Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on August 2, 2024 · 82 comments
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I’m finally home from New York, complete with a handful of truly filthy coins for my Found Change Challenge jar. 95¢ in total, which is not too shabby.
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I broke the top and side handles on my suitcase during my arduous four-and-a-half hour journey from Newark airport to The Bronx. Luckily the telescoping handle still works, but you still need the handles to carry it up and down all those subway stairs. Luckily I packed an assortment of heavy duty zip ties from home, so I pulled out my sister’s needle-nose pliers and performed surgery to reattach the handles. Are the handles now perfect? No. Is this a forever repair? Very specifically no. But is this a “make it do” situation? Yes.
Update: My suitcase made it home with two, count ’em two intact handles, even though I chose to check my luggage!
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I pre-ordered an $11 salad for my 5-1/2 hour flight home as my suitcase was very full and I was already taking a city bus, two subways, a train and a tram to get from The Bronx to Newark airport. I did pick up a $3.99 box of five granola bars from my sister’s grocery store and ate a couple while waiting for my delayed flight. I didn’t pay the extra $8 for the wi-fi, but I did enjoy a free movie (Little Women) and another hundred pages of “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.”
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Did I mention that I took a city bus, two subways, a train and a tram to get from The Bronx to Newark airport? A Lyft was going to be $125 before the tip and taking public transportation cost $19.70. No tip necessary and frankly, it’s much better for people watching.
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No Lear Jet as I chose to fly commercial.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 82 comments… read them below or add one }
1. It is about 100 miles from cheapest gas station to home where I had to drop off the rented car. I had to fill to halfway, so I did some mathematical calculations so that I would buy JUST enough to still drive the rest of the way and have EXACTLY 1/2 tank left.
2. Partner was away, so I dropped off the car and hoofed it home for 1.4 miles. It was at 8:30 and there were enough people (the car rental place is in a bit of a remote area) that I felt safe, rather than calling Uber/Lyft.
3. It is BLT season & I’m here for it! So I brought home some of my stockpile bacon ($2.99 a pound) from work apartment AS I’VE FINISHED Summer semester, and will not have to drive the 300 mile r/trip weekly for a month.
4. Car is still in the shop, 6 weeks after an incident with a deer, but I’ll go without a car for the next month, sharing partner’s car when needed.
5. Between mystery shop where we have to order meat and partner getting free CSA, our grocery bill is delightfully low.
I finally snagged not one but both of the locally available shops for the deli. I never would have bought Drunken Goat cheese without that incentive!
I love Drunken Goat! But my dissertation was on Spanish food, so I may be biased…. 🙂
You and I putting Uber out of business!
You may be the only person in America calling your grocery bill “delightfully low!”
That is quite a complicated journey to get to the Newark airport. I’m impressed you could coordinate all the schedules of the subway, tram, & train & not miss your flight. (I am always a bit nervous riding the train to get to the airport. I worry if something goes wrong that will I miss my flight.) Well done!
I have learned on this blog to make things from nothings. Zip ties hold my wheeled cart together that I use for work. My watch lost the keeper that holds the excess strap. I used a zip tie to make a keeper. I even saw a hubcap attached to a wheel of a car with a black zip tie. If the airline damaged your suitcase you may be able to file a claim. Southwest Airlines ruined my husband’s suitcase. They gave him a new red Swiss Army brand suitcase to replace the damaged one.
I am on a low spend summer as I did not get much summer work this year. I am viewing it as a challenge to trim whatever is possible in the expense dept. I did not renew my Sam’s club membership. I am using airline & hotel points to travel. My gal pals & I split the cost of gas & the parking fees. I brought a cooler with sandwich meat, bread, chips, and drinks for eating on the road. I did not buy any new clothes to travel. I wore what I had. I did hem a pair of Capri pants to make them Bermuda shorts. My suitcase is one I curb picked. A sturdy silver hard sided one. I wanted a new purse. I curb picked a black microfiber Tommy Hilfiger purse. I washed in the machine & it came out fine. New white Bermuda shorts & a new (to me) black purse. My CC provided 30$ per day for food at the hotel. That took care of my meals & some of my friends also.
You might check with your cell provider. We have T-mobile and with this carrier you can get free internet on your flight. I just learned about this. I’m going to use it on my flight home.
I’m cooking some black beans in my crockpot. I am going to make some black bean nachos like Katy writes about. I have the ingredients on hand & can freeze the beans if they don’t all get even.
I figure spell check changed your “eaten” to “even” in the last line. Still, I liked the idea of you lining up the cooked beans by size and sorting out the shortest or tallest.
The T-Mobile note is a good reminder to check what unexpected services providers provide, which are already paid for!
And we all know how black beans would get even lol.. a good chuckle for me.
The silverware basket from my dishwasher had some “woven basket” parts break and the silverware was falling through. I used zip ties to “weave” those again and it has worked fine, 4 years later.
Maybe Katy will feature a topic on all the ways to use zip ties!
I like this suggestion, texasilver!
I third this suggestion!
Yes! I love zip ties!
Maybe I will! 😉
My 60-year-old sink has a pinhole in it. 15 years ago, when we bought the house, I swiped a little silicone caulk over it. Maybe a year ago, it failed, so I cleaned it off and did it again.
Valuable information! Thank you. Much less expensive than replacing a sink.
I’d say that 15 years is a pretty good length of time for a repair to last!
I give myself a big ol’ cushion of time so I don’t have to stress. I feel that a train to the airport is the less likely to have issues than a car, as traffic can turn sideways for so many reasons.
My suitcase was already held together with zip ties before I even began this trip, so not anyone’s fault here.
Curb picked purse? I feel like there’s a metaphor here, something about “more money in the purse than spent on the purse!”
Kudos to you for using so much public transportation and enduring the time it took.
I always put found money in the dishwasher, even the rare bills. It makes me feel better.
1. A quiet week. DH was away at a conference for most of it so meals were of the use it up from the refrigerator and freezer variety. I did buy a bit of produce.
2. It was very hot yesterday but two friends and I got together at one of your homes instead of going out.
3. We needed to have two trees taken down. I called the company a neighbor recommended and they provided an excellent price quote. I had a 30% off coupon from a mailer that they offered. They did the work quickly and well. They asked to be paid via a check so I honored that.
4. One evening we sat outside with a neighbor to catch up.
5. Another neighbor asked me to put out and bring in her trash barrels while she is away. As Katy has said many times, having a good relationship with neighbors is beneficial. It is nice to see so many people in our neighborhood having relationships with other neighbors, including the newer residents.
Your neighbor story reminded me of earlier this summer. The 80 plus neighbor lady asked for help lifting her lawn mower into her vehicle so that she could take it in to be repaired. The husband asked me to come along in my wheelchair to help left the back. So there we were, 80 something, a newly minted 76 year old, and 72 in a wheelchair. A truck drove by and then backed up. Out jumped two sturdy young men who appeared to be in their early 20s, and they told us to move aside and lifted it in. After profuse thanks, as they were walking away, one of them said, “You aren’t stealing this mower from this house, are you?” I wish I knew their names so I could write a note to their parents to say, “Well done in the child rearing department!”
It does give one hope for the future, doesn’t it? Sad to say instances like this get almost zero “publicity”. Perhaps a note to your local newspaper/online neighborhood news group? We all need to hear more about the good in society.
It really wasn’t anything to “endure” except waiting for the first bus, which was both hot and unshaded.
I love visiting with neighbors in one another’s yards, always so relaxing!
Well done on bringing the suitcase back from the dead for a while!
It’s been a tough week here. A setback in the family and things are not looking great in some respects but it helps to focus on the small positive things including tiny frugal wins:
* Recent favourite library read: Midnight at the blackbird cafe (Heather Webber)
* Mended a pair of sandals by sewing a strap back on and mended a hole in a pair of trainers by patching it up in a similar colour (didn’t have dark blue thread but the black one worked fine)
* Gave hydrangea bunches from the garden to two friends and put some in vases for ourselves. They are so beautiful and absolutely huge this year!
* I canceled our Netflix subscription. I had paid for one month of it to watch a specific series. I had waited until all the episodes were released before starting the subscription.
* Our toaster wasn’t working so I bought a replacement the same day (we cannot live without a toaster!!) but my husband somehow managed to fix the toaster after all so I returned the new one. The current one is definitely on the way out but why replace it before it really dies. (Side note: The replacement toaster was available in red and silver, the red version was a whopping 10 Euro more expensive so you can guess which one I was going for!)
I’m sorry to read that things are hard at home. Big virtual hug coming your way!
Returning the toaster will allow you to maybe find a free used one, perhaps through buy nothing?
1. I’m home after a 6.5 week stay caring for toddler grandson. Our new granddaughter is home and doing well, praise be! I stopped at a thrift store on my 4 hour drive home and bought a $5 pair of shorts for my husband.
2. Cooked chicken in solar oven while I was at the beach. The beach was a daydream of mine on the very worst days of my 6.5 week stay, when the temperature was 116°. The beach was 60° and as blissful as I anticipated. And free.
2. Mailed a birthday gift to my aunt using pirate ship. The package originally weighed just over 1 pound. I cut down the box to make it 15 oz and save over $2 in postage. One of the several benefits of buying postage at home.
3. Did some shopping at Aldi before I came home.
4. Used Michaels $5 off $5 that randomly came in my email. I don’t buy anything at Michaels, yet these $5 rewards appear from time to time and I make sure to use them for a needed item.
5. Trader Joe’s produce has been consistently poor. I saved all my receipts from this summer and highlighted the items that were bad. Yesterday I took them all in and got a refund. They are VERY good about that. Normally I would do this as I went along but this summer there were more pressing things and all I could manage was stuffing the receipts in my bag.
Pirate ship???? What’s that? Certainly not the outlaw vessels flying skull and bone flags, but…???
Pirate ship.com.
It’s discounted postage.
Oh. Thanks.
What lovely news that your new granddaughter is healthy and home! You are an awesome mom and grandmother.
Kara, so glad that the granddaughter is out of the NICU, home, and doing well! And please give yourself grandma credits for extraordinary service.
Aw, thank you all! It was a privilege to be able to stand beside my son during this time. We know that the outcome is very fortunate and we are thankful.
I’m so so happy to read that your granddaughter is home and doing well. YAY!
I love Pirateship.com and use it whenever I am mailing outside of eBay. Impressed that you followed through with getting refunds on your crappy produce.
1. Bought loss-leader bacon to use in a salad for a potluck dinner with family.
2. Placed two separate orders with coupons at a fast food restaurant for a $1.49 meal.
3. Carpooled with friends to a free music event to see Letters to Cleo and Five for Fighting perform.
4. Watched the Olympics with friends for free entertainment.
5. Mailed a book to a friend without adding a note so it would qualify for the mass media postage rate.
Loss leader bacon for the win!
And extra-impressive frugal week, I’d say!! All of your travel-related saves were genius.
Thank you, this was a particularly frugal trip as I wasn’t there to do anything touristy.
First, kudos to Katy for (a) her suitcase save and (b) her frugal trek to and from Newark to the Bronx. I’m such an Upstate doofus in NYC that it’s all I can do to get onto the subway from Penn Station, with JASNA BFF’s emerita city kid assistance!
Now, FTFT, Late Summer Fun Edition:
(1) Along with BettafromdaVille, I’m rocking BLT season. In fact, what I’m actually rocking is BAT season–the bacon, arugula, and tomato sandwich. I’m still harvesting the lush crop of arugula from my Easy Washer tub (with the trashpicked fire pit cover to keep the deer out), and in my admittedly biased opinion, the BAT is dyn-o-mite!
(2) To get a few full-size tomatoes for the BAT, I swapped some of my own cherry tomatoes–grown behind the next-door neighbor’s (NDN’s) 8-foot chain-link fence–for a couple of full-sizers that the Bestest Neighbors had bought at a farm stand. (Sadly, the BNs had a complete tomato failure this year, due in part to the drought here and in part to deer damage, and they say that they won’t be trying again.)
(3) In a quick run to Wegmans this morning, I found a 12-pack of the protein drinks that NDN’s doctor has recommended for her, at what’s the usual price for two 4-packs. Cha-ching for NDN!
(4) After my return from Wegmans, I attended a lovely annual “native gardening” event sponsored by a nearby neighborhood association. Among other things, native plants were being given away, and I acquired two narrow-leaved mountain mints and one of another kind of mountain mint (Pycnanthemum species). These are not related to our familiar peppermint and spearmint, but they have a pleasant minty scent and are said to have blooms that attract pollinators. I’m all for growing anything that (a) attracts pollinators and (b) isn’t attractive to deer!
(5) And on the way to and from the native gardening event, I stopped at three Little Free Libraries. I put in three books and took two.
The “A” in BAT at our house is avocado. Either “A” is an excellent choice IMHO.
A low 4 figure repair bill for a piece of heavy equipment that it is an necessity where we live. Said heavy equipment is 30+ years old so that repair won’t be necessary again in our lifetimes. The amount of money said equipment saved/saves us plus the “pin” money it made/makes us is far more than the cost of the repair.
@Selena, I am now SO curious about said ‘piece of heavy equipment’…. What could it be?
Thanks, it sounds more difficult than it actually was.
You’re always so clever and inspiring with your “frugal things,” I love to read them. So smart to use a fire pit cover to protect plants!
I have a load of laundry drying on the back porch, as there’s a nice breeze today. The Sweet 100 tomato plants in my container garden have caught their second wind and put on a new crop of little green tomatoes, so I gave the garden some inexpensive love this morning in the form of cleaning out yellowed foliage, fertilizing and a good watering.
Altered the neckline of a summer dress bought at Goodwill on semior discount day to take the floppy out of it. The dress is to wear to a funeral tomorrow. I cleaned up a pair of plain black shoes I already owned to go with it. Mended a section of loose lining in a handbag.
So sorry to read that you’re having a funeral to go to, but good for you for freshening up an existing outfit.
100 tomato plants?!
“Sweet 100” is a variety of tomato. in a good year it lives up to its name, as @Ruby can attest, I am sure.
– Hubby upgraded the shower fixtures in our second bath so it will be usable if needed. No plumber costs.
– We were given two bags of food by friends going on a long vacation. We haven’t been able to use it all before it went bad but have enjoyed much of it. Picked tomatoes and a lemon while watering their plants today.
– Gave myself a manicure.
– Washed 2 more windows and screens which brings total done to 7. 13 to go.
– Continue to take advantage of our library!
I love when neighbors give us their perishables when they travel! Oof . . . that’s a lot of windows to wash!
I love your math on total cost for single ride verses multiple rides. I think when it comes down to it, it’s what are you willing or able to spend, vs can you handle the harder way? For some people that much changing of transport systems may not be worth it, or depending on ability level with luggage not feasible. I am glad you are able to do it though and save the difference.
We survived a Florida to Mass drive up and down in a minivan. I am grateful to be home. Gas and food were our largest costs. We were able to keep hotel costs down with staying at a friends one night, and driving over night another. We had 6 days 5 nights for $170 utilizing credit card points, and then two hotel stays for about $110 each. Not inexpensive, but over all $390 for hotel stays for nine nights away from home or, $43.30 a night. Some of our most enjoyable events were free like walking the jetty and collecting shells. It was a great vacation.
This week has been a marathon week. I am at work about to close soon…I will enjoy reading everyone else’s frugal lists for a while =)
What a wonderfully inexpensive trip.
I had a rolling suitcase and my purse and nothing else, so it was pretty easy. Plus all the escalators were actually working!
Florida to Massachusetts is quite the trip, but it sounds like you were very smart with your choices!
Glad you made it home safe.
1. We went with friends to a cover band of ladies of the 80’s. They were great and it was a fun free night out. We met several other people we know there too. We all brought drinks and snacks. We watched the long lines on the food trucks too.
2. Figs are doing great. Getting about a dozen a day. Eating as many as we want. Sharing with friends and coworkers.
3. Hubby went to a retirement party that work paid for. He had a very fancy meal out. I made some mac n cheese and watched some girly shows. They next day for lunch Hubby had more food from the restaurant. They had to have a minimum of 50 people. They invited 80. Over 50 people said yes. 27 people showed up. His boss was not happy. Those that showed up were offered food the next day. I thought it was nice that the restaurant gave them the extra food. A lot of places don’t do that.
4. Picking lots of cherry tomatoes. Dehydrating herbs and using them fresh too. Lettuce and swiss chard are still going strong. Got the first few string beans.
5. Took my kids, my cousin’s 3 boys and myself to an airplane /space museum. Used a free library pass. I had to pay for 1 child. They had never been there before. We packed lunch, snacks and drinks. Didn’t go into the gift shop. My cousin’s kids asked for ice cream so we stopped at Stop & Shop. They picked out 2 containers of Breyers($6 for 2) and went to my house for ice cram cones or sundaes. I had everything else at my house. They went in the hot tub. We played Yahtzee and the little one fell asleep on my couch. Including gas, I spent less then $30 for 6 of us. We have another pass to go the the planetarium in 2 weeks with them. I watch them once a week for her.
That’s a total shame that so many people flaked out. Okay, I need you to plan out my adventure days, as that day was seriously impressive and sounds like fun!
And I always think your adventure days sound like fun.
Katy, I started reading The Jump-off Creek by Molly Gloss and you are correct: she does credit your father Tony Wolk at the beginning of the book for reading the manuscript with care and perception. Great book BTW. It paints a portrait of the 1890s West and the people who settled it. Fascinating to the East Coast girl.
1. I put my hanging pots of flowers out from under the roof of the front porch down into the driveway to collect rain from the impending thunderstorm. I hear the sky rumbling as I write.
2. DH and I went swimming for free at the community beach one street over. The heat and humidity have been unbearable but I think this may be the new norm so I should get used to it.
3. I saved over $8 at CVS using points and a coupon.
4. DH and I designed a new budget for our household seeing as how some prices have risen and others have gone down (a little).
5. I met up with friends at the town hall for another terrific free concert. This one was a tribute to the bands America and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. What a great summer of free concert series here in our town with a variety of genres.
I’m thinking I might need to reread The Jump-Off Creek!
I’m curious what expenses went down?
Oil bill down by $15, car insurance down by about $10. Every little bit helps.
First kid is headed to college soon, so all of mine apply to that:
1. Got a set of twin XL sheets, new in the bag, for $8 on marketplace.
2. We were able to gather most of what he needs from what we already have and the thrift store. The used travel trailer we purchased 2 years ago had a mini fridge in the outdoor kitchen, and we had removed it to save on weight (we’re usually camped without electricity anyway). It will be perfect for his dorm room.
3. The car that’s going to college needed new tires, found a sale that saved $20 per tire, along with a manufacturers rebate I submitted as soon as we got home. The last set of tires did not last as long as the stated mileage, so husband was able to get $50 credit per tire, and I shopped thru rakuten earning $10 back.
4. Due to various reasons, college bound kid couldn’t complete orientation until this week, so most of the classes he needed were already full. We spent a few frustrating hours going thru the course catalog and requirements and finally got him registered for enough classes to meet the criteria for his partial scholarship (which pays 2/3 of tuition). He is waitlisted for a chem lab, fingers crossed someone drops it and he gets in!
5. That kid attended an early college public high school, so he received his associate’s degree 2 weeks before his high school diploma, and it was all free! The only downside is that since he already has all the basic classes done, he’s limited on which classes he can take until he completes 2 specific classes his first semester. Next semester should be a lot easier to register for.
I love the early college option for kids. What a huge savings.
Such a smartypants, very impressive! And hooray for bargain sheets!
I am in awe of your journey to get to the airport! Talk about being true to your philosophy!
1. Husband accepted a mystery shop (he seldom does them but this was fuel related) that took 8 hours and travel to a remote area, but we made just over $800 profit, so worth it.
2. I did not waste the 12 cent check I received as part of the Google settlement but deposited it in the savings account.
3. I finally gave up on serving cauliflower and raspberries night after night, to keep up with the garden production, and spent an afternoon picking the rest of the harvests of those two. The husband and I spent an evening processing everything and putting it in the outdoor freezer that we will be able to shut down when October temperatures drop enough. No waste of produce and the chickens next door got the cauliflower leaves to eat. (They were too elderly to add to our next soup, which is what we do when we have more reasonable amounts.)
4. I usually make challah every week but I was lazy so stopped by the bakery while on an errand. A loaf now costs $13.50! Laziness vanished. I went home and made our own.
5. Library for puzzles and a book.
From the “Well, I tried” category: Repaired a rip caused by Clobber Paws when we leapt into the husband’s side of the bed. Unfortunately, Cinderfella said he could feel the repair so said sheet is now rags.
He jumped into my husband’s side of the bed. I am past jumping into anyone’s bed!
Gotta tell ya – on your number 4 “too elderly to add to our next soup” – at first read I thought you meant the chickens! Lol
Me too, but then I remember soup fowls are a thing.
Me three, so it was a very puzzling re-read to figure it out. As always thoroughly entertaining post, @Lindsey
Cinderfella, Lindsey? Wouldn’t he actually be The Prince and the Pea?
And I cannot unsee the image of you and Clobber Paws leaping into the husband’s side of the bed, despite your disclaimer. That would be quite a pile-on!
$800 profit?! Wow!
$13.50 for challah?! Oy vey!
Katy, I’m impressed with your trek from the Bronx to the Newark airport. Travel can be arduous. I returned a couple days ago from visiting family in Sacramento and am still a bit tired. Had an adventurous journey home when our plane couldn’t land in Minneapolis due to severe storms. After several tries, we ended up in Madison, Wisconsin to refuel and sort out next steps. Then on the way back to Minneapolis, more storms developed, and we took a loopy ride north, south, east and west to finally land safely. A couple toddlers on the flight were in full meltdown mode and some adults weren’t far behind!
1. Found 11 cents while walking in Sacramento.
2. I also found and finished a book from a Little Free Library just down the block.
3. I stayed in a detached guest suite at my niece’s home, and she wouldn’t let me pay for my groceries. Besides the flight, I only paid for one Uber ride from the Sacramento airport and treated her to two coffee shop visits and one restaurant lunch. My sister took me to/from the Minneapolis airport.
4. Through my Buy Nothing group, I requested and received a lot of boxes for our Wildlife Rehabilitation Center – anything from a shoebox down to a tea bag box that they line and place injured baby birds inside. Also rounded up more newspapers for the Humane Society to use in their animal cages. Their newspaper donations are way down since not as many people read the paper newspaper anymore.
5. I purchased a gift for our great-nephew from Amazon (as I couldn’t find it anywhere else) and accepted the free Prime membership in order to save on shipping. I followed through on my reminder to cancel the Prime membership in time to avoid the monthly fee. Well, their cancellation process is sneaky and apparently, I didn’t press the final button to completely cancel. Luckily, I completed my monthly financial spreadsheet process early enough that I was able to catch my error, completely cancel the membership, and keep the prorated damage for the second month of membership to a minimum. I ended up spending more money than I would have if I had just paid for regular shipping. Ugh.
What can I say? I enjoy the challenge! Sorry about the Amazon issue, this does not surprise me that they makes it tricky to quit.
Sorry Katy but 4.5 hours of my time is worth far more than $125 plus tip. And curious why you did not fly in/out of La Guardia or JFK? Time is our precious and expensive resource.
I’m assuming flights were cheaper into Newark?
I agree that time is precious, but we all have different time vs money values, often depending on their current life. When I worked full time and was dealing with tiny kids, I had more money than time. Once I left work to be home with the kids, I had more time than money, and decided my time was worth $20/hr to decide if it was worth paying or doing it myself.
As someone who is not familiar with the public transportation options back east, I’d have taken the Uber route just because I’d be too overwhelmed at making all the connections!
Katy’s sister lives in a very nice but not easy to get to part of the Bronx. I would probably have taken a cab to to the closest subway or Metro North, because I hate buses. But even from Penn Station, you have to schlep a couple trains to get to Newark. Also, Newark has about twice as many flights per day than JFK and I think something like 3x as many as LaGuardia.
I used points through a specific airline for this trip and choose direct flights whenever possible. They only do Portland —> New York through Newark.
I have all the time now and hardly any of the money.
These days my kids are grown but we had the same philosophy re: DIY/hire out. Better half could make more in a day than drywall hangers charged for instance.
These days, I am not yet retired but likely a good 10-15 years older than Katie and my time is worth a minimum $50/hour. Plus I’d rather have spent the time on the focus of the trip – to each her own.
The direct flight from Portland to Newark only flies of Newark with Alaska Airlines. I used points to get the flight for just $200, so . . . Newark it was!
I book direct flights whenever possible.
1. The addition to our house is in full construction mode, and I’m trying to save money by reusing material, etc. The man who will do the gutters came by, and told me he could do the new downspouts in black to match the existing black gutters, and could replace the two old white ones, for only about $200. Since I have lived in this house for two years, and just recently noticed that the gutters and downspouts were different colours (!) I decided to leave the old white ones, and make the new ones white to match.
2. We have to have two bathroom windows removed, as they will now be in the interior of the house. Instead of having drywall placed over the holes, and having the men in my space, making dust, etc. I told the builder to just remove the windows, then we will create an inserted shelf, which will be over the toilet in both bathrooms. A lot less mess and expense, as DH can drill holes for shelf supports, etc.
3.Visited my cousin at his island home, we went out for dinner, and he sneakily went to the washroom, and paid the bill in full. Lovely treat for us.
4. Went to the island mid week, meaning that DH gets ferry fair for free, as he is now 65.
5. Booked an Airbnb for one night for my sister and I to go to my aunt’s 100th birthday celebration, and used a coupon for $100 that Airbnb gave me for being a super host. We’re paying much less than the $350/night that we would have had to pay at the new resort my sister was eyeing up.
So many clever money savers, I’m impressed!
You sound like you have lovely extended family!
I sure do Katy! My dear cousin is especially generous with his island home. We visit as much as we can, and have taken friends there to stay when said cousin has been away. It’s a stunningly beautiful and very restful place.
That’s a lot of transfers to get to the airport but a huge savings. I have anxiety just thinking about all of that. I’m assuming the flight was cheaper from Newark also.
1. I took a receipt into Costco to get a price adjustment on an item that went on sale two days after I purchased it.
2. I cut up a free zucchini that was getting soft to add to a stir fry mix.
3. I posted some of my daughter’s wedding decor on marketplace and a local sale group.
4. I received a free bottle of water when I joined a group of volunteers looking for a missing four year old. It’s in my refrigerator because he was found safe before I could even start looking.
5. I found a picture frame at an estate sale for 50 cents. I’ve been keeping my eye out for one.
It is a lot of transfers, but also like a scavenger’s hunt if you have the right mindset about it.
So happy the missing child was found.
Impressive in the bus, subway, train and tram!
Thank you!
Perhaps paralleling the “underconsumption core” movement, I read an article about increases in costs of convenience trends like Uber and AirB&B and meal services.
Thus, they are becoming less popular. One point was that the start-up subsidies to get people to try these services have run their course.
Time, cost, comfort, convenience….
I hadn’t seen that, but it certainly makes sense. I’ve never participated in the convenience economy, so choosing inconvenient options feels normal to me.
I pick up pennies because of you @Katy! I was in a really posh restaurant in Bellevue, Wash just last week and found a penny on my way to the ladies room. Picked it up and giggled as I thought I’m sure dozens had walked past it, but only I was willing to pick it up.
So . . . you recently came into some money?