and for better times ahead for you all.
Wishing your mom the best in her recovery. Having you close must be a blessing to her. I think the sunflowers will be much appreciated. If there ever was a cheerful flower, it’s the sunflower.
Katy, I add my good wishes for your mom to have a quick and uneventful recovery. And your husband is awesomely handy, what with fixing the ignition and all the times he repaired major appliances!
I was in the vicinity of Aldi yesterday and bought some canned goods to restock the pantry, along with milk and fruit. Today I took a few paper coupons to Food Lion and saved 13 cents each on a lot of canned cat food and got diced canned tomatoes for 62 cents a can. Priced a medication for clogged sinuses at Food Lion and nearly swooned. It was massively cheaper, like half the price, at Walgreen’s up the street and I had $4 in register rewards to apply toward the purchase.
Have not spent an unnecessary cent all month as we are waiting to pay the next installment on having our porch rebuilt. Knowing we have to write a check for $8K tends to focus our frugal skills like a laser.
Aww Katy thanks for letting us know! I was worried. Hope recovery is quick and thorough and seriously let me know how I might help! ❤️
Best wishes to your family and particularly your mother.
I’m going gently on my way as I gear up to do another week with the grandchildren.
1. Got 10 pages of color printing done at the library for free. One can get 10 pages free every day. I love it.
2. Picked up a kids bike yesterday, it had a free sign on it. I was riding my bike but thankfully was only 2 blocks from home. I just held the kids bike out to my side and rode home. It was in good order, but cosmetically a bit challenged. I sold it the same day for $10. I didn’t want to keep it because of space constraints, and I was happy that it went to a child that wanted it.
3. Found my favorite soap is being discontinued so I just bought 12 bars for $1.47 each. At Wholefoods! I may go back and get some more. They’re also selling on ebay….
4. Adding garden produce to every meal.
5. Rode my bike to Safeway. Bought 2 loss leaders, which rang up wrong. Per store policy if it rings up wrong then it’s free (if it’s multiples of the same item then only one of them is free). But it meant I got 2 packages of Aidells sausages for a total of $3.47. Yippee!
Katy, I mothered my mother for several years, she lived to be 97! One of the most useful things I did was contact her church and neighbourhood friends and let them know what was happening ( I borrowed her address book) She loved the care and concern, and , since they were very local, provided lots of company.Im wishing her a speedy recovery!
Sending healing thoughts and prayers
Hospital food is usually overpriced and not tasty
My valve replacement surgery has been postponed until 11/13. Hopefully I can get back on the schedule at work since I put in for a medical leave of absence
I’m praying for both your mom and you, Katy. Healing and strength for your mom, and calm and strength for yourself. Getting to see you and her grandkids surely had to be wonderfully encouraging to her.
I hope your mom recovers quickly!
I wish your mom rapid healing. Again, I am amazed that you manage to keep some focus on frugality, such as bringing P&J sandwich to the hospital. A meal that does not stink up a room. (I brought a tuna sandwich to eat when my husband was in the hospital and he asked me not to do that ever again, to him or anyone else!)
I only have one frugal thing to report. In my 30s I bought an aspirational lace and beaded floor length dress. Even when I lost enough weight to get in it, my shoulders were too large. It has been sitting in my closet for 4 decades, preserved in a special case. A friend stopped by with another friend, to pick up some buckets, and I had the dress out to check that it was okay. The friend’s friend positively swooned, asked to try it on, it fit and she offered me $200 on the spot via PayPal. (I believe I paid about $500 for it back then. I know, I know…) It was time to let the dream go. This is how much I loved this piece of clothing—I once asked my husband if he thought my shoulders could be broken enough on my corpse to be buried in this dress. He said it would be easier to slit the back so it fit better. When my friend’s friend walked out with it, I am embarrassed to say I teared up, mostly because I felt like I had let a dream go. So, made money, cleared something out of the closet, and didn’t have to package it up or pay for mailing. My husband was relieved, saying he was afraid I’d end up forcing myself into it and wear it every day, like some weird version of Miss Haversham.