Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on November 28, 2023 · 43 comments
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I stopped into the “Dented Vegetable Store” and picked up a hodge-podge of bargain food items.
• A canister of (not expired, I checked!) matzo meal for 50¢.
• A honkin’ huge restaurant packaged bag of prepped chopped red cabbage for $1.69. I’ll use it to make sauerkraut.
• A massive restaurant packaged bag of organic chives for $1. I’ll dry and chop it for future use.
• Three gargantuan red peppers for 69¢ apiece.
• A package of gluten-free mint Oreos for $2.
This store is a bit of a schlep from the house, so I don’t get there that often. But when I do . . . .
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We’ve been eating nothing but Thanksgiving leftovers since last Thursday and are finally winnowing down the glut of food. Mind you, this is anything but a sacrifice as a plate of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, gravy and cranberry sauce is pretty much my favorite meal. However, it’s nice to enjoy a bit of variety in life.
I put a batch of bulk-purchased Winco pinto beans through the Instant Pot last night and am looking forward to tostadas for tonight’s dinner. Unsurprisingly, they’ll feature the red peppers from yesterday.
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My mother has been winnowing down a few of her collections and invited me over to pick through her McCoy pottery. I chose three small blue pieces, which I especially have space for as my son’s dervish of a kitten destroyed three pottery items in the past couple weeks.
I’ll keep these ones behind glass.
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My son decided to try making homemade pasta with pesto at the house, which we were able to concoct using what we already had on hand. The pasta was easy enough as it’s just flour, eggs and water, but the pesto took a bit of creative thinking.
My son initially wanted to follow a specific recipe, but I convinced him to replace the basil with spinach and simply omit the nuts. Not only did this save money, but it also saved him an unpleasant grocery run. The spinach, garlic, parmesan cheese, olive oil and salt made an absolutely delicious “pesto,” and I will absolutely be recreating this recipe in the future!
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I didn’t buy any tiny Lear Jets.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
Your son’s kitten has a coat with the same color and pattern as our new pup, a 15-month-old Australian cattle dog-chihuahua cross. She is 14 pounds of pure chaos and I frequently thank the good Lord she won’t get any bigger. So smart, so funny, and the house might still be standing by the time she’s full grown. 😀
I have cooked at home for us and the dogs, rack dried laundry, read library books, eaten leftovers, and talked myself into keeping our balky clothes washer just a few months longer while socking money away.
As the “Girl with Dogs” would say, “Someone has some explaining to do about this mix of breeds.” She grooms dogs and recently had a pug/shepherd mix!
I love The Girl with the Dogs and have learned so much from her about handling dogs and reading dog behavior.
Our wee cattle dog-chi is most likely the result of a series of poor decisions, or a male chihuahua with a stepladder! There’s a little bit of Pomeranian in her, not a lot according to the genetic test — enough to give her some fluff on her ears and tail, and some Poms can be larger. So maybe papa was a larger Chi-Pom with ambition.
1. We finished all of our Thanksgiving leftovers except for 3 containers of stock that went into the freezer.
2. My sister brought 6 huge pumpkins on Thanksgiving that had been on her porch as decorations. I cooked one. My daughter came over and helped me make a huge amount of pumpkin muffins and bread that we will be handing out to friends, neighbors and coworkers.
3.Last night I made sauce from frozen tomatoes. I put in Italian spicy sausage and made meatballs. I froze 4 containers to use for future meals.
4. I didn’t want to run to the store, so I made dough in the bread machine and made rolls to go with dinner.
5. My son came over to pick up his laundry he did over the weekend. He mentioned he needed cornstarch for a recipe. I put some in a small container for him. No need to run to the store.
i love the idea of pesto spinach. I lost my homemade pesto when my refrigerator freezer went out. Also, I love fresh chives in my scrambled eggs. I mother would freeze them and add a hAndful to our eggs when cooking breakfast. I still do this when I’m home alone. My husband isn’t a fan.
My small frugal things during the week after Thanksgiving include:
1. I’ve put some of my Thanksgiving leftovers in the freezer for use later in the month.
2. I used the last of the mashed potatoes, some homemade chicken broth and one unused leek to make 2 servings of potato leek soup.
3. It’s was chilly here today. The low was in the mid-40s and the temperature in our house was 65. It is also gray and windy. Those of you in the Northern states may laugh when I tell you that I really wAnted to put on the heat. Instead I heated the bathroom with my little space heater before my shower and put on a sweater when I dressed.
4. I cut the end off a bottle of concealer. There must be another two weeks worth in there.
5. I brewed my own coffee this morning to have with the last piece of pumpkin pie for breakfast. I figured that was technically a fruit serving, a bread serving and a milk serving.
Wishing everyone a great week.
@Bee, I understand! We are on Venice Island and it is freezing! Well not really … but it’s in the 50s and since we recently relocated from Chicago, we have been surprised by the cool temps and gray skies. I hear you about the heat!
It was 7 degrees this morning when I got up. I’m in Minnesota. That’s about 20 degrees cooler than a normal low for Nov.
That is a beautiful part of Florida! You won’t have too many cool days there. People are always surprised at the winter weather here. In the northern part of the state, we occasionally get snow flurries. So hang on to a sweater or two!
#3 – “Those of you in the Northern states may laugh”… I admit I did chuckle a bit. My neck-o-the-woods that is still some windows open season – it is 14/feels like 3 and I’m not in a most northern state.
#4 – no doubt the shape of containers are intentional so kudos for employing scissors to use up the true amount of product.
#5 – Nothing wrong with your breakfast. There have been days when I’ve consumed three slices of pecan pie though none for breakfast, I just don’t do breakfast. But I bet a slice of pecan pie and cup of caffeinated coffee (cigarette optional) would get one through most of the day!
Always caffeinated coffee… it’s my biggest vice.
I totally understand about the temp. Bee! South Alabama is where I work My work office has NO heat (air and heating unit went out) but county did install a window air conditioning unit after I sweltered for six weeks this summer with heat indexes above 100 degrees. Now, I am cold……lol. So, I tend to work with my jacket on during the day.
One of those small sealed oil radiators is a good choice for an office. You can set the temp at something comfortable and keep the door closed and it will warm up the space. They usually have an automatic thermostat and don’t pull excessive amps like a fan heater.
The best part of the leftovers is pumpkin pie for breakfast.
100%!
We are allergic to nuts so replace with pepitas or sunflower seeds in pesto. Works well, although the pepitas are better than sunflower seeds. By the time you add all that Parmesan and olive oil, who really knows?
I think you can make pesto with virtually any green herb or leafy veg. My kids are both allergic to nuts and one is allergic to dairy, so I make variations on French “pistou” which is basically pesto, but without nuts or cheese. For Thanksgiving, I made sage pesto/pistou with half fresh sage leaves and half flat leaf parsley + garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, S&P. I can pulse it in the food processor until it’s either the same consistency as traditional pesto, or a little smoother. My daughter, in particular, has been putting it on everything.
We had Thanksgiving at my parents’ house. I made the allergy-friendly GF stuffing and pumpkin pie as well as the cranberries. They didn’t want the leftovers so I brought them home along with a chunk of the turkey. We did Thanksgiving 2.0 with friends on Saturday which netted more leftovers. Then my mom called yesterday and wanted me to take ALL the leftover turkey as they weren’t going to eat it. So… last night I made a huge batch of turkey tetrazzini and tonight I’ll finish making a vat of turkey chili (from the already cooked down carcass). Plenty to freeze for later meals.
1. I made a large pot of minestrone soup using up some vegetables that had one foot in the compost. I salvaged enough celery and used some julienne carrots my mom gave me that weren’t going to be used anytime soon. I’ll take some for lunch tomorrow with my MIL, two daughters and my Mom.
2. I turned my lotion bottle upside down in a small jar to get the last teeny, tiny amount out.
3. I did my grocery shopping today. I got the bulk of it at Aldi and used my credit card for 5% back.
4. I used a $1 digital coupon at Meijer to purchase Häagen-Dazs ice cream which was on sale. I uploaded my receipt to Ibotta for another $1.50.
5. I ate Costco samples for lunch.
Hi Jill – Does Aldi take credit cards? I didn’t believe that they did… only debit cards.
Yes! They do now!
1. I sold the Magnolia Pearl Shirt I listed on Poshmark for $199. It sounds like a lot but I had bought it for $400. I credit myself for not making it a habit of spending ridiculous amounts of money for a shirt. I also credit myself for coming to acceptance and cutting my losses. The money from that shirt will pay for my new ultralight sleeping bag I bought on Black Friday. My life is going in the right direction if I am trading fashion for function.
2. I have yet to buy bread this month – swearing that I will use up starches from my pantry. I served homemade persimmon bread for dinner with chili. I will make several more loaves and freeze. I am eating popcorn for snacks instead of my standard cheese toast.
3. Frugal fails: 2 pounds of free brown rice went bad. Who knew brown rice went bad before white rice. I have wheat groats hubby brought me 5 years ago ( he is a farmer) that are still good. A sadder note is the loss of a five pound box of halved walnuts. We had three boxes from last year and I was almost through the second. I should have frozen the third in the freezer but I love the taste of the fresh not frozen. I got greedy. Sigh.
4. I double checked my benefits account with the district. I discovered that I live on 56% of my paycheck. the rest goes to pretax health insurance premiums, taxes and savings. I have 11.5 hours left of sick leave. This is super important I learned because if I go over sick leave my 1 FTE gets reduced. That is huge in terms of my retirement. Last year I paid the sub for 6 extra days and 1.0 FTE went down to .999 which actually makes ten of thousands of dollars difference if I live 30 years in retirement ( which is my plan 🙂 ) I am always learning about these things. I am never an expert.
5. Looking at my 11 mos of spending, I am declaring a low buy December in terms of clothes and eating out. If I cut both of those in half in the coming year I should have a very healthy emergency fund. I don’t want to wait until January.
“My life is going in the right direction if I am trading fashion for function.” <-- Well put!
Congrats on cutting your losses. I find it very hard to do that, not getting rid of the item, admitting I was foolish enough to buy it in the first place. I once spent over 100 dollars on a pair of ultra high-heeled thigh-high boots (that was a lot of money in 1970). I am over 6′ in bare feet (well, no more since a compression fracture…and old age…) so in those boots I was 6’6″, which I had always dreamed of being. But they were so uncomfortable, even to a 19 year old back, that I never wore them out of the house. I had bought them in NYC at a store that catered to cross-dressers (hey, it was 1970 and I was thrilled to find a place that had fancy boots for my large feet) so I could not even return them. I finally threw them away a few years later.
I LOVE this story. I could tell the story of a silly and beautifully innocent life just by noting my weirdest clothing purchases.
Hi Mary Ann!
What state are you in? Interesting to know about FTE getting reduced if you go over in sick leave. I am wondering if that is in all states. I have retirement in both Illinois and Colorado.
I don’t have much.
1. I pried the top off a pump bottle of lotion to use the remainder.
2. I cut the bottom off an almost empty toothpaste tube, as I always do. I am about to do the same to a paint tube, as I always do.
3. I checked out a book I have been wanting to read from the Ĺucky Day section of the library.
4. I made a couple of sales on Etsy.
Sadly, my library never really bounced back to their pre-pandemic “Lucky Day” section. Usually just a few books.
Enlighten me on “Lucky Day” section. As with Tillmook cheese, I’ve never heard of “Lucky Day” section.
Selena, I think the Lucky Day section is books that are usually on the waiting list because they are new releases that everybody wants. At our library it is just one rack of about a dozen books, but they change frequently.
Yes, they’re bestsellers that would normally take forever to check out. These ones can’t be reserved and you can’t renew them.
1. I hung laundry out on a cool but windy day. I think hanging clothes to dry makes them last longer, along with washing them in cold water.
2. I returned some frozen salmon burgers to Safeway. They were marked down but did smell or taste safe to eat after cooking and then we discovered the sell by date was a couple of weeks before we bought them. Eating bad fish and getting sick is not frugal. They gave me a full refund.
3. I picked up a couple of nickels in a Coin Star machine and also found three pennies during the course of a day.
4. A neighbor picked up an artificial “Christmas” tree that we curb picked after Christmas last year. I knew they wanted to try having an artificial tree after the trouble they had with one of their cats and their “real” tree last year.
5. I did not shop on Cyber Monday.
The spinach sounds divine! I love all greens and eat them in some form almost every day
FTFT, Winter’s Here Edition:
(1) I finished the last of my yard work, brought in all tools and flowerpots, and declared gardening season officially over. We got a lake effect snow warning on Monday.
(2) I got my elderly next-door neighbor to her preferred supermarket, and made sure I was stocked up myself, before the snow arrived. (Having to go out for supplies in the middle of a whiteout = not fun and not frugal.)
(3) The snow, when it arrived on Tuesday, wasn’t as bad as predicted (it was worse north of the NY State Thruway, as it usually is). Still, I was happy to stay home, watch it fall, and write a few early holiday cards. Chanukah seems early this year; am I right, Katy?
(4) I’ll light a fire in my wood-burning fireplace insert this afternoon, using the apparently endless supply of wood that DH scavenged and cut up back in the day. This will make both Betty the cat and me happy.
(5) And I’m planning a dinner that will use up some rapidly sprouting russet potatoes. (Maybe their age was the reason I got 5# of them on sale for $2.99 at Price Chopper?)
I feel like Chanukah is only a weensy bit early. It overlapped with Thanksgiving a few years ago, which reset my barometer.
A. Marie (and maybe others) will get a chuckle out of this. When I worked in a ‘burb in Chicago, I mentioned whiteouts and hoping you could at least see fence posts to help remain on the road. Much to my surprise, some folks had no idea what a whiteout was. They can be quite scary and dangerous as well as not fun and not frugal.
‘Burb OF Chicago.
1. Our dryer went out, while waiting on our discounted heating element replacement I have been hanging it out to dry outside during the day or across any surface in the living room at night.
2. We have been doing our annual, eat the freezer. I try to use something from the bottom of the freezer everyday. It is easy for things to get lost at the bottom and languish. Tonight it was butter beans we grew, made into succotash.
3. Currently mending a cotton tapestry blanket I have had for years and years.
4. Bought a box of sweet potatoes, 10 lb for $8, split them with my in laws.
5. Saving my nephew’s clothes to give to a dear friend with a newborn.
Not frugal but wise?
1. got an electrician in to check on a front porch light that would randomly go out. Pain the keister when there aren’t streetlights here and winter is upon us with the dark rainy nights. She replaced the fixture, switched out the toggle switches for the flat ones I have everywhere else (I will need to get a larger switch plate, due to OLD HOUSEISMS) and also brought me an additional light for my kitchen track lighting – of course, the bulb was the wrong lumens but she left it for now and we will switch out when she is next by. So wonderful to have an electrician who rewired my entire house knowing what the problem was and fixing the porch light. SO wonderful to come home tonight to lit front steps! We also investigated the options for an electric car charger and she assured me I have plenty of capacity (and the Solar panels will continue to earn their keep). I need to save to buy the car, but now I know that I will be able to charge at home.
2. @Katy you would be so proud of me! I hired a Gutter Repair guy to come look at a leaking gutter, he was thrilled that I preferred repair to replacement – cost a lot less, too, and he put longer screws in all along once he solved my problem. we are getting bigger heavier wet snowfalls and they are hard on gutters – but now mine won’t drip and should withstand…
3. The saga of Powers of Attorney and Rep 9 (Who will speak for me if I can’t for myself- health wise) continues. My daughter has now signed mine, so I have copies in a place that all the kids can find. @ A. Marie I know you understand the value of this! My mom’s signed paperwork requesting her documents to be sent up to my lawyer was delivered, so I hope that we get HER stuff signed next week…
4. Got 50 pounds of really gorgeous extra large onions for $19.95 – they will last for months in my basement. My own onion harvest this year was pathetic, and I also have been cooking with more onions so I am feeling rich with possibilities.
5. Our local discount farmers market’s prices had been creeping up but they seem to have recognized the error of those ways, now I can get good deals again. Am taking to dropping in any time I go to town (it is just off the highway) and perusing their discount rack. getting a sack of use-em-quick fruits and veggies is only frugal if I use them – Tamar Adler’s lovely book (and new cookbook) “An Everlasting Meal” continue to inspire me to cook when I get home. Having pre-cooked veggies in the fridge is a game-changer – one step up from just having ingredients and no food to eat. Currently the fridge is full of possibilities and some soup on the horizon to deal with odds and sods…
Ecoteri, the comment below is meant for your #1.
1. My son noticed a large bag of beef jerky had gone moldy even though it was relatively new. I contacted the company and they sent coupons 3x the value.
2. We had friends over for dinner to witness some documents we had to sign. Due to the holidays, I was avoiding grocery shopping but we were able to feed everyone burgers and fries out of our freezer.
3. The extra warranty we bought through Lowe’s for our refrigerator covers “replacement and maintenance parts” at 50% up to $100/year. I ordered two water filters and requested that benefit and got a $52 store credit by email almost immediately.
4. My niece and I have recently been spending time together doing puzzles. We’ve blown through my stash and my first round of Goodwill puzzles. I took her to visit an older friend of ours who has offered to loan us puzzles from her stash. She loaded us up with 8 great puzzles and said to come trade them out for more when we’re done. We’re probably set for the rest of the winter with this stack, and she’s happy to get some use out of her puzzle stash of probably 40+.
5. We had some friends over for lunch and I really debated about what to make since we are vegetarian and they’re not. Ultimately I settled on my favorite vegan meal, that way we’d be able to eat the leftovers if there were any. It all worked out and there were more leftovers than I expected so I’m very glad it’s something we can use.
Your #1…sad to say the whole time I was reading your post about an electrician, in my mind I was picturing a man. Happy to see careers and vocations that were once solely male are opening up to females…or maybe females are opening themselves up to these opportunities. Nice either way.
As an onion connoisseur I have to say: Great score on the 50 pound bag of onions!
@Christine, found this reply and I agree, glad women are in the trades. This particular person worked very closely with an absolutely lovely man, the two of them rewired my whole house. He unfortunately got cancer and died a couple of years ago, and I think she found it really hard to come into my house the first few times after we lost him. I am glad that she could, this time, and that we could laugh a little about how well he knew me and the kind of lightbulbs I would have wanted. the small precious memories of friends we have lost.
As for the onions, boy howdy I am enjoying them – they are so pretty to the eye, too! Rich, I tell you!
1. I transplanted the aloe plants a friend gave me.
2. We had a coupon for a free car wash DH received the last time he took the car in to be serviced. He took the car for the free wash today and will clean the interior himself tomorrow.
3. Using a borrowed battery powered tree trimmer, DH lopped off many small to medium sized limbs that were obstructing our view of a cove behind our house. We may have to hire a tree company to take care of the larger limbs but at least we saved some of the money we would have spent to have a company do it all.
4. Using a sale price plus a store coupon, a six pack of socks went from $16 down to $6.59.
5. I’m making our four adult children and their spouses/significant others a gift basket for each couple as Christmas gifts. I’ve already decided the baskets will contain consumables. With grocery prices still high I think they’ll be appreciated. There will be some specialty items as well as ethnic foods and of course some German chocolate. My boss and owner of the deli/small grocery store I work at part time said he will get me some things for cost. I’m hoping they’ll be hits.
1. My son noticed a large bag of beef jerky had gone moldy even though it was relatively new. I contacted the company and they sent coupons 3x the value.
2. We had friends over for dinner to witness some documents we had to sign. Due to the holidays, I was avoiding grocery shopping but we were able to feed everyone burgers and fries out of our freezer.
3. The extra warranty we bought through Lowe’s for our refrigerator covers “replacement and maintenance parts” at 50% up to $100/year. I ordered two water filters and requested that benefit and got a $52 store credit by email almost immediately.
4. My niece and I have recently been spending time together doing puzzles. We’ve blown through my stash and my first round of Goodwill puzzles. I took her to visit an aged friend of ours who has offered to loan us puzzles from her stash. She loaded us up with 8 great puzzles and said to come trade them out for more when we’re done. We’re probably set for the rest of the winter with this stack, and she’s happy to get some use out of her puzzle stash of probably 40+.
5. We had some friends over for lunch and I really debated about what to make since we are vegetarian and they’re not. Ultimately I settled on my favorite vegan meal, that way we’d be able to eat the leftovers if there were any. It all worked out and there were more leftovers than I expected so I’m very glad it’s not something we can’t use.