Five Teeny Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on January 25, 2025 · 60 comments
-
My recently scavenged knit cap found its way back to its original owner, which is very satisfying! I’d found it run over in the street, matted with road filth. However, it was next door to a friend of mine, so I texted her a photo to show to her neighbors. It turns out that it belonged to their daughter and has since been reunited.
Just reminding you that something that’s dirty and abandoned isn’t necessarily garbage. We have a choice about whether we live in a throwaway society.
-
I wrote yesterday about how I was tempted to thrift this $7.99 vintage refrigerator leftover container, (with rare unbroken lid!) and how I have a few similar ones. I try for cohesiveness with my storage containers, which isn’t always the easiest as I only thrift or garbage pick. However, it is doable.
These two vintage glass containers live to the right of the sink and hold my miscellaneous electronic bits and bobs. Both were thrifted and I doubt I paid more than $1.99 for either one. I think they’re cute.
My other vintage refrigerator dish resides in my bathroom and holds a bar of soap and a roll of litter box bags.* I pulled this one from a free pile a couple years ago, which is my favorite way to source things! Our singular bathroom has literally zero-point-zero storage, so I keep a few necessary items on a thrifted tray to keep on hand.
-
I stopped by Trader Joe’s to pick up toilet paper, (theirs is made from 100% recycled paper) bananas and salad fixings. I’d also planned on grabbing a container of chocolate covered raisins, but couldn’t find any. Whatever, no big deal. I mentioned it to the cashier when he asked if I’d “found everything you were looking for.” He quickly looked it up and guessed that they were sold out. I was then loading my groceries into the car when he ran out with a container of free chocolate covered raisins for me. Woo hoo!
-
My Facebook Marketplace sales have been completely flat this month, but I continue to renew the listings when that option pops up. Some things simply take a long time to find the right buyer and that’s normal. You wouldn’t expect a normal retail establishment to sell all their inventory every week or even every month.
-
I didn’t buy an election.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.
* I reuse plastic bread/frozen veggie/whatever bags for scooping my litter boxes, but keep these nicer bags on hand for when my neighbor does me the favor of watching over kitty when we’re out of town.
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
{ 60 comments… read them below or add one }
Five Non-frugal things:
1. I accidentally drank my daughter’s expensive champagne she was saving for her birthday. I didn’t look and assumed it was the cheap prosecco she mixes with orange juice on the weekends.
2. I never got around to using the half turkey breast left over from last Sunday’s dinner, making it into planned turkey soup. I pitched it today. Womp womp.
3. I burned the Basque cheesecake I made for Daughter’s birthday. oops. The cheesecake is supposed to have a dark brown top and the time between “browned” and “call the fire department” is heartbreakingly small.
4. I forgot about an ebay sale I made–the package was in the car, ready to be dropped off, but completely forgotten–so I expedited the shipping at my cost when the buyer politely inquired where the hell their purchase was.
5. I bought an election and a Lear jet.
Yes, but you made me laugh out loud at something you wrote earlier in the week, and although I have a wicked sense of humor, I rarely make noises when laughing. Call it a win.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS! ha.
Hahaha!! We’ve all been there.
Rose,
I’ve never attempted to make a Basque cheesecake, though I’m definitely intrigued by them. Good to know the range between “deeply brown” and “burnt beyond edibility” is thismuch. Sigh.
Making another one as we speak. The last ten minutes or so will spent right in front of the oven with the light on.
This is certainly a lot cheaper than my mom’s cheesecake, and hopefully tastier than the Japanese cheesecake I made a few years ago, which was fine but not worth bothering about again.
POIFECT! as the mohel said in that SNL sketch from the 70s.
ANYONE who says they’ve never had weeks like that are telling big fat fibs!!!, we’ve all been there…this has been my week for burning stuff to the bottom of pans… Every day at least one pan, thinking of resigning but as it’s me that does all the cooking….??? Glad cheesecake worked in the end, well done, enjoy xxxx
1. I have favorite towels by Rachel Ashwell. 100% cotton and medium weight.
I bought a few sets on Ebay. The cosmos have aligned and I am about to reignite a 20 year old sewing habit. While watching a refreshers on seaming, I was inspired to make more towels that were look a likes. I bought fabric at Joann’s for 70% and am relearning mitered corners. This video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vi9HDtWOLE also comes with making a cute gift wrap to go with them.Excellent.
2. When I retired in June I made plans to open a Teacher’s Pay Teacher’s Shop. with a friend. I did the market research ( Sellerspy) and spent about $60 on “how to” stuff offered on line” Then the Windfall Provisions act was eliminated. I can now work any S.S. job for quarters and non-garnished wages. I would love to work for our little Catholic School – maybe as a part time music teacher for the littles. It is much better hourly wage than TPT and is of service to my community. I talked it over with my buddy and she will do the same.
3. I tossed some food today but I am ok with it. I have been following a strict food plan for the month and closing in on 5 pounds lost. Diet is heavy on veggies and I am trying new recipes. Because food is restricted, I only want to eat what I love. This means I will try anything a couple of times but if it is not worth the calories, it is going. I have only had 2 recipes go south. The money I am saving in eating smaller portions is significant.
4. I am reading the first draft of my son’s sci fi story -free and fulfilling entertainment.
5. I bought Nature Valley soft baked bars for .10 cents a piece and and crumbling them into my morning yogurt until they are gone. Much cheaper than my nuts.
We also benefited from the passing of the Social Security Fairness Act! I am not sure how much yet, but Husband was penalized about $800/month when he retired, just a few years short of the 30 required for private service. (He then went on and worked nearly 20 years for the local school system.) It won’t make up for the $80,000 or so we lost out on…but sure will be nice to have.
Katy, you should try Trader Joe’s almond windmill cookies — they are soooo good.
Cool about the chocolate covered raisins! What a lovely gesture for that checker to bring those out to you and everything. Top notch customer service at that TJ’S!!
1. I just got home from my first visit to the Franz outlet store, where I found some good stuff on the $1 bargain wall.
2. I found a new Land’s End cardigan at the bins. It was a color I’ve been hoping to find one day (and I’d considered paying retail!)
3. I walked downtown to meet a friend for lunch and found 22 cans! That’s $2.20! usually find just a few.
4. My “found change challenge” for 2025 had been lackluster with just 3 cents. Things have improved since I found a dollar bill on the sidewalk, so now I’m up to $1.03!
5. I saw an article online that said baggy cords are “in”. I remembered that I have a pair I found at the bins, that have been sitting around, unworn, because they are too long. They are American Eagle “baggy mom pants”. (I bought them because I’m a baggy mom!) I got out my thrifted sewing machine, my thrifted Fiskar scissors, my box of thrifted pins, and looked through my thrifted sewing box for the correct shade of thrifted thread, and then I got to work! The cat tried to “help”, but I persevered, and now I’m wearing my new (to me) mom pants. I highly recommend thrifting sewing supplies!
Li, I love your #5!
Li and everyone,
A great place to find sewing supplies is at an estate sale. Many older women used to sew all their kids’ clothes way back in the day, and the thread they have in their sewing boxes is very high quality. Unlike the really bad stuff you find in most sewing kits at retail stores these days. The thread alone makes the price worthwhile, and a lot of times those things don’t sell. So you can swoop in on the last day, when everything’s half off, and scoop it up cheap.
Yes! My Pfaff sewing machine was a $15 estate sale find, and the thread I used for my project was on a wooden spool! I bought a lifetime supply of vintage thread for a couple dollars at a sale and I have every color. I keep it organized in Wilson Wil-hold sewing boxes that I found in one of those famous Portland free piles.
My grandmother was a tailor and I inherited the treadle Singer she bought for $13 when she came to the U.S. One day years after it was sitting in my house (we drove it across the country from Connecticut to Alaska!) I opened the little drawers and found the receipt for the purchase, a miniscule oil can, and dozens of wooden spools of thread. Six little drawers all crammed with her history. We are still using that thread.
I am trying to shunt money into 3 Ally “buckets” this year (beach rental, property taxes, DH’s scholarship fund). I have really clamped down on spending & it feels great!
1. Have not missed the Amazon app one dang bit!
2. Needed a new diffuser- I love the light clean scent of essential oils. Went to Target & they had a lovely $25 one marked down to $12.50. Was also able to use $5/$40 with combined purchases
3. Also at Target, Ghirardelli chocolate hearts were 20% off, with an Ibotta $3 back. Bought one for my son & one for an elderly cousin
4. Daughter & partner came for dinner last night. I made a lasagna with marked down pork (2.49/lb) & used small curd cottage cheese instead of ricotta because it was $4 less expensive. Also shredded 2 Aldi’s zucchini that were heading south into the sauce. I made a yummy artisanal loaf with melted butter & a leftover seasoning pack from a box of Red Lobster cheddar biscuit. Finished with brownies frozen from the holidays. Very satisfying gastronomically & economically!
5. Bought a marked down bag of 5 lb red potatoes at the grocery yesterday. They were $1.49! Yes, please. When I got home, I saw that I was charged $4.99. I took them & my receipt back & had the difference credited to my card. Also very satisfying.
From one “retired” RN to another, Katy. I love your blog. It is a breath of fresh air in these suffocating times. Thank you
Your artisan loaf sounds delicious! I also use cottage cheese instead of ricotta in my lasagna. So much cheaper.
Same here with not missing Amazon. I cut the cord some months back and we’re more than fine without it.
1. DH brought home a hand full of rubber bands from a work event. They were holding together something used for the event and were going to be thrown away.
2. I found a quarter in the parking lot after a yoga class.
3. DH went to Costco to order a pair of prescription sunglasses. They were much, much cheaper there than at the optical practice where we get our vision checked.
4. I discovered that I can once again buy Shout Set-In-stain Scrubber. I was unable to find it for a while and thought it had been discontinued. You can apply it directly to a stain and then wait to launder. It will save my clothes.
5. I am hanging tight with like minded friends and family members.
Love your Trader Joe’s story. It’s a chain with customer service like that of a local store. They also have a generous return policy. One time I told the manager about some crackers that I had purchased that were almost all broken. I didn’t have my receipt and I had already crushed the crackers to use as breadcrumbs, but she gave me a full refund without hesitation.
We went to visit a friend who was going to be traveling soon and were offered many items leftover from a party and some perishables. I was thrilled – no food waste and no cooking for a couple days. Included was a dozen eggs so I no longer have to wait any longer for the price of eggs to magically decline post-inauguration.
I purchased (used) “ Make the Bread, Buy the Butter” book that a commenter had recommended- it’s terrific.
Found a beautiful small used side table and a water color (half off) at a fancy schmancy consignment store when we were visiting a friend in another city.
Have been collecting items to do ate to a future charity rummage sale.
Trying to get creative in using up random items that seem to have multiplied in fridge.
I misread and thought that you were saying Trader Joe’s tp was made of recycled paper, bananas, and salad fixin’s. Like, what kind of bougie tp is this?! HA!
1. Made the King Arthur focaccia recipe, and it was so good, I made it again a few days later.
2. Had a Marketplace buyer no show on some $5 books yesterday, but another person picked them up today, and it was satisfying to mark them as sold. I have someone else coming tomorrow morning for another $5 book set.
3. Stopped at the thrift store for their monthly clothing sale day, and bought an Alice + Olivia sequined top for $3 and two shirts for $1 each, all to resell. Treated myself to a $1 cardigan.
4. Redeemed a $10 gift card through Fetch.
5. My job offered a link through a credit union with a promo of $250 to open a savings account with $1k through November. I completed it immediately.
I love all your “#5’s” but this is one of my favorites.
1) I had a jar of *almost* expired baby food- organic sweet potatoes.I used it as a meal topper for my sweet dog and washed and repurposed the jar for housing a spice mix.
2) Picked up our free smoothies with our app reward at a local smoothie place. ($15+ saved)
3) Closed my account with Target as I don’t intend to shop there any more. Apparently they don’t “delete” accounts and could only “disable” it. It took me almost 20 mins on chat with them to sort it out. This should save me lots as Target was one place I would succumb to impulse purchases from time to time.
4) Used an old coffee bean bag to catch grease and completely filled it before tossing.
5) Glass is not recyclable here in FL so I’m reusing all glass jars as creatively as possible. I deep cleaned a few in the garage and used them to catch and sort items. I used a couple of others in the bathroom and to hold the electric toothbrushes. No storage solutions purchased.
I still can’t figure out how to use my Target credit card to get deals so it’s just sort of hanging out.
Christina,
The other day I went into Target looking for a cell phone accessory (yes, I finally got one) and was treated quite rudely. I asked for the manager on duty and she made excuses for the worker, saying the gal was from AT&T. Well, she was in their store so it’s THEIR responsibility to make sure customers are treated nicely. Then, the manager didn’t bother to walk me back to the electronic section and help me find what I need, she just showed me on HER cell phone that yes, they had X item. I walked back there again, and no, they did not….must’ve been sold out already. So I left the store, went to Best Buy and bought what I needed….$50 worth. I rarely go to Target anyway even though it’s near my house; the other groceries are cheaper and they have better gift items at Drug Emporium; but now I’m going to quit altogether. Why am I posting this? I hope Target Inc. monitors blogs and sees this!
Katy, one question please. Why do you keep litter box liners in the bathroom? Is that where the kitty’s litterbox resides?
1. I got a issue resolved w/ a Fetch gift card at an auto parts store. The manager helped me to redeem it. I bought 2 new windshield wipers & a jug of windshield washer fluid.
2. I got a Groupon issue resolved. The Groupon had expired. The merchant refused to allow me to purchase something w/ the amount. A Groupon rep intervened & now the merchant will accept it.
3. I have found a good amount of change on my daily walks (around 9$). My change challenge for 2025 is off to a good start.
4. My school has no work for me this spring. I am on a low spend journey.
5. I got a 75$ gift card for talking w/ a education company that sells to my school. I got a gas GC although I have to load the app onto my phone to use it.
1. I attended a free class and the care and pruning of fruit trees. I learned quite a bit and came home with a plate of free cookies!
2. Bought a gallon of milk for 99 cents through the flash food app. The only store that uses the app is Lucky, which is convenient for us since it a 7 minute walk from our house.
3 Tried the “Too Good To Go” app and got a whole berry pie and a large loaf of cinnamon bread for $6.99 total. That’s a 5 minute walk from our house.
4. Used Safeway coupons and sales to buy 2 frozen pot pies, 3 bananas and a 9oz package of sliced ham for a total of $3.68.
5. Selling steadily. Just little things, but it all helps.
1. Made banana bread to use up some bananas. I used Amy Dacyzyn’s universal muffin recipe. I used some of my homemade yogurt in it. I substituted applesauce for the oil. And the eggs I used were free (see below).
2. Accepted a dozen fresh eggs from our neighbor, who had gotten them from a co-worker. With the price of eggs and how many we eat this was a nice blessing!
3. Found 4 pennies today when out walking and running.
4. Gave the cat the drained tuna water…it makes him happy when we have tuna sandwiches. 🙂
5. Trying a new internet provider, if it works good, we’ll switch to this cheaper one.
We give our dog the tuna water. She loves it.
Husband had read that one of the reasons Subway tuna sandwiches are so good is that they drain the tuna very thoroughly. (He now uses cheesecloth to squeeze it out). Glad if that can help out the pets!
My two cats love tuna water too. In the past, I poured it over their dry food but lately I just give it to them in a little bowl and they down it like it’s caviar.
1 – dug out the last of a tube of Burt’s Bees lip balm now that the new tube had the space to hold it
2 – donated some items to a local organization who needed them. Win for me, out of my house
3 – washed up the last of the stray cat feeding supplies and stored them. Likely won’t be long before another shows up
4 – well timed stock ups meant a walk to my storage area instead of a trip to town – we do our best to limit single trips to town
5 – ordered OTC using funds from better half’s MA plan. Ugh – 2FA and the surprise sales tax. The amount of hoops the insurance companies who offer MAs are throwing at their insureds is just nuts. If this year’s hoops don’t work and the $2K OOP for Rx remains, it will be worse next year. Greed abounds.
Selena, what is 2FA?
two-factor authorization. When you login to a website and you STILL have to get a code texted to you. GOD I AM SO SICK OF IT.
Unless it means something else in Medicareland.
Ahh, thank you, Rose! I have to use it to access the intranet we use at work if I’m not physically in the building. So, basically, to look at work email (sometimes I work remotely for part of a day ), or access any paycheck information, etc etc. Yes, SO. VERY. TIRED. Of needing codes sent, signing my life away to prove I am who I am, etc.
You know why we all need 2FA – because some idjit decided the IT world needs to be “agile” and deploy code to the live system every stinking 2 weeks. Never mind that is typically NOT enough time to test anything but an increase in space allocation or changing some widget/color.
And the Medicare Advantage plan family members use has the OTC benefit. Which this year a) allow you to add a credit/debit card if you go over your allotted amount (decreased due to the $2K cap on Rx), b) now has sales tax – didn’t before, and c) says and I will quote “text a code to your email address”. Now how many people, particularly seniors, know you can text to an email address or vice versa? Not many I’d venture.
You are not alone Rose, I am also F-ing sick of 2FA. This is why I am so anti-phone app to save a few pennies. Hades, most of us have already been breached and when you want to really get worked up, check out geofencing. Suffice it to say location services is always off unless I need to use GPS (rarely).
I am not a personal fan of two factor authorization, HOWEVER, it is one little way to ensure that the sneaks and thieves have to work harder to access our personal data (and, ultimately, our Credit cards or bank accounts). So although I find I do a lot of 2FA on ‘paperwork’ days, I am practicing gratitude that the companies forcing me to do so are forcing me to protect myself.
We are impatient beings, and shortcuts appeal. I am choosing to look more closely at why I am avoiding taking better care of my data and online self…
They are not protecting you, they are mitigating risk to themselves. Soon I’ll be using a VPN full time.
1. Hubby went grocery shopping today and only spent $65. It was mostly a fill in the spaces trip. We did go out for a ride and dh did want to go out to eat but we ended up eating something out of the freezere.
2. Got 3 Mennen Speed Stick deodorants for $1.88 each at the grocery store. They will go into the “free” basket in the library. A gentle reminder for our homeless patrons?
3. Had hubby print another picture for me from Walgreens so I could get a $5 back in Walgreens Cash when I spent $15. Spent over $15 today and used a $5 coupon and two $3 registrar rewards.
4. Got my heart arteries checked out this week and I’m ok so I can go on to knee surgery. Getting out of pain is a good thing and should be almost free seeing as I must have used up my out of pock deductible with the heart artery thing.
5. Staying away from the news to save my sanity. That’s frugal, right?
Sanity saving is always frugal. Sanity often results in less or no therapy which = saved $$$! Lol.
Auntiali,
I had a total knee replacement a little over a year ago, and you are 100% correct – being out of daily, ongoing pain has been a blessing. I don’t know if that’s the type of knee surgery you need, but while the recovery was long, it was well worth it.
Yes, best wishes to you for successful surgery! My husband and I have each had two replacements and it is a wonderful thing.
Can you kneel and/or squat? Better half is avoiding knee replacement due to that. Sad to say some orthos push replacement as it is a good living.
1. I was out of town last week and overestimated how much fresh food my kids and husband would eat while I was gone, so I’ve been getting creative to use it up all up before it goes bad. Apple pie was the tastiest save.
2. Cooked up a pound of bacon that I had gotten free with grocery rewards, and we’ve been eating BLT’s to use up the romaine and tomatoes, along with a loaf of bread that had gotten pushed to the back and is no longer as soft as we like it, but is just fine toasted.
3. Picked up $1.02 in parking lots yesterday while running errands.
4. Youngest keeps growing, so all her pants and shorts were too short, so we hit the resale shop today and got a big bag of stuff for $50. I don’t know how long until these pants are too short as well, but fingers crossed the shorts will fit her thru summer.
5. A fellow frugal friend wanted to get together for a visit, so I fixed us breakfast at my house and brewed a pot of coffee.
Michelle,
Could your beautiful growing daughter maybe use the pants as capris if she grows taller?
Katy, the cut glass pickle dish I bought years ago for 25 cents at the Salvation Army store holds dish scrubbies and the sink plug on the windowsill over the kitchen sink.
I turned some old cotton t-shirts into yarn and crocheted a hot pad for the kitchen table. Used a bunch of disposableSwiffer dusters to clean my house and handwashed/line dried them. They are good for a number of washes before the fibers get dreadlocks. Sewed up another chewed-on dog toy. Also sewed up a rip — caused by the pup — in the canvas privacy panel on our fence. Ate an interesting melange of leftovers from the freezer for dinner.
So nice of Trader Joe’s to give you the raisins. I love creative organization ideas.
1. I found a penny on the ground at the gas station.
2. I re-purposed a small ceramic vase to hold cotton swabs.
3. I cleared the snow out of my driveway. This isn’t very tiny. I noticed I was wearing snow pants that are hand me ups from my daughter’s middle school ski club days, a free coat from my husbands work, a hat from an estate sale, wool mittens from the Goodwill bins and a scarf my daughter gave me, also from the bins.
4. I stopped in to my mom’s for a visit. She fed me some leftover chili and I made some grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner instead of getting a pizza which was the original plan.
5. I went out for dinner and ordered the medium margarita instead of the large.
I never thought to deem items from my kids as hand me ups – I too have a pair of kiddos middle school snow pants that I wear (LL Bean which they sadly no longer sell).
It is great that the hat made it back to its owner. When I worked at the movie theater, the lost and found would be thrown out after a month. I offered to take it over and donate most of it to my church. My boss was happy for me to do it. When I left my job I asked someone else to take it over. That person has left too so someone else offered to do it. I am glad that it isn’t being thrown away any more. I also got some great stuff out of it.
Hubby and I went to Restore but didn’t get anything. We keep a list of things we want but we are patient and can wait.
1.Hubby and I were running errands yesterday. We got lunch with a gift card I had. We paid the tip in cash. We brought home our leftovers and ate them for dinner.
2. Hubby and I went to Capital One. They are having a promo for $300 free if you do 2 direct deposits in 60 days and leave money in the account for 3 months. Yes we will take $300 free. My daughter told me about it. They are also offering a much higher interest rate on savings then Chase was so a double win.
3. I am making a pot of chili. I pulled the last of my cooked beans out from my freezer so I started a new pot of black beans in my instapot. Next will be pinto beans. I am still using the peppers from last year’s garden.
4. I have a loaf of bread in my bread machine.
5. I have a pot of onions cooking. 2 sprouted so I wanted to use them up. They will be made into onion soup. All of the end and peels went into another pot to make a vegetable stock. It will also go in the freezer.
Watch your Cap One account – they just got busted for what amounts to a bait and switch re: interest rate paid.
1. The store’s breakroom has a soda pop machine that’ll sell us a can of soda pop for 35 cents. The front of the store sells ’em for 55 cents and the teacher’s lounge machines cost a dollar. So during my store shift, I bought my drinks for the upcoming week of substitute teaching. (The weekend manager looks the other way.)
2. Turned my long-sleeved Christmas T-shirt inside out and now have a “new” T-shirt to wear.
3. Had to call in the housekeeper to help me move some furniture (see #4). Bartered with her and paid her, in part, with a small appliance, still in the box, that I never used. One of those white elephant Christmas presents. She’s happy to get it and I am thrilled to get rid of it.
4. Took advantage of the free measuring service provided by a big box store. Turns out the painters’ measurements were incorrect, and I may have to have a seam in the carpet after all. Which means either the sales clerk or the measuring guy didn’t know what he was talking about — I’m not a happy camper about this.
5. Re-using bins from my dead refrigerator, which got hauled off, as storage boxes in the kitchen. (The dump charges you by weight, so I took out everything I could to cut down on the weight. But then I found someone wanting dead appliances on Craigslist and they took it for free, so they can sell the metal.) Also salvaged the light bulbs from the old fridge. Will donate the removable shelves to Re-store.
Fru-gal Lisa, kudos on repurposing everything from the dead fridge!
Such great frugal ideas , thank you ,keep me posted please
Was overspending at the grocery store..and holidays.. so this month was an uber frugal,try hard to keep it to 350-400 for the month.
It was my turn to host our Canasta group of 4 of us so I scoured the refrig and pantry and made a lunch with foods on hand: I had milk,cheese, a pie crust and cheese frozen from a sale purchase..so that was our entree.Threw in a couple of bacon slices from freezer that I had baked till crisp. Grapes on the side- I always have grapes on hand.
Served with some homemade banana bread to use the ripe fruit and I already had walnuts left from holiday baking.
A fine lunch!
Made a pot of soup today using frozen broccoli from freezer stash, and used up the small handful of golden potatoes in pantry.Score.
Have 4 tomatoes on counter and a small piece of feta cheese in refrig so that will be dinner:Greek salad to go with a frozen lasagna.
Entertainment: Enjoyed a show at Chandler center for the arts..I support local arts by purchasing all our tickets at once on a package deal every summer for shows all year.
More free entertainment: The planetary show in the night sky this month.. so beautiful!
Music on spotify while I cook,clean and relax.
Friends over for happy hour, 3 of us share a $4.99 bottle of Trader Joe wine. No whiskey bars for us.
Feeling good about January!!
New to this site, but I already love it!
My tiny frugal things:
1. I rescued some curried rice that I had managed to scorch. After it spent some time in the freezer, I pan fried it with some chicken strips and some gochujang dipping sauce I got free at Jewel. Also threw in some leftover peas. The spicy sauce completely mitigated the burned taste, and it was a tasty meal!
2. Needed a sample of my living room paint color so I could get a small batch made. Finally figured out I could peel a small strip from a utility cabinet hidden behind a bookcase.
3. Went to my grandson’s all-day volleyball tournament. When it was time for dinner on the way home I magnanimously offered to treat at the McDonald’s drive-thru. My son, however, wanted to use the app and said he would have to use his own credit card. I graciously accepted being treated myself.
4. At Mickey D’s I got my usual Happy Meal, because I can get a little fiber with the apple slices. I donated the toy to my son. (He’s 45.)
5. I did not commandeer a military plane to send shackled immigrants to Colombia. So ashamed of my country.
1. I am trying reselling on fb marketplace. I sold 2 things and now nothing. I hope it picks up. Next step is ebay.
2. I was in NYC and went to free Friday 5-7 at the Whitney Museum. It is lovely there.
3. I picked up a prescription that had no copay. Yay for that. The pharmacy tech said “isn’t it nice when insurance does what it is supposed to do?” Indeed it is!
4. A friend took me to a performance the other evening. We found street parking. I love not paying for parking.
5. The usual-coffee and water from home, cold water laundry, heat at 64 degrees ect.
Impressed with your no copay Rx. Tis rare these days.