Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on July 27, 2023 · 62 comments
I try to have my “frugal things” be somewhat significant, (which is hopefully informative) but there’s always the smaller things that fall under the radar, so I thought I’d share a blog post where no thing is too small.
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I drove past a tasty looking free pile a few blocks from the house, but was on my way home from Winco Foods so I didn’t pull the car over. I returned that evening and helped myself to eight black plastic hangers to stock my daughter’s childhood bedroom that I’m slooooowly reassembling. This is one more than the set they sell at Dollar Tree, but I consider it a win if I can bypass standard consumerism and avoid triggering the manufacture of a brand new item.
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We’ve been running the fan on our portable air conditioner instead of the air conditioning at night as the outside temps have been in the mid-sixties. Our bedroom faces west and really heats up on summer afternoons, so we normally crank the AC for an hour before we go to bed and then while sleeping. This should save us some money on our next electric bill.
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I donated a bag of kitchen doo dads to Goodwill and wasn’t even slightly tempted to go inside to shop.
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I’ve been slowly working my way through a box of Matzoh crackers that I picked up for a dollar at my dented vegetable store. I rarely buy crackers, so it’s a nifty afternoon snack when paired with sliced cheese. I even made sure to put the crackers into a ziploc bag within the box so they won’t go stale. Nothing frugal about food waste.
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I didn’t buy a tiny Lear Jet.
Now your turn, what tiny frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 62 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this! Tiny frugal things over decades make such a difference in personal finances and personal environmental impact. My life at least is mostly made up of lots of daily tiny decisions.
1. Wanted a high chair for future grandbaby visits and got one through Buy Nothing. Needs a good cleaning and is well used but safe.
2. Developing a new habit of walking to our little neighborhood market where I can buy produce in the quantity we actually want and organic if I want.. 2 radishes for example.
3. Continue to mend the tiny holes that develop in my knit tops and alter pants as my weight changes. I know it is there but nobody else can tell unless they are way too close.
4. Adding water to get the last of dish soap, shampoo, etc. out of the bottle. Buying laundry soap sheets instead of liquid.
5. Freezing ingredients as they get close to expiration dates or spoiling. Right now I have 3 bags of purchased bread crumbs in the freezer each the right amount for my turkey meatloaf recipe. Used the frozen chopped onions to make chili last night.
Juhli – would love to know what you think of the laundry sheet? I just orders some and am worried it may be a waste of money. Not less expensive than other detergent, but natural and less lava king/no plastic is a win so I’m giving it a try.
Temps here are in triple digits so I’m doing some small frugal things like: keeping all of the blinds and drapes pulled in the day to keep out the blazing sun. I usually like them open so it’s not cavelike.
Moved indoor plants outside under shade for a few hours in the early morning and evening so they get some natural light (and they love it).
sleeping on the first floor instead of the second because it’s cooler.
Running ceiling fans and portable ones when it gets too hot. Some ice cubes in a bowl set in front of a box fan is refreshing! Spritz myself with water in front of a box fan also refreshing.
Before refilling pet bowls, the previous water is used on plants inside and out.
Lights out when leaving a room. I’m not always good about doing this normally.
Fuel car in evening. Mow with electric mower in the evening. Laundry in evening and hang to dry in basement laundry line system. (Installed by previous owner in 1930 and still going strong!) Then a few minutes in the dryer on air to fluff.
Catch rainwater for watering plants. Growing veg in container garden. Still waiting on the harvest – not sure the investment was worth it. The first year is for learning I think.
When I have a need or want I make myself look for something in my home that will fit the need want…sometimes better. Whether it’s food, clothing, home decor, cleaning product, organizing or functional items. I really wanted a collapsible material laundry basket I saw – but no way at $30! It was a lovely grey material but I Realized I wanted it mostly for the ease of carrying from top floor to basement, my plastic basket is bulky and I’m always hitting the walls of the stairwell. Eureka moment when I realized my ever-handy IKEA blue bag would do the job and fold away for storage. I love it and zero money spent as it was a giveaway item.
Using the IKEA bag as a laundry basket is brilliant!
I’m using Tru Earth fragrance free laundry strips. We don’t have very dirty clothes so half a strip and cold water works great. No more large plastic jugs. Very satisfied customer.
The house I grew up in had a laundry system in the basement too. It was built in the 1940s. We were there from the late 1950s through 1984. I grew up in New England so Spring, Summer and Fall our laundry was hung outside on the umbrella clothesline and in the Winter, it was hung on ropes strung across the cellar. We never had a dryer and never knew any different.
Boy! It has been forever since I have posted on one of these. (But I’ve been lurking) here are my five frugal things:
1. My son moved out (and with his boyfriend), so I have completely redone his bedroom. his hardwood floors were down to bare wood in a few areas so I purchased some poly acrylic, fine sanded the area and re-poly’d just the areas that were bare. You would think I had the whole thing redone, it looks amazing!
2. I have a new grand nephew, so I used some of the yarn left over from my mom and made a little sweater and booties for him. I also have some fabric to put aside that belong to my grandmother and she died in 72. I will make a quilt and back the quote with that and give it to my great nephew.
3. I have been volunteering my time and will again next weekend for the pan mass challenge to help raise money for cancer research and treatment.
4. Since I’m mostly working at home now, I have gone through my closet and donated a lot of clothing.
5. Although I did buy a new car (with cash), I purchased a hybrid and even though I’ve gone 2400 miles so far, I’ve only gotten gas three times. (I would have loved to have purchased an electric car, but family members are too distant and would really require recharging midway through the drive. It would not be convenient.)
Hi, Nancy, and welcome back!
A. Marie!! I hope you’re doing well!
It’s good to have you back, Nancy!
Patricia
1. Friend was moving and was going to throw out 6 in wrapper Kirkland brand of dove soap bars. Snapped those up
2. Took a survey which paid $5 in an electronic via card
3. Packed travel sized shampoo, conditioner and body wash. However condo we rented provided those so didn’t use mine.
4. Did majority of laundry we packed on vacation using the condos Free washer/dryer. Very little to do when we get home
5. Sold two items online while on vacation
Re #1 …when people move and sell houses they throw out so much very usable stuff. I always feel a little bad about being so willing to take the random bars of soap or half used bottle of laundry detergent, but it’s good and about to go to a landfill or incinerator, I’ll take it!!!
I’ve helped a resistor friend clean out a few houses and I love bring able to take home cleaning supplies, laundry detergent and others staples. I don’t think I’ll have to buy aluminum foil for years!!!!
My mother sold both her rental cottages and although I don’t miss cleaning them, I do miss the food and miscellaneous stuff that people would leave behind.
Good Morning!
1. Big news for this week is I am 11 days into my non- Ultra Processed Food Challenge. So I went through my pantry, boxed up non compliant foods and dropped them off at the local food pantry.
2. I went to Grocery Outlet which has amazing deals on whole foods. Still I doubled my normal price tag on things like sandwich meat, condiments and chicken broth. A good investment, though, because the final tab wasn’t even close to what I spent on eating in restaurants this summer while traveling. All in all frugal and healthy which is the best combination.
3. I took 10 minutes from my waning summer vacation time and cleaned the Instapot and Airfryer thoroughly. These two amazing machines cook my Dr. Greger’s “Groat Bowl” breakfast and home baked bread for pennies. ( I made the dough in the bread machine, split it in half. I froze half and baked half. ) Who knew bread products are some of the biggest UPF offenders? Neither appliance heats up the house.
4. I watched a YOUTube Video on how to split a large box of tissue to refill a smaller container My decorative container can now be refilled with the less than decorative large containers i hide in the closest. Aesthetics are important to me and I indulge when possible.
5. I hacked a kayak stand. I cut a swim noodle in two. I duct taped it to an old pillow. The kayak is now off the floor. At Goodwill I found a Yakima bike rack which I am going to convert in order to tip the kayak to save some space.
@Mary Ann, that non- Ultra Processed Food challenge is sure something, eh? I am not going so far as to pack up non-compliant foods, but I HAVE noticed that my shopping is really changed. so many things that I thought were good for us have too many ingredients that seem to be on the non- Ultra Processed Food no-no list. So I, too, am making more stuff from scratch. Wondering about your sandwich meat situation – are you going to start cooking and slicing meats to address it? For me, it is the junque food – this might be the kicker to really help me drop the weight that is stubborn about hanging around because I am a fan of high-carb junque foods. They are DEFINITELY on the non- Ultra Processed Food no-no list so aren’t making it into my grocery cart.
I am interested in how you are making bread in your instant pot, or are you using your air fryer?
Kzty, your tip about cleaning out the charging port with canned air has revived a phone and a tablet at my house. That’s about $600 saved — thank you!
For frugal things,
1. I had an eye doctor’s appointment near the big Goodwill on senior citizens’ discount day. Did a swift run through and spent $11.60, plus 40 cents donation, for new with tags dress pants and top, both petites (rarer than hen’s teeth), and three CDs by favorite bands. As I lose weight, my tiny thrifted wardrobe is steadily turning over and I had no nicer clothing at all.
2. Also, regarding losing weight, I finally bought new underwear off the Jockey online site, choosing a sale color and using a 20% off coupon. I had altered my old skivvies as much as possible, but a 2X cannot be turned into a medium with good results. It was time!
3. Put together a side table, lamp, and quilt we weren’t using to create a guest nook in our home office.
4. Eating homegrown tomato sandwiches for lunch. My little container garden passed break-even point on costs this week.
5. Although my husband has a thing about stuff matching, he’s using mismatched hangers right now because frugal.
@Ruby “a 2X cannot be turned into a medium with good results”. WHOOOT. so super.
One of my mantras is “Never despise the day of small things.” I don’t think any true non-consumer would. Anyway, here are my five:
(1) I hung a load of laundry on my indoor racks (all but one of which were reclaimed from DH’s rental properties many years ago) yesterday, and I’m about to hang another one today. This is so much standard operating procedure for me that I rarely mention it, but I will today.
(2) All of the towels and most of the washcloths in today’s load were either reclaimed from rental properties or bought at thrift stores.
(3) At the moving sale I attended last Saturday at DH’s and my first house, I didn’t forget to inspect the “free” box. I took a sample Tide Pod, a sample bar of soap, and a bumper sticker: “This Car Stops at All Garage Sales.” Heh. (Now if it said “This Car Stops at All Garage Sales and All Interesting Trash Piles,” that would be full disclosure–even though it might not fit on my bumper.)
(4) Garden bouquet season is in full swing here. I cut a bouquet of zinnias and yellow yarrow this morning to take to the Bestest Neighbors’ this afternoon, where we will enjoy a berry pie made by Ms. BN.
(5) And I’m about halfway through my first library checkout book, Marie Kondo’s Kurashi at Home. So far, I’m not finding much evidence that having kids has loosened up MK; the photos, in particular, convey a standard of serene Japanese perfection that I’m not sure many of us messier Westerners can relate to. However, I will try to reserve judgment till I’ve finished the text.
“Never despise the day of small things.” <-- I love this!
No. 5 is pretty funny.
Re your #5 – “How to keep house while drowning” by KC Davis. THAT is a true and helpful book… I found it both insightful and affirming – I wasn’t alone those dreadful years of children and chaos.
Small things…
1.I have made myself eat the bougie yogurt I bought on sale a few weeks ago so that it doesn’t go to waste. I find it easy to shop as if someone else is eating. This week and last I have become the person I was when shopping lol
2.I bought a mini muffin pan using a $5 off coupon at Michael’s. The pan ended up being $3 and change brand new. I have been wanting one for a while but didn’t want to pay full price.
3.My son and I made mini muffin quiche/frittata using wonton wrappers as a cup lining. I bought the wanton wrappers a while ago but never used them. Well, this week was the week.
4.I continue to do a few hours of DoorDash every day. The numbers are adding up again this week. Little things do add up.
5.I met someone this week who talked to me about positive mind sets and bumped into him again. I really needed to hear that. His words were kind and smart, and free. Thankful for good people.
1. I had a credit at Thred Up that was about to expire and a 40% off coupon. I spent the last few nights scouring their web site for clothing items that I need and came up with, what I think is, a good order. – two pairs of jeans, a petite summer dress, a fall jacket and a petite skirt.
2. Always watching out for food waste- my husband is much better at this than me – so I rescued some less than stellar zucchini, mushrooms, one pepper and stawberries to serve for dinner last night.
3. My son’s sister in law is a dental hygiene student and she is required to work on 40 patients before graduation in September. I don’t have dental insurance so the $40 for xrays, cleaning and exam is a bargain – and she gets a patient out of it. So when she had a cancellation yesterday I hightailed it over to her school for an appointment.
4. I paid for one month of streaming of Peacock so I could watch Le Tour de France. I have marked when to cancel on my calendar so I don’t get another month and my husband and I are watching various shows – Yellowstone for him and Poker Face for me.
5. As always I am making the use of my treasured library – books (Two Nights in Lisbon), DVD’s (Foyle’s War) and storytime for my grandson along with an outdoor play area (if it ever gets below the 90’s!)
1. Accepted neighbor’s gift of 10 empty dog food bags that held 50 pounds of dog food so they are huge. I have not had to buy any plastic garbage sacks in literally a year. When they are full, I tape them shut and put them out for collection.
2. Many months ago mistakenly bought breaded shrimp instead of raw shrimp. I hate them because they are mostly bread encasing the planet’s tiniest shrimp. However, yesterday and today the husband and I ate them, along with cole slaw that had a dressing made from ingredients I already had. Finished!
3. Cut husband’s hair yet again. Not only curly but grows like the wind. Life is unfair…in the 40 years we have been married, this act alone has probably saved us over $10,000.
4. Had a small container of chili in the freezer, enough only for one. Added mushrooms and zucchini shreds from the freezer to make a full meal for two.
5. Recycle platform at the dump had an unopened container of dish washer detergent. I snapped it up.
And from the, “Crap, I thought prices were bad here” category: the husband was in Sitka a few days ago, which is another one of our towns that is on an island and can be reached only by ferry or air. He sent pictures of grocery store price tags: 1 lb asparagus $10.19; 1 lb. Habanero peppers $16.69; 1 lb mushrooms $13. The days when Alaskan wages were the highest in the country are long over; teachers and cops regularly leave for places Outside that have higher wages. I don’t know how people survive.
Prices are terrible. My son and family invited me to go to Maui this summer. Prices at Safeway were crazy. A jar of Raos pasta sauce was $14…..only $8 here. You wonder how working middle class folks make it. It’s a beautiful place, but couldn’t afford island life.
Significant or small, I’m interested in every frugal thing.
1. Received a free can of mineral water at checkout from Fresh Thyme Market.
2. Pup received a free birthday cookie from Pet Supplies Plus. I put it in my own container.
3. Visited friends and they gave us muffins and homemade bread to take home.
4. Two meet-ups were cancelled due to the extreme heat/humidity and I stayed home rather than schedule anything else in their place.
5. You know you’re really frugal when… after squeezing out the last of the shampoo and conditioner from those free sample pouches, I cut them open to scrape out enough for one more use.
1. DH is a walker, he loves to walk! He brings home “treasures” as he calls them several times a week. Many of his treasures are gift cards. he checks online for their balance. The have ranged from.30 up to $30! Rarely are they empty.
2. We live in an apartment complex. We always eyeball our three dumpsters when we stretch our legs in the evenings. The perfectly good stuff that people put in there is mind-boggling. Recently we have rescued quite a bit of canned food and kept some of it, but most of it put in a little library-type food pantry at a local church. None was expired.
3. Today we rescued a suitcase with 360° wheels that we have both been coveting. Win!
4. DH is going to trim my long straight hair. He wants me to wear a horizontal striped shirt to keep him straight
5. We booked a train trip in a “roommette” (with meals included) for the fall that is free for both of us using Amtrak credit card points. Win!!!
Love the idea of wearing a striped shirt to aid haircutting. I’ve seen masking tape used for the same thing, at least in the back.
Re #2 There is a house near me that throws away non perishable food a few times a year. They put it in boxes at the end of their road. It’s never expired. I believe it’s what they dont want from food pantries. I take it and keep some and redistribute what we wont use to others.
Kind of blows my mind to see that
I also walk and “shop.” Recently I picked up some dishes, a small plant pot, a few books and a ceramic dog dish.
1. hanging laundry. I only have room for one load, so if I have two loads I do them on two days.
2. Chopping up herb or kale stems and throwing them into soup or salad.
3. Cooking big batches in my solar oven on sunny days.
4. Hot cereal for breakfast every day since 1972.
5. Eating at home, drinking water, walking most places.
6. Not shopping, not going into stores. Unsubscribing from all email ads, not reading the ads in the paper.
1. I saved $55 by paying a medical bill in advance of the procedure. That was an unexpected opportunity. 2. I pushed the thermostat up a degree and increased the speed of the ceiling fans.
3. I replenished my stock of sympathy cards and thank you notes at Dollar General. I include a thank you with each Etsy sale
4. I had 6 inches left of a loaf of French bread, hard as a rock.i cut it into cubes and browned them in bacon grease. I intended them to be dog treats. They were a big treat with the dogs but I ate several myself and they were delicious.
5. My husband gathered up several electronic items we no longer use and sent them to our grandson to sell on eBay to help with college costs.
Here are my recent tiny frugalities:
1. Used up about to go bad milk by making pudding and a custard pie.
2. Hanging my nice clothes to dry to save wear and tear on them as well as electricity.
3. Despite wanting lots of light, keeping shades down to cut AC. Also turning up temp and using fans to circulate air.
4. Used texting and messaging to send a letter to family members about my mother-in-law’s move to memory care instead of mailing them out.
5. A bigger win: doing lots of legwork to cancel services, credit cards, etc. that my MIL no longer needs.
6. Spending the time needed to call up charities to get us off of their solicitation lists. Time consuming but worth it.
7. Creating a box of greeting cards that we have recieved from charities that I will donate to the Memory Care facility where my MIL is staying.
dmachoice.org will remove a name and address from a number of charities.
It’s been three years since my Dad died When he was alive, he received at least a six inch stack of such donation requests every day, often more. I am happy he could be a generous person, and highly irritated at the companies who sold his name to each other.
We used a combination of dmachoice, my sister sending back request letters with a request to stop (huge amounts of postage, though I didn’t ask her how much), and forwarding his mail to his name at my address. which is also on the dmachoice/do not send stuff listing.
A few things still come to him at my address every week, though not many. If their request envelopes are postage-pre-paid, I will send them back with a request to remove his name. My opinion of groups that are still badgering him is very low; they are wasting donor money by keeping his name active.
Meanwhile, “he” has received four lovely 2024 calendars already. I shared them in the library Free Magazines box.
Thank you for these tips Heidi Louise! As I call charities I am telling them that they are wasting their donors money by continuing to send solicitations. With just a couple of exceptions, the people I have spoken to have been very polite and helpful. I will check out dmachoice.org!
1. I use things up. I cut open a tube of toothpaste this morning. I’m sure I can get a few more days out of it before opening a new one. I do this with everything . I finally used up all the single-ply, sandpaper-like toilet paper that I purchased during Covid.
2. I wear things out. I have nearly worn a hole in the sole of my favorite flip-flops. I will be replacing them now that the summer sales have started. I guess 4 years and 10 months is all I can get out of this pair. I’m in Florida so I wear these often — nearly everyday.
3. I drink primarily filtered water and home brewed coffee. No soda, wine, beer or fruit juice.
4. My husband and I make do with one car.
5. I Primarily cook from scratch. I just made yet another batch chicken stock from Costco rotisserie chicken. I fed the carrots that I had used in the stock to rescue pup as a special treat. No waste.
It is definitely the boring day to day that makes a difference.
You are a better person than we are. We used up half of that type of toilet paper before giving up and giving it away on Buy Nothing lol.
It’s the little things…
1. This doesn’t happen every summer but this year we have had so much rain I have only watered twice! It’s a real break as we pay for town water.
2. I use the hand sanitizer in public places as often as I can therefore making the little bottle of it in my purse go further.
3. The library has saved me thousands of dollars over my adult years. Maybe that’s not such a little thing. Reading Money Mantras by Michelle Singletary now!
4. In the cold weather, I open my oven door after baking and turning the oven off to heat the kitchen.
5. While using the highway, I keep my speed locked into cruise control at 64 mph. Conserving gas and no chance of getting a speeding ticket.
6. I cut up junk mail and paper with only one side used to make scrap paper for grocery shopping lists. Then I recycle it.
7. I clean with diluted vinegar, ammonia or bleach, using rags.
That’s just some of it. Maybe a lot of you do these little things anyway and I’ve already posted two too many. It’s all a habit at this point.
Frugal:
1-Used husband’s beard trimmer to shape up his done-at-home haircut. This way, I only need to give him a cut maybe every 5 weeks. He has very curly hair.
2-Pulled onions, steamed carrots, steamed Kale out of the freezer and made curry for dinner.
3-Picked blueberries from my neighbor’s bushes, made a galette.
4- Bought two size 2T shirts at the thrift for grandson. $1.00 each!
5-Gave our arthritic 13 yr old dog a brush out and a trim. Saved $90.00 grooming fee and dog doesn’t take a chance falling off the table.
6- used teriyaki tofu from Aldi ($3.59) , rice and kale fresh from the garden to make dinner. We have enough for another dinner.
Could you elaborate on how you use his beard trimmer to prolong the time between haircuts for curly haired men? Do you mean just around the neck or do you run it through his regular head hair? Any help would be appreciated…
Not sure about the OP but I trim my boys neck and ears between cuts to prolong the life of the cut
1. Took my car to dealership for some recall repair at no charge. I asked for a car wash & they obliged.
2. Found a crockpot base & lid on the street median on the way home. I have a crock liner so now I’ve got the complete cooker.
3. I like purses & wanted a new one at the start of the summer. I looked in the closet & pulled out an old one. No one cares what purse I carry but me.
4. Was a bit weary of my gray hair that I stopped coloring. Went to the local beauty school and got a silver lavender color and a cut/style for 35$.
5. Cats don’t require much care, but I comb my cat’s fur & clip his nails instead of a groomer.
And now you know why you were hanging onto the crock!
1. My nephew suddenly came to live with me again, I reached out to friends, clients, and craigslist and found clothing, blocks, puzzles, etc very quickly and affordably so he felt right at home as soon as possible.
2. We have been shopping our freezer and pantry. I grew up with little food in the house and now I over compensate, so we are working our way through to find balance.
3. I love my tiny loom for mending clothes from a darned sock to a torn pocket on jeans.
4. I bought a corner scrub brush. Yes new… butonly after debate, thought, and time double checking. So a small purchase has definitely saved me a lot of time cleaning and is a little specialized as possible so it works hard!
5.I exchange extra produce with my neighbor. Chickens lay a lot at certain times of year I give thw. Eggs, or my chillies or tomatoes are over abundant. They give cucumbers or squash. I bake an extra loaf of bread, they bring me grits.
Indigo, your #1 warms my heart. Best wishes to all of you.
I’ve seen those tiny looms and have been tempted to buy one, although I do fine without one so I haven’t.
1. Replaced the elastic in my son’s fitted sheet. I had to buy a $2 pack of elastic, but only used half so have that to add to my stash.
2. Found a super cute yellow check cotton tablecloth at an estate sale, but some persistent black stains would not come out. I cut it up and made 6 napkins.
3. Bought 2 vintage rugs at said estate sale for $17 total. Both were really dirty but a vigorous vacuuming and bath with woolite and the garden hose got them nicely refreshed.
4. The larger rug is going to be used to upholster the top of the coffee table I purchased at least a decade ago at restore for $10.
5. Spending $90 at an estate sale was maybe not the most frugal, but I got a huge vanload of good quality vintage items that are both beautiful and practical….
Replacing the elastic on a fitted sheet is top tier frugality, I am impressed!
Tiny frugal things-
1. Hung my laundry outside to dry. It took 2 hours. Felt so good not to use the dryer for anything.
2. Going to attempt a $30 food budget this week. Loss leaders and freezer, here I come.
3. I have been watching a bunch of frugal youtubers (deep dive actually) and getting some ideas like #2 and a pantry challenge.
4. Took on a small assessment job and even though it will be a pain, I will be happy when I get paid for it.
5. Even though it is sooooo hot, I am going to make muffins to use up some frozen blueberries, a lemon and yogurt I have.
We need to eat from the fridge/freezer for the next week and a half as we’ll be on a two week vacation and I don’t want any food to go to waste.
I’ve also been doing a deep dive on frugal youtube channels! It’s so inspiring when I’m feeling a little unmotivated. I’m also watching a lot of minimalist youtube channels as well. Favorites to share?
Frugalish vacation edition
1) Drove cross country. Used points for 1 hotel stay out and 1 hotel stay back
2) Stayed with parents for 10 night. Did make a side trip to Moab and paid for a hotel there
3) filled up gas at Costco as much as possible
4) Went grocery shopping to get ingredients for my moms birthday dinner. Notice soup on sale for $.99 per large can when you buy 5. I bought 15, we have room to drive it home. Savings of minimum $2 per can over our local sale prices
5) Visited national parks during off hours when they didn’t charge an entrance fee
6) wanted to rent bikes to ride around Boulder but the bike shop had them for $50 for 4 hours. We opted to walk a few miles by the creek and then rent student e-bikes for $7 for 30 minutes to get back to our car. They were so much fun to ride and cost us $14 rather than $100
I am in love with your soupy vacation souvenirs!
While in Atlantic City yesterday I noticed that there were electric bikes for rent on the boardwalk. Kind of like CitiBike in NYC but electric.
I haven’t posted here in a while but excited to be back at tracking my frugal habits. Last week….
– I canceled Prime membership. My whole family (parents, sibling, and my household) utilized this but we discussed it and we’re all finally ready to let it go. It was a relief for me!
-I contacted three companies and requested coupons. Two of them responded that they are on their way!
-I cashed in $6 Groupon credit and spent $0.01 on gift for my niece for her upcoming birthday.
-I cut an upcoming trip down from 3 days to 2 days to save hotel fees and get home in time for an appointment.
-I shopped BOGO + store coupons + Ibotta for almost $50 in savings on groceries
-I avoided toll fees by making extra time to travel other roadways- and no distance added!
-I participated in Meatless Monday this week. I try to have one meatless meal a day (minimum) but made it the whole day Monday.
-I unsubscribed from several sales emails – which is more of an aspiring minimalist feat than frugal.
-I cancelled Apple Music account after free trial and before charges.
-I used a Walgreens coupon to purchase a photo gift for $3.33 for my Mom.
-I made my dog some treats with ingredients from my pantry.
-I brewed flavored teas with bags in my pantry.
– I re-wore an outfit around the house for a few days so as no to wash unnecessarily.
My poor pup had a pretty nasty spider bite that required a visit to the vet and an almost $200 bill for medications etc. He’s okay but- ouch. Those unexpected costs hit home!
Corporate America and/or my multi-generational genes means I automatically delete 99% of emails from establishments with whom I patronize. Rarely get any other emails besides the onesy-twosy that hit the spam folder (aka immediately deleted). Rarely are those type of “sales” truly sales and I buy when I need items.
Ok, it’s been awhile since posted but still trying to read when can. Here it goes.
Frugal things this last week–
1. Just quit my recent job (liked job not management business practices that cost me money) because asked to pay for gas & other expenses for their business vehicles & clients but not reimbursed, while scheduling constantly changing (for worse) & very inconsistent payroll dates. Already looking at other jobs in similar field.
2. Since was forced to take multiple hour breaks & not be able to leave area (for job) checked out nearby stores & picked up few items cheaper than normal at usual shopping stores. Teens favorite pizza rolls at Save a lot in large 100 count bag $8.99–cheaper than Sam’s club.
Found new counter base at Habitat Restore $100 & have leftover countertop in garage that matches & will fit to put in kitchen. Want to add more counters because not many in kitchen. Found few more items at Restore that to pictures of to check measurements & may return to get.
3. Placed online Sams club order for weekend only sale & have free shipping for membership so no cost of gas or additional stop.
4. Which allowed us to go to yard sales in area that I found some great deals on items needed/will use (& did not get items that thought about). Even got free Xmas tree (only have table top tree) from moving sale.
5. Saved $10 on beautiful large glass solar light beehive that had $35 tag but also $25 sticker at craft sale. So I questioned & got for lower price.
6. Broke tooth few weeks ago (& don’t have insurance) so after not finding dentist to see me immediately I called local clinic (for low income/no insurance) & was able to be seen, get xrays ($5) & appointment for extraction ($25). Scheduled cleaning & fillings ($5 each tooth up to 4 teeth). Wrote prescription for antibiotics (& Meijer does free or reduced cost).
7. Teen cashed in Google play points for discount on more games/apps wants. Signed up for apps that plays games on & earns free gift cards/PayPal.
Wow, this is all very creative — well done!
1. Since it is hot in the middle of summer we try to walk before the sun rises to beat the heat. On trash day, Thursday in neighborhoods in our area, we spotted two outdoor folding chairs, that looked fine, set out with a trash barrel. We carried them home and they are in very good condition. We don’t need them so I’ll give them away but it kept them out of the landfill. No savings for us but savings for the planet.
2. I found out that a friend likes to build jigsaw puzzles. She contacted me to see if we’d like to do a puzzle swap. DH loves puzzles and goes through them quickly so this is a good thing.
3. A friend purchased peaches at an orchard then found out her SIL did not want any. She didn’t want them to go to waste so offered me additional peaches (she had picked up some for me). I walked to her house, despite the heat, and gave her some recently cut watermelon cubes and picked up peaches.
4. I walked to a Pilates class, despite the heat.
5. I made DH some “Nice Cream” (blended frozen bananas, cocoa powder, a bit of almond milk and almond extract and it takes like chocolate soft serve). Cheaper and healthier than going out by a long shot.
Who doesn’t want peaches?!
Small things: the food edition. I really wanted fish & chips and there is a local joint that is very reasonably priced.
1. I Noticed that the parking meter next to ours was broken, so we moved the car one spot to get free parking ($1.25)
2. I got the pollock rather than the haddock and saved ($4.00)
3. We both got a can of soda (which cost less than the bottles of soda-and I swear, it tastes better!)
4. Brought the 2 cans home to recycle them for $.10
5. Made tacos for dinner using A) tacos shells with a “dented” box that I got on clearance, B) free ground beef from mystery shop C) homemade taco seasoning D) free cheese from mystery shop, and E) used up the last of a small cabbage that was languishing in the fridge.
Sounds like a thoroughly delicious day!