Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on September 2, 2025 · 51 comments
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My friend Lisa is a fount of knowledge on all things gluten free, so it was no surprise when she showed up with two bags of Italian “senza glutine” pasta as a hostess gift. It started burning a hole in my pantry last night after I watched this Instagram reel for sesame peanut pasta, as I realized I had every single ingredient on hand. However, I’ll have to save the fancy pasta for another meal, as I located an already open box of gluten-free fettuccini, and practical me was unwilling to open a new product when I had an open one on hand. Being a responsible adult is sometimes a bummer.
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I took the glass plate and roller-thingy support ring from my recently curb picked microwave and slapped them up on eBay after discovering that the microwave itself was rusty on the inside. This is my way of rationalizing the effort it took to bring home the microwave to only have to take it to Goodwill for e-waste recycling.
Click HERE to see the listing.
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My husband and I went for an after dinner walk around the neighborhood and passed by this box of enjoyably free apples. Unfortunately I didn’t have a bag on me, so this is a reminder to start carrying one on walks as we’re in prime free fruit season.
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My husband and I had a lovely lunch date at an area Vietnamese restaurant today. I wasn’t actually all that hungry, so I ordered an $8 pair of spring rolls, which I made extra frugal by helping myself to an abandoned returnable kombucha can outside the restaurant. I’ll never get too fancy to not take advantage of a free ten cents!
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My husband and I came across this neighborhood mug exchange at the end of our walk. I neither need more mugs, nor do I have an excess, but I’ll keep it in mind for when I do my next round of decluttering. So cute!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
1. Had a Dr appointment in the city and couldn’t find a parking spot. I ended up parking at the markets – as the Dr was on time, I was in and out in just under an hour and it cost me just two bucks. Street parking would have cost more than that.
2. I walked right through the market twice and didn’t buy a single thing, even though I walked right past several stalls of my personal kryptonite (coffee beans and fancy antipasto).
3. I made vegan drunken noodles using only what I had in my fridge and pantry and there were zero leftovers and completely full bellies.
4. I visited my parents after the Dr appointment and we drank cups of tea and gossipped with zero dollars spent and my mother gave me a jar of homemade jam.
5. I stopped in at the pharmacy to drop something off and discovered the supplements I needed for a cheaper price than I was going to pay at the supermarket. So that saved a couple of dollars for items I was going to buy this week anyway.
1. We finally had a few days of warm weather in the East Bay and I mostly used techniques from my childhood without air conditioning to keep the house and us cool enough. Strategic window and blind opening and closing along with fans. We do have an air conditioner upstairs and turn it on for the hottest part off the day,
2. Exercised at home.
3. Enjoyed my birthday gifts of fancy coffee and flowers.
4. Set up online payment for contributions to our granddaughters college funds saving a tiny bit of postage.
5. And ate the birthday dinner leftovers which was so hard when part of that is ice cream. Still ice cream left but someone has to eat it.
Happy birthday Juhli!!!
Happy birthday!
Re: your #5, Juhli: Eating birthday dinner leftovers is a rotten job, but someone’s got to do it. Ask the person who’s been munching on her own for the last several days. 😀
Donated blood and I:
1. Asked for a small piece of tape to hold the gauze in place in lieu of the long red wrap they provide
2. Enjoyed complimentary snacks – one salty (pretzels) and one sweet (granola cookie)
3. Filled my reusable mug with coffee and took most of it home for the next few mornings (I dilute it)
4. Took the complimentary Snoopy T-shirt (they’re back!) for my husband as he needed a clean work shirt
5. Repurposed the T-shirt bag as a poop bag
6. Got one more use out of the piece of paper inside the T-shirt bag, using the back as scratch paper.
I guess I squeezed the last drop out of this donation.
Very impressive! Your list made me smile.
I’ve found those long pieces of tape can both reused. They make great bag ties for trash sacks.
Meant to say wrap not tape….the textured thing they wrap around your arm.
They make good handcuffs also
@Sugar Cat Farm, we do NOT want to know why you know that. Or maybe we do?
Ecoteri, they’re more frugal than steel handcuffs plus they can be used for tying fences temporarily and bandaging purposes
YAY you for donating blood – although your snack quantity seems low to me (considering I made out like a bandit when I donated last week). Our local place has mostly empty rolls of the stretchy bandages on the tables where we get our snacks (and sit around until they deem us not likely to keel over..) – they encourage us to take them rather than them throwing them away, so I scooped three. Nothing is better for bandaging an animal’s leg/tail when needing to care for a wound – easy to put on and adjust as you do, not too tight, hard for them to scrape off…
I also came away with 8 or so extra long and thick elastics, also on the recovery tables – they use them for holding all the bits and pieces together when assembling each donor pack of tubes and bags and stickers, and I guess they don’t reuse. I KNOW they will come in handy.
I am very envious of all your grwat red cross swag and gift cards. Around here we don’t get gifts directly and I’ve found the gift card options are mostly places I don’t go.
1. We celebrated Labor Day with take out bbq. Bought the option for 4 people and supplemented the sides. This fed the six of us very well for less than the 6 person choice. Another guest brought fruit salad and peach cobbler so the meal was very festive. We even have some pulled chicken left over which will be a nice lunch today.
2. Making a list for the hardware store which is where I have gift cards from the coin exchange and red cross. We will attempt to fix the crack in our cement porch before calling the handyman.
3. Weather has been great so the AC was off all last week. Should be able to keep it off this week also. Adding the chore to clean all the ceiling fans to this weeks list.
4. Also this week making travel plans for two short trips. Hoping to keep those low cost through limiting eating out. Also don’t plan to buy any souvenirs.
5. Continuing to eat from our meal plan with food we have at home.
I love the mug exchange. Sometimes you just want a change but don’t need to buy anything. DH recently brought home some “swag” mugs from his office and it has been nice to have different mugs.
1. The other day we spotted a tote of Free kids books while walking. DH grabbed a few that looked interesting. After reading them he put them in the Little Free Library down the street.
2. The weather has been wonderful. I have opened windows many days and have not had the AC on in several days. We also received a one time rebate on our electrical bill, about $40, because of the high prices we have been paying.
3. I bought and cut up yet another watermelon. It’s a lot of fruit for $3.99. I have also been picking figs from our fruit tree and lots of cherry & grape tomatoes.
4. I relisted some items on Freecycle and it resulted in a few items being picked up.
5. I continue to listen to audio books borrowed from the library while completing mundane tasks like cooking.
I saw this in the New York Times and thought of Katy and her neighborhood (it should be an unlocked article):
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/climate/maine-library-of-things.html?unlocked_article_code=1.iU8.pk77.JLe85vUEp6To&smid=url-share
K D, thanks for sharing the free article! That’s an impressive program. My local library has a small inventory and I have a reminder to check out the bundt pan, popover pan, and springform pan.
A neighborhood mug exchange, now that’s quite something!
Best of luck with the sale of the microwave glass plate.
1. My friend that has her own hens gifted me 6 eggs. I gave her our stash of empty egg cartons.
2. Latest freebies from DS’s job (expired but still good): coconut yoghurt and unsalted butter. Had some of the yoghurt with diced peach pieces (and some chia seeds and cinnamon sprinkled on top) for dessert. I like that coconut yoghurt is naturally sweet, no sugar or honey needed, especially when paired with fruit.
3. Recent favourite library (re-)read: Mara and Dann (Doris Lessing)
4. In preparation for the colder autumn season I used my hair ball trimmer on my warm woolly jacket to get it ready for yet another year (I’ve had that jacket for at least 7 years).
5. I found two under shelf/desk storage baskets (brand new with tags on) in a local charity shop for 2 Euro for the pair. Am using them on my work desk now in an attempt to tidy it up!
The mug exchange is such a cool idea!
I have been staying home and not spending money, except for brunch out today with my best friends from college. Managed to keep that under $10 for my meal and tipped with cash. Bought gas and dog food on the way home with a gift card earned by getting my annual physical done.
I use my credit card points to purchase gift cards. I have a supply of them when I have a birthday or in Christmas stockings I already have a stash.
We are in a drought condition here in Maine and our garden has been struggling. All we can do is what we can do.
Brewing coffee at home, reading library books and riding my bike or walking.
Enjoy September!
We are in New Hampshire and it is just so dry. Our garden is struggling as well but the zucchini, ah yes the zucchini, just keeps producing. LOL
I usually read your blog on down time at the desk at work and miss your weekend posts. It was nice to catch up and get some normalcy and calm in my world through your blog. Things have been hectic to say the least. One of the reasons why I am more or less a non consumer/low consumer is because I have been in a legal battle for two years regarding a family member who is elderly with memory issues. The endeavor has taken about $150k from me, and left me 70k in debt. I never talk about it here or anywhere and it’s very isolating.
Last week I spent a lot of time restructuring my debt and applied to a hail Mary 0% card which was declined. I was able to pay down 3k on one card and get an extended offer of 0% on that card. Today the card I paid off through a balance transfer offered me 12 months of 0% credit and I began to transfer a card that is going up to about 22% in two days to it. I had to reorder another card to get the full number and will then transfer that as well to the newest 0% offer.
I am a slave to my lender. Things in court are quiet now but I fear that they will heat up again and I will eventually file for bankruptcy. I am in a game to try and keep up minimum payments right now. It is exhausting. In this time we have very little luxury at my house and will have less due to me becoming single again…
This past week my year and a half relationship collapsed due to finding out he had an online s*x and p*rn addiction. I have suspected cheating for about a month, and was correct. Due to his addiction he has spent very wildly and has been completely out of money for the last few months to a point where his mother and I were helping with his finances despite him making roughly three times as much money as I do. I found out he bought one girl alone about $1k in gifts alone. The woman got him off a paying site and onto a private type messenger app where she was able to get him to buy items off an Amazon wish list that were all naughty in nature multiple times, including overnighting her lubricant, and buying her $400+ concert tickets. The women all live in our state, he started friending them on Facebook with his real name and more, and at least one girl he was trying to get to meet him in real life. I’m devastated.
All this while he and I both struggled financially. I can’t make it make sense. I spoke to his mother, his former wife told her she suspected the same thing three years ago. I’m heart broken, and now feel alone on top of it. There was a time where he generously helped me with things financially, I did not rely on it, but it was a relief when we’d go to the store and he’d push me out of the way to pay for groceries etc. However, that has long sense ceased.
In the mean time I am considering getting a second job overnights or weekends to help with this on top of my full time job. I tried doing grocery delivery but I averaged about $11 an hour, plus gas. I don think it is worth it, but I tried. My vehicle is too old for several of the delivery services unfortunately leaving me with less options.
I am thankful for the hail Mary 0% offer from the one card which will help my finances from catastrophically collapsing this month. Now to figure out how to make more money to try and stem the credit issue before more of these offers come up to fruition at 21-29%. If I do not figure out a way to pay this all off bankruptcy is in my near future.
I am exhausted mentally, emotionally, and financially. If you can send good vibes or prayers please do.
Bankruptcy allows you to keep your home, your car, and personal things. It was put in place for a reason: s**t happens. If you go there, don’t take it as an end, but a new beginning. Been through this years ago because of a business we owned.
Caveat: laws vary from state to state. Search for how yours handles this, and talk to an attorney / accountant first if you can.
Sending you hugs. One step at a time. If we do the best we can, we’ve done the best we can!
Hopefully you are not in OK (known as a state where you’ll be lucky to leave the courthouse with the shirt on your back) but in FL, which allows you to keep you McMansion primary home.
I agree with @Kathryn- one step at a time and do consult a lawyer.
So very sorry for your situation, Anon!
You said at the start that you never talk about your situation and are isolated. That makes things worse. Perhaps some of the readers can suggest places you can find someone to talk with, as we can provide many thoughts and prayers, but not the practical help you so very desperately need!
If you’ve never heard of Dave Ramsey, check him out. He has strategies for paying off tons of debt. We live in PA and DH and I filed bankruptcy in 2003. Stays on your credit record for 10 years, but it was what we needed to do at the time. Wasn’t our first choice, but it was our last resort. If I knew then what I know now, I would have done it sooner.
Anon, I’m very sorry for these devastating events in your life. You’re juggling a lot right now and I hope you feel lighter after sharing them with us. I, too, encourage you to seek financial and legal expertise to help you with the next best steps for your situation. We’re cheering you on from the sidelines!
Meeting with someone trained to listen might help you get a better perspective on what is important to do now, what can wait, etc., and what you are doing well. A credit counselor seems a likely start.
And I believe that there are companies/agencies out there that can offer help in consolidating credit card debt. Try Googling “consolidating credit card debt.” Along with everyone else, I’m sorry that you’re in this situation.
I am so sorry you’re going through all this, I have very little advice to offer, but do want to extend that I’m so happy to have you here in my little non-consumer community. Sending a virtual hug your way.
1. Placed over the counter pharmacy order on the 1st with the benefits from insurance. This is something I always do on the 1st to avoid running out of staple items and needing to purchase out of pocket. I also make it a point to use all the benefits from programs we are enrolled in.
2. Making a list of items needed for second-hand thrift shopping to make the most use of my future trips and to avoid purchasing new.
3. I was tempted to purchase an upcoming online art challenge, but decided to watch some Creative Bug with my library account for free. I’m challenging myself to try new projects that I already have materials for around the house.
4. My dear friend gifted me 4 fresh ears of corn from the local farm. Made for wonderful dinner side with the chicken my teen grilled yesterday.
5. I washed empty glass spice jars and refilled them with fresh spices. Avoid purchasing new containers and putting the ones I have in the landfill.
Prayers and good vibes both! Good advice from Kathryn on bankruptcy. It will be worth it to pay for a bit of advice now and have everything come out as best as possible in the end.
1. I gave up on my thrifted air popper which threw kernels all over the place and popped maybe 2/3 of them. I paid $8 for it and it was too much. Today I ordered a West Bend Stir Crazy, which I know works well. I bypassed Amazon and bought it at Menards, where it was cheaper. However, it was cheaper because of a rebate, and my printer won’t print the rebate form (has to be hard copy). Added to that I had to go pick it up, and Menards is 17 miles away. So I probably would have been better off with Amazon. A frugal attempt, but a fail.
2. I grocery shopped at Walgreens because it’s senior day, when I get 20% off. Of course Walgreens is overpriced on groceries, but their Nice brand is always reasonable. I only bought a few things, didn’t need much this week.
3. I found four receipts to scan to Fetch! I also had my Walgreens receipt to scan. Menards didn’t give me a paper receipt. I don’t know how to get my email receipt to Fetch.
4. My grandson drove me to Menards, and we had a lovely conversation on the way, so that was priceless.
5. Had my leftover potatoes for lunch, along with sweet and sour cucumbers, and a cup of yogurt. Almost completely free!
There is, I think, to link your email to Fetch, and it scans your email for receipts. Should be able to find info in the Fetch app.
Others here have mentioned using the library to print things, perhaps you could do that for your rebate form, @Beth W.? Well done on bypassing the big A, and getting grandson time is priceless. My grandson is currently 1 year 2 days old, so he won’t be driving me anywhere for another 16 years….
Sounds like a yummy lunch!
Beth,
I make popcorn quite frequently at home using a stock pot, 2-3 tablespoons of oil, and 1/4-1/3 cup of popcorn kernels. Drop three kernels in the oil and once they pop, add the rest and cover. Shake the pot frequently so the kernels don’t burn and wait until it’s stopped popping and -voila! It’s been my failproof method without a special machine.
Are you gluten free? I’m not, but have friends and family who are.
I’ve seen that mug exchange and I’m tempted to do some exchanging! Well, I’m more likely to add than subtract. Where do all the mugs come from?
I’m not, but my daughter is. And mugs? They reproduce in the night.
If it became illegal to manufacture mugs, I wonder how many decades would pass before it became an issue? These are the thoughts that keep me up at night.
Frugal by Default
I have been dealing with a massive toothache for a week or so. I have an antibiotic from the dentist, which is helping, but…I can’t be seen until 9/23. I’ve been using ice packs, salt water, mouthwash, CAREFUL brushing, and OTC oral anesthetic. I still have a few days of antibiotic to go and expect I will have to call for another Rx to get me through. As a result, my food intake is limited to liquids, jello, cottage cheese, applesauce, yogurt, oatmeal, and soups I don’t need to chew. While I really don’t want anything super cold in my mouth, I did have DH buy a carton.of store brand vanilla ice cream ($3) which I will make homemade hot peanut butter fudge sauce (creamy peanut butter for sure) to put on it. Most of the items, I already have on hand. Maybe I will drop a few pounds? (I haven’t even been able to eat a pb&j or a banana.)
I’ve been going to work. Other than that, I’ve been home doing nothing but icing my face, taking my Rx, and using the other home remedies to keep me going. I’m stuck at home, so no spending.
It’s just not right that you should have to suffer with a toothache for 23 days!
I had a massive sore throat right when the IIC could not deny it any more. For 2 months, I lived on one flavor of Oikos and one flavor of Boost. By the time I got in to see the ENT, it was too late to accurately diagnose my issue (except it sure sounded like a highly inflamed sore throat). I gargled with salt water multiple times a day – which the ENT said was the right thing to do.
I cannot recollect if salt water gargle is an acceptable home therapy for a tooth issue.
Nothing worse than tooth pain. Can you just go to a different dentist?
Have you tried clove oil for your tooth pain. It’s an old home remedy I’m told works.
That sounds miserable, I’m so sorry you’re going through this!
Meant to say wrap not tape….the textured thing they wrap around your arm.
1. I picked some kale from the volunteer or surviving Kale plants in my neglected garden. I didn’t ‘put in’ a garden this year however I do have a few hardy survivors out there, as well as a lot of volunteers. I use the kale in my morning protein smoothie, which is not particularly toothsome but is particularly healthy.
2. The smoothies also contain milk kefir, which I have been religiously making since my girlfriend got me started about a month ago. Because I need something in my tummy before my morning meds, I seem to be in a routine that restarts the kefir process each morning, draining out the grains, cleaning the jar, pouring in milk and adding the grains back, then using today’s kefir in the smoothie. As an alternative to yogurt, I think I am getting lots of probiotics with a lot less fuss. It is weird stuff, though…
3. I dug a ‘hill’ of potatoes that is the result of not digging all of the potatoes last year. I had planted maybe 70 hills in a ring around a sprinkler, with a grand plan, however things went a bit sideways and I think I only eventually harvested about 25 hills (or shared with friends). The remainder were ignored, and some didn’t grow well last year due to being in rain shadows (the taller plants between them and the sprinkler). I planted a lot of different varieties, so it is a bit of an adventure.
This year I haven’t watered the field at all, however we have had a much more temperate spring/summer with rains nicely spaced, so the plants at least had a chance, but…. this ‘hill’ was really just a collection of almond and walnut sized babies. The good news is that I got at least 8 cups worth. And I have discovered the babies are uber delicious when sprinkled with a bit of oil and salt and baked until their skins are crispy. Like tiny mouthfuls of baked potatoes and giving off a sense of french fries. They are not very good the next day, as leftovers, however my son and I eat a LOT of them when hot, so it is a bit of an estimation game.
4. One of my enabling best buddies contacted me from the discount plant section of a local store; she ended up bringing me 6 one gallon pots of Canna lilies, and one larger pot that was bursting at the seams. Everything needed to be transplanted into bigger pots, and we were even able to divide several of the plants. Canna lilies are my newest passion, and one that brings me much joy, so I was feeling pretty happy.
BB was delighted to assist in the dividing and pot choosing, and we had a much needed long conversation both during the garden time, then later surrounded by books in my living room. Considering that all the plants cost less than a bottle of booze, this alcoholic doesn’t regret transferring her addiction to something that is both healthier and that will bring me long lasting joy.
5. I filled the Excalibur dehydrator with more of the purple plums – they are good, just not as good as prune plums, so anyone planting plums take note! The productivity of this tree is driving my hands crazy, however the fruit comes on in stages, and seems to hold well in a box, so I am managing. I also fobbed off one big box to the son of enabling-BB (well, she will have taken some of them, too) which reduces the pressure. One more big push and they will be done for the year.
6. I pulled some aged veggies from the downstairs fridge, more were recoverable than I expected, however the compost and chickens are going to benefit, too. Chopped things up and stuck them under a discount whole chicken, that I roasted while also roasting the baby potatoes from #3. Yum.
7. Three loads of laundry washed and on the line, two are folded and put away, the third will hang overnight as it was hung out late. These early Fall-ish days are sunny but not as fast to dry laundry so I need to plan accordingly, or hang overnight. Of course, that option will go soon as we will start to get heavy overnight dew.
Those tiny potatoes sound delicious, this reminds me that I have some unsuccessful potato plants that I should dig up!
Tiny potatoes are indeed delicious. In fact, I find few things more blissful than digging up my own tiny potatoes (raised in containers), lightly boiling them, and eating them with butter, salt, and pepper. Between these and ordinary spuds, there’s no comparison.
1. Helped myself to Free Halloween candy at ophthalmologist office this am
2. Used $4 CVS rewards to get a bubble mailer and bag of nuts. Total out of pocket .42
3. On to Goodwill where I purchased a pair of Cabi pants, pioneer woman cake knife and dried flower arrangement. I’ll pair the cake knife with a new springform pan I got for a few $$ as a Christmas gift
4. Sold an item online and mailed yesterday
5. Failed to eat breakfast before leaving house due to early MD appointment so got a Smoothie at McDonalds