Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on September 7, 2023 · 55 comments
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I made a point of scoping out Fred Meyer’s clearance shelf and lucked out on three two-pound bins of strawberries for a buck apiece. A few were too far gone to salvage, but the rest just super ripe but otherwise fine. I didn’t have the bandwidth to make jam, so I sliced and froze them on cookie sheets for now.
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My slumlord neighbor actively ignores the pigeons that gleefully reproduce in his broken down eaves, so now we have a pigeon that sits and poops off the tallest corbel in front of our house. (I know his tenants and other neighbors have complained, so he’s fully aware of the issue.) We’ve lived in this house since 1996 and never had issues until now. It’s gotten to the point where I’ve added “clean off pigeon feces” to my daily to-do list.
The problem is that that top corbel is inaccessible without risk of death, so I did a little Googling and came up with the idea to draw scary eyes on a helium balloon from Dollar Tree and just fly it out our bedroom window. I see there are products that serve the same purpose, but I’ll always start with the cheap/simple route. I know it’s not a permanent solution, but it is a $1.50 solution.
I only set up the deterrent balloon a few hours ago, but so far it seems to be working. The pigeon flew away when I set it up and then acted super freaked out when it tried to return, which I consider to be worth at least a buck-fifty! Hopefully it’ll stay away and my porch steps can return to normal. Sans feces.
* Update — It’s been 24 hours and the pigeon has yet to return!
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My daughter brought me a bouquet of flowers that her schwanky grocery store was throwing away. I snipped off any browning leaves and trimmed the bottoms of the stems and they look fantastic!
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• I got another free Doritos Locos Taco from Taco Bell using the app and a “Taco Tuesday” promo code.
• I made sure to return a couple items to Goodwill before it was too late and/or I lost the receipt.
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I didn’t grab the $1 Lear Jet from the clearance shelf.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 54 comments… read them below or add one }
That is a brilliant idea about the balloon. Because it’s going to move around, the bird won’t get used to it.
Frugal five at my house:
1. Went to Ollie’s Outlet and bought 200 pounds of cat litter for $30. This is the most I can store and 30% cheaper than buying it conventionally.
2. Saved $7.70 on groceries with storebrand coupons.
3. Put together two freezer meals composed of leftovers, some frozen fish patties, and the dregs of a bag of frozen spinach.
4. Found a quality, less expensive dog kibble that my dogs like and bought two bags on sale, saving approximately $40 over what they had been eating.
5. Took up a pair of “getting too loose” pants by running elastic inside the back waistband. The elastic was recycled from another pair of pants and the thread was from the huge bin gifted to me by a neighbor 14 years ago.
Awesome idea for the pigeons.
1. I rescued a bowl of overripe precut pineapple for 99 cents. Delicious.
2. I made an offer on Poshmark for new balance slip ons that are sleek and perfect for when I wear dresses. There was a counteroffer and I didn’t accept. The transaction provided me enough time to remember it is a low buy month and I have a pair of shoes that will also work and still has a little life in them. This means This afternoon, I am going through my shoes to donate, clean and reassign to specific outfits. This will save time in my busy early mornings.
3. I broke into a nice canister of small batch soap I was gifted two years ago. I had forgotten about it and was about to buy more.
4. There are only a few things that I am label – committed – Pert shampoo and Irish Spring deodorant.. These are for hubby who makes very few demands. One of them is the only coffee creamer I can find for my real food challenge. This mean that I have to go to the “expensive store” at some point. I went to the store and stocked up even though they weren’t one sale. My hourly rate plus the price of gas does not justify waiting to save $20 on some as yet undefined sale. Maybe when I am retired. For now, I won’t have to go to that for for two months.
5. I have anguishing over buying a floral arrangement subscription at school for our FFA program. The class depends on subscriptions. I have a few students in it. It is a low buy month and the cost is $220. OK, I recently splurged the same amount on a dress I know I will wear forever that also support a small batch designer. I have just decided I am going to do it. Thanks for letting me write here to get some clarity.
Totally understand No. 5. We recently had a dessert only date at one of our favorite restaurants for my husband’s birthday. They have a card for frequent diners to accrue points towards free food. Of course it is now digitalized but I have a mental block in my brain when anyone utters the words “Just download the app.”
This very kind young waitress spent time showing me exactly how this was done. Not an easy task, belive me. For several reasons our bill was under three dollars, but we tipped her a twenty for helping two old fogies. We can afford to be generous when it counts.
The pigeon deterrent idea is genius!!!
1. I had a pair of shoes I bought second hand that were just a bit too big for my feet. I gifted them to a coworker. They were a little big for her, but she said she would offer them to her sister. I am good with that.
2. I have been looking for a free tub to collect rain water. Today it appeared in my neighbors curbed pile!! Yay. We have gotten very little rain. I re-use the rain water on dry days and for water thirsty plants. I am a water miser. To be a better water miser I needed a bigger tub.
3. We’ve been eating from the pantry and freezer a lot so far this month. I am trying to make this month frugal. Your post yesterday was a good reminder to do frugal months!!
4. I wanted to make spaghetti this week and didn’t have any chunks of beef in the freezer to add to the sauce. I did have hamburger patties, I am thawing them in the fridge to make sauce later. This is a great way to use what we have on hand instead of running to the store.
5. I baked off a dozen cookies this morning for my hungry teen. I have laid out a can of tuna for me to meal prep tonight, and a can of pumpkin pie mix to make pumpkin bread tonight or tomorrow.
I have been looking at all our canned goods and really trying to think of how to use them up. I’m hoping that it gives them use before they expire, and also rounds my budget down a bit in the next month or two.
Hello there! I’ve been enjoying this blog for a long time. Thank you so much for the lively and creative frugal sharing of ideas! I’ve recently retired (early to lock down health insurance for my husband and I) and have been trying to fill my time with interesting (and low cost) things to do. Going from a nice full salary to nothing has been a mental process for me. 😛
Here are some frugal things i’ve been doing with my time to stay active and energized.
1- Started leading a women’s only weekly mountain bike rides through our local club to encourage women to get out and ride. I coach and encourage everyone so that it is a positive experience.
2-cleared out clutter! I’m an artist and just donated art supplies to the local art gallery/studio. They offered me free use of their print studio in exchange for volunteering with their classes.
3-I love horses and I had put off buying my own until retirement. Sadly, the prices (which were already high) to keep a horse have skyrocketed in the past 2-3 years. The stable down the street from me lets me ride their horses that need attention and a little training. I make sure to help out here and there when needed.
4-My husband returned to work and instead of buying cold cuts, I bought chicken breast to roast and freeze and a frozen spiral ham for sandwiches. Huge savings compared to deli prices.
5-Been selling junk around the house on ebay! Brings in a little cash and reduced the clutter!
Anyway, thanks for this site and for everyone’s sharing! Nice to find a like minded community. Wishing all a peaceful and joyful day! xx Liz
Retirement is a mental process for certain, but your list of healthy and frugal activities is just awesome!
I’m recently retired too. This was not an early retirement. In fact, I had intended to retire several years ago, but when COVID hit, I was offered a work-at-home position and I put off retirement plans. Now, the knowledge that I will soon have to start drawing down my savings is daunting!
I’ve been hemorrhaging money reecently (new tires for my car, annual doctor visit, lab work, mammogram, eye doctor, all medical expenses paid out of pocket because of the sky high deductible on the only health insurance I can afford). A local church has a food ministry. Last week it had been given a pallet of 50-pound bags of onions, free to anyone and as many bags as you wanted. I picked up one bag, these are the nice smaller size onions, and so many friends, neighbors, and family were given MANY onions.
When I had no medical insurance I started going to a place locally that is low cost and sliding scale and takes patients without insurance. It was the best option for us at the time and the place was very nice. Maybe you have some other options still for lower cost medical care.
Many years ago when my son aged out of our insurance, we bought a marketplace plan. It would not cover his medication, because there was not a generic equivalent. I contacted the drug company and helped my son fill out the paperwork. They provided his medication for free otherwise it would have cost $750 a month. I also have a friend that has done this with an expensive drug she takes for MS. I don’t know if this is helpful in your case, Peg. However, it is something to keep in mind.
There is also something called Good RX that is free and can lower the cost of prescriptions. It was a savior when I didn’t have insurance. You dont have to sign up or pay anything, their app price compares pharmacy prices locally and then has a coupon to get you a lower price on your prescription. It significantly helped me. A pharmacist told me about it when I was uninsured.
https://www.goodrx.com/
1. Found 2 one pound packs of dry white beans in grocery clearance for 25 cents each! That’s a lot of good tasting protein for the two of us!! White bean chili,refried white beans, bean soup, etc.. we do love beans!
2. Used up the almost round the bend celeries and carrots in refrig and made a lentil stew for our supper. Threw in some steamed potato chunks that were not being eaten. Found a box of Beer batter bread from Trader Joe in pantry and tossed that into oven also.Did not have beer,so used a can of my carbonated seltzer water in place of the beer. That is today’s dinner and tomorrows lunch and maybe one more meal after that,too.
3. Used a movie gift certificate to go see Oppenheimer.
4. Scheduled a “free” entertainment day at my house next week:invited 3 friends over to learn a new card game “Phase Ten.”
5. Ordered my $75 worth of over the counter stuff from my Humana health insurance benefit. I can order toothpaste,sunscreen,vitamins,lotions, dental floss,many items! For the two of us I get $150 free every 3 months! Cough syrup, ibuprofen,tylenol,ear wax removal,you name it. lol
We play Phase 10 with a group that meets monthly. Everyone brings an appetizer or dessert and contributes $1 to prize money. The winner and biggest loser split the pot. It is a fun evening.
I was given a tip for storing celery and it works. Just pull apart the celery without washing and wrap the stalks in bundles of three or four in cooking foil I have kept these in the veg drawer of the fridge for over a month and still crisp and fresh.
Better half has that benefit though not through Humana. Just keep a close eye out. I’ve found a couple of items that via his plan are grossly overpriced from the “vendor”. And do be aware that your insurance provider will “review” what you buy on the off chance you had/have a condition of which they were unaware.
I’m not sure if I am going to go the same route. Fingers crossed that feds tell Medicare Advantage plans that if Medicare covers it, stop asking for pre-auth. Human, Aetna, UHC are getting rich of denying covered services. Sorry, off my soapbox.
1. I cut up a $3.88 watermelon and shared some with a neighbor. I find it much easier to cut the whole thing because then we readily eat it. The rind went into our compost pile.
2. I picked up a penny here and a penny there. I count found money each quarter.
3. We were out of bananas so I walked to the grocery store and bought four lose ones for $.87. They ripen quickly this time of the year.
4. I redeemed grocery store rewards points for a lemon and non-dairy milk.
5. I went to the grand opening of the Grocery Outlet. I was among the first 100 customers so I received a gift card with a $10 value. I was not overly impressed with the prices and only bought a bag of potatoes and a box of cereal.
1. Went to dinner at Panera with 2 friends. We try to go out every other month. All 3 of us had gift cards. I ordered water.
2. I just separated my aloe plants and offered them each one. I also offered tomatoes from my garden. One friend took an aloe plant. One took some tomatoes. The aloe plant pot was garbage picked.
3. One friend gave me Sushi Go. Her daughter moved out of state and didn’t want it. I have played it at her house a few times and was happy to have a new game.
4. Made brushetta pizza , eggplant parm, BLT’s and sauce with garden veggies.
5. My sister and neighbor were happy to take tomatoes off my hands since they are currently going crazy.
1. DH took our car to the dealership where we have a warranty on our car purchased in 2019. We had a tire with a slow leak. It fell under the warranty so they plugged and patched it at no cost.
2. I use the water from the dehumidifier in our basement to water the outdoor plants.
3. I receive a monthly statement of usage from the electric company which compares us to similar houses in our area. This month we came in at 1% less electricity usage than the most efficient homes. Yay for hanging out laundry!
4. Using the fan during the day and saving the A/C for at night to sleep.
5. We had unwanted pigeons coming to our bird feeder. I’m happy to see them go since we had to stop feeding the birds due to a raccoon problem. They’re messy birds and I worried about my neighbors’ roofs and yards.
Good call on the balloon!
1. A co-worker is relocating, so she gifted me her flour, oatmeal and brown sugar.
2. I took a drive the other day and went to a vintage store. Found an album I’ve been looking for for years!! $5. Plays perfectly (Billy Joel, songs in the attic. I now have it on cassette, cd and now vinyl also!)
3. The store was in an old mill building that had a brewery/cafe. I had a grilled cheese on their sourdough for 5. It was hanging over the plate. They had free lemon water for drinks. It was so good.
4. I’m leaving soon for a work trip. Trying to not buy a lot of perishable things. My neighbor will take care of my cats
5.using fans with the central air to keep the cooler air circulating.
Nancy, by any chance was your #3 at Birchtree Bread in Worcester? The way you described it could be the same place right down to the lemon water. If so, look for an adorable girl on the wait staff. My granddaughter!
A restaurant meal for just $5? That’s a unicorn at this point!
My frugal five:
1. I got a free taco at Taco Bell on Tuesday. I also showed a customer who had just walked in how to order one for herself at the kiosk.
2. I noticed that salad green in a plastic sack were 1/2 the price of the items in a tub at Walmart. I got 2 lbs total of romaine & spinach for less that the premixed 1lb container. It pays to look carefully at the amount of each item.
3. Walgreen’s had summer items 70% off. I bought a tower fan to replace the one that died. I also got a black knit skirt that is knee length for a little over 3$.
4. I have a coin challenge that I started Jan 1. I am at 31$ at this point. I went to my bank to get free paper tubes to roll the coins. Easier to keep track of the amount. I can deposit the $ in the bank also. I walk 4 miles a day so I look for dropped coins when I’m out hoofing it.
5. My sister wanted a lighted make up mirror. I found one that is like new for 11$. I’m not sure what they retail for as I haven’t bought one in 20 yrs. I don’t see them at resale stores very often so I snapped it up.
6. I got some nice bread at the senior center. Publix grocery donates day old baked goods to the center. I’ve been eating frozen items that were left during my last visit. I did put a pork shoulder in a cooler that went in my suitcase. It will make nice pulled pork bbq.
Hooray for free tacos!
Very confused by the pork shoulder-suitcase duo. You took your suitcase to the senior center?
I love the balloon trick!
1. I had an alignment done on my car last Saturday and it still didn’t feel right. I brought it back to the tire store yesterday and spoke to the store manager. ( A woman btw) They made some adjustments without argument. It’s much better now. I thought of you, Katy.
2. I stayed at a hotel when visiting my son. I brought home the remaining part of the bar of soap that I used and the unopened shower cap. I put the cap in my guest bath in case it is need by an overnight visitor.
3. We cleaned out the garage last weekend. There were two very battered American Flags. I brought them to a VFW drop off point, and they will be disposed of respectfully.
4. I paid my monthly bills using my banks bill pay service saving the cost of stamps.
5. Frugal Fails – I made a trip to Trader Joe’s for $0.19 bananas. However, I bought two beautiful bromeliads which were definitely an unnecessary expense, but they make me smile when I look at them. Flowers and plants may be my week spot.
Wishing everyone peace, good health and prosperity.
Good for you taking your car back!
I took a chance on some light ice cream at Aldi’s that was clearanced to 99 cents. It’s delicious. That’s all I’ve got.
I’ll take it! 😉
I had no idea what that picture was at first. My first thought was “how did that weird pillow get up there.”
1. We are trying to eat all the perishable food in the house before we go away. I made one of my husband’s favorites: burgers in gravy in the crockpot. I used sprouting potatoes, the last carrots and a dented, reduced can of mushroom soup. I also salvaged two servings of strawberries that were hours from mush.
2. Friends came to watch a movie. I made dessert from ingredients in the house. When we go to their house for a movie, they will make popcorn.
3. I used my insurance debit card for $61 worth of OTC meds and vitamins.
4. My friend gave me pants that were a weird fit on her. She thought they would work better for me but they are still weird. I am making them into shorts which should be an improvement.
5. I took two vintage children’s books from the little free library for a craft project. They are so battered I doubt anyone would want them for reading.
It’s not really a normal place for a balloon, so that reaction is 100% understandable.
Can you share how you cook the burgers w gravy in the crockpot? It sounds yummy!
Ava, I too thought at first that it was a pillow, and thought “clever Katy, multi-purposing a Halloween/Fall couch pillow as a bird scare”. 😀
Not a lot of wins at our house over the past week, but here’s where we are:
1) We’d planned a trip to Las Vegas for my nephew’s 21st birthday. I covered flights & my husband has comps for most of the trip. Their flight was diverted to LAX, so I also covered a rental car from LAX to Las Vegas (there was no way for them to get to LV or even back to Portland that weekend, as it was a holiday.) Because it was a weather diversion, they would have had to pay for two nights at a hotel (and, there were four of them, so two rooms). The rental car was the cheaper option. They ended up getting to Las Vegas at 1 am, and having a fabulous weekend. The wins: I spent hours on the phone with Southwest, and got everyone $200 each for the flight diversion (the airline is required to do, because they didn’t get you to the city you booked. However, of course, they make you jump through humps to get this). My husband also got 90% of the expenses comp’d, so the trip ended up being fantastic all around, despite the very non-frugal start.
2) Made a large batch of chicken fajitas for dinner, and had enough for several nights of leftovers. Used peppers from our garden with the fajitas.
3) Used a $10/$50 purchase at the grocery store. Additionally, bought two salads that were $2/off, making them $1/bag. Right now, they are one of the only salads I can eat, so it’s a worthwhile purchase.
4) Filled out the paperwork at work to get a partial reimbursement on my gym membership.
5) Over the weekend, I made a giant batch of applesauce, using freebie apples I got on Buy Nothing. I turned 1/3 of the applesauce into applesauce muffins, and froze the rest for future muffin making.
Wow, that is the most impressive “5 things” ever!
FTFT, A Question for Readers Edition:
(1) OK, here’s the question: Chase–after immediately cancelling our Chase Amazon Visa card the minute I reported DH’s death back in June (he was the primary cardholder; never mind that I’d been paying the bills for years)–messed up its own arithmetic and now wants to send me a payment for 2 cents. Should I let them do this electronically, or should I make them send me a paper check, suitable for framing? I’m leaning toward the paper check, but I’m willing to be talked out of this by someone who’s more ethical.
(2) I continue to make myself stir-frys with various combinations of Reduced for Quick Sale meats, veggies that need to be used up, and stir-fry noodles from Ollie’s. When I get tired of this, I’ll let you know.
(3) I went to my local bakery outlet today and discovered that Fridays are the days to go: I got three loaves of Arnold’s whole wheat bread and a 6-pack of oversized sausage buns for a total of $5.
(4) I continue to regale friends and neighbors with jars of refrigerator dill pickles and with bouquets from my garden. Whoever named my favorite variety of zinnias “Cut and Come Again” wasn’t kidding. I’m up to here in them.
(5) And I have stayed out of thrift shops for a couple of weeks to let the back-to-school crowd have fair play, but I’m heading back in, starting tomorrow.
Re: #1: I don’t think “ethical” is quite the word here, as refunds are a business expense and you aren’t taking (much) away from their customers by having them complete this business practice.
I vote for the paper check, then do not cash it, then let it go to your state’s “Unclaimed” funds in another ten years or however long it takes for uncashed refund checks to be reported there, where they remain for 30 years or so until the state gets the money.
Or get the check, and deposit it electronically so you can keep the paper check for framing and taunting them on social media.
I concur re: paper check you DO NOT cash. Chase was an a-hole for canceling you (shades of the discriminatory era). Not only will it cost far more than $.02 to generate said check (in the 80s, the company for which I worked would not cut a commission check for less than $25), by not cashing it will leave it not cleared for the escheatment period for your state (yes each state can be different). THEN the company will have to send $.02 to your state. Being a bit of an evil person, you might could complain to Chase and have them cut another check prior to the escheatment period.
Ooh= I have learned a new word and am going to study up on how to use “escheatment” in daily conversation.
A. Marie, I vote for electronic so that you don’t have a physical reminder of a sucky situation.
In spite of my creative revenge plots, that is what I would be most likely to do, if they already had the account number.
I’m with you MB. Electronic deposit and forget about them.
I’m afraid that your situation with Chase is a normal business practice. My dear friend had a similar situation with a different bank. I wished banks had a better process for dealing with such things.
When my father died, it took a few weeks before I had access to his accounts. I called his mortgage company to explain that his mortgage payment would be late and other things. The customer service rep read the canned response. A late mortgage could have a negative impact on his credit rating, blah, blah,blah …..
When she was done, I told her that it was fortunate that my father’s credit score was not important to him in heaven. She then apologized for her insensitivity. Banks are just wonderful aren’t they?
Anyway, I’m sorry that these things are such a pain to deal with… hugs.
Reminds me a bit of what a friend went through after her husband died. She called his doctor to cancel a future appointment, explaining that he had passed away. The person on the other end said: “Would he like to reschedule?” Oh my. She can laugh about it now, thankfully.
Love me a bakery outlet and for the record — it’s completely ethical to make Chase cut you a 2¢ check.
Just a quick comment that your balloon’s eyeliner is better than mine! #jealous
She’s does makeup tutorials on Balloon Tok.
Yay for no pigeon poop!
They are disgusting poop machines!
Update on the Chase situation (see my #1 above): I read the fine print in the email I received, and since they already cancelled DH’s account, they now want me to open a NEW “Chase Payments” account to receive the 2 cents electronically. Well, the heck with that. When I receive the paper check, I will frame it–and may submit it to our local alternative-art gallery with the title “Just My 2 Cents.”
I love this!
Great idea! Love it. If there are prizes you may win first place. Very clever!
Katy,
I did something similar in my chicken pen. We have problems with hawks swooping in and swooping off with a bird in its beak. So I ran a line between the sides of the 6 ft tall fence and strung up a deflated mylar balloon that I found on my property. It probably escaped from a birthday party judging from the printing on it. The mylar shines and moves around so the hawks can’t swoop in because they don’t want tangled in the lines (?). It works great for me!!!! and it was free.
1. made zucchini relish with garden produce, did have to buy peppers which were surprisingly cheap and while there scored a marked down large box of peaches.
2. gallon jar of peach liqueur making now and quarts of peaches in the freezer. Did the math each quart cost .67
3. extra peppers chopped and frozen for hot pepper jelly making
4. peach jam made with small bits and pieces
5. making yet more comfrey salve, we are loving it. Tried it on a sleep induced crick in my neck….worked great.
I bought a toy rubber snake to put on the window sill above my front door to keep birds away. It works magnificently. Maybe you’ll want to keep your eye out for one at the Goodwill?
Ooh . . . that’s a good idea. Thanks!
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