Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on October 29, 2024 · 22 comments
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I walked to the temporary mini-library to return my books and pick up holds. I also grabbed a “Lucky Day” copy of Abby Jiminez’s Just in Time For Summer. I found a penny and a ponytail holder along the way.
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I peeled and chopped the apples that I scored from a neighbor’s tree a couple weeks ago. They all had flaws, but it didn’t matter as they were for pies and it’s easy enough to cut off the bad bits. I now have two apple pies in the basement freezer that’ll help Thanksgiving be that much easier to host. I’ll file this under “a favor to future Katy.” I also made the crusts from scratch.
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I rolled out the leftover pie dough and sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar to make “brinker bronkers,” which is what they’re called in my family. Yes, I know it’s an insane name, but since they’re a yummy treat let’s just let this one slide.
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I filled out my ballot, as Oregon is 100% vote by mail and has been since 1998. I specifically remember the year, as my son was born on the very last in-person election day and my husband voted in between the birth and picking up our daughter to go meet her baby brother. It was a finicky process as local elections are now “ranked choice,” which added an extra level of annoyance to the process. I’ll drop it off at the library tomorrow.
Please enjoy the above photo of me looking all relaxed and optimistic. I considered taking an actual in focus picture, but let’s be real, there ain’t nothing relaxing here in the United States right now.
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I never subscribed to The Washington Post, so I didn’t have to cancel.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
I love Abby Jimenez. I wish I had 5 tiny frugal things, but we are visiting 3 National Parks and some kitschy touristy spots on a 2 week trip. I am keeping track of our expenses and this is why we save in other areas. Bonus- stopping to sre out oldest son and wife in Casper, WY.
1. I voted early, too. We also have gone to mail in ballots in my state. I like personally like the convenience of voting from home. I like to take my time with my ballot and study the voter’s pamphlet carefully. It is also a big time saver, in that I don’t have to stand in line to vote. Although, I do remember that standing in line at the polling place used to be a good time to visit with neighbors as our polling station was right in the middle of our neighborhood.
2. I’ve been making it a point to get to the gym at least 3 days a week, plus doing my exercises at home, too. It feels good both mentally and physically. In the long run it’s money saved and I don’t have to spell out all the benefits for you or me…..too numerous to mention.
3. I found premade piecrusts on sale at the dented vegetable store. When I consider the cost of butter and shortening right now, premade piecrusts look like a real bargain particularly when you can find them deeply discounted. They are also a time saver and who can’t use a little extra time during the holidays.
4. My daughter had an ottoman she was getting rid of and asked if I wanted it. My first thought was that I didn’t need any more furniture and then I reconsidered and realized that it would be a perfect nightstand beside a daybed in my guest bedroom. We found a large rectangular tray to sit on it and it makes the perfect height bedside table with plenty of room for a book or magazine, a water carafe, and even a lamp (or whatever).
5. I will be relieved when this election cycle is over, too. It has become a real headache so I will save on aspirin.
1) Voted by mail, which saves time. Also sent DS18’s ballot with my dad, who was stopping by Corvallis on a road trip. This saves me the expense of mailing the ballot, so DS18 can vote. I also sent a bunch of fun college snacks, & my mom made him cookies.
2) Priced out transportation to/from the airport for a super early flight last week. Parking at the airport was by far the cheapest, but required parking in the long term lot, complete with a tram. Our flight was EARLY, so we were on the tram around 3 am. I didn’t enjoy the extra tram ride there and/or on our return day, but it saved quite a bit over a closer lot, or the Uber.
3) We went to Costa Rica & stayed at an all inclusive (points) & used flight credits. We did splurge on some activities, & tipped well, but all together it was a very inexpensive trip for what we got out of it.
4) I planned meals for the first two nights my parents were here (they stayed with DS17) & then we had leftovers (freezer) of one of the dinners last night. While there have been some meals out due to having guests, we’ve tried to be pretty intentional, and planned most meals at home.
5) We needed bug spray for our tour that we went on in Costa Rica. The bug spray at the hotel was $60!!! We didn’t buy it, and instead found some for $8 about half way through the tour. We didn’t reapply it frequently enough (waterfalls & hot springs washing it off), so we still got bites, but at least we hadn’t spent $60 to get them!
1. Attending a free concert by the USArmy band at local
community college. We will have stir fry from our refrigerator and pantry prior to the concert and bring bottle water
2. Worked 7-11 today and packed breakfast bar and sports bottle
3. Emailed hospital to get an estimate of my co pays for upcoming heart surgery on 12/23
One of your favorite guys–schmezos Bezos–owns the post. No cajónes, or else he thinks the cheeto would be good for SB’s portfolio.
Mary in Maryland,
I understand your friend Bezos has lost at least 200,000 online subscribers for the Washington Post due to his decision not to let WaPo endorse anyone. Several members of the editorial board also walked out.
That ought to be a good kick in the pants for him!
We <3 Vote by Mail! I am a poll observer, which means I spend my election days watching out at vulnerable polling stations for voter suppression or other issues. I'm thankfully never watching my own polling place, which means I vote by mail in advance every election.
1. Continuing the no-food-waste challenge by finding some very creative uses for leftover herbs. Turns out fresh parsley is good in everything, including salads and every type of sauce or dressing you can think of. Use this information as you will.
2. I learned that my company offers Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade viewing from our perch in New York City. I have dreamed of booking space for my parents to come watch with us as they cannot tolerate the hours on your feet in the cold required to watch the parade on the ground. I'm so grateful to give them this opportunity to look over the parade with easy access to restrooms and seating! And at no cost to any of us.
3. I'm running the NYC marathon Sunday and I am so nervous!!! However, my network is keeping me energized and cared for. I am running with a charity so I have to wear my charity shirt on the course. My sister offered to screenprint my name onto my shirt so people can cheer for me, saving me the cost of figuring out how to do so with either stickers or paying someone else. Then I found marathon nail decals I can do at home for $10, saving me a trip to the nail salon. I'll be running (ok, jogging/walking) in style!
4. We are skipping the marathon after party, as I am expecting to crash immediately and do not need anyone spending money on food/drinks out when I barely want to be there myself.
5. Final marathon frugal thing – the beginning of the marathon has donation boxes for items runners wear to stay comfortable before the race. I found a pair of rarely worn sweatpants, a sweatshirt that was abandoned at my house years ago, and a beanie with the same situation to pull my ridiculous pre-race ensemble together. These are all items I would likely have donated this year anyway and I am glad to get some personal use out of them before passing them on. Many folks in the online groups are talking about trips to goodwill or cheap buys on amazon to suit the same purpose so I'm pleased to be able to do so with no extra expense.
LB, cheering for you for a good marathon!
Glad to see everyone is voting, and especially that you’re carefully considering your choice(s) and doing research ahead of time. And thanks to those who are working the elections — may you stay safe and not have any incidents.
I voted early and had to go to a different early voting center than the one closest to my home. The latter had hour-long lines; the one I went to, not so much. I think I maybe stood in line only 20 or 30 minutes at most. I was afraid to do a mail-in ballot, as there have been reports of those ballots being inactivated or “lost”. By voting in person, I was able to personally place my paper ballot in the vote-counting machine and see that it went in and was counted.
My 5FTs today are rather small:
1. Found a girl’s hair elastic on the ground by my car. It wasn’t too dirty so I used it to fasten my garage door opener to the clip on my car’s visor, thus solving the problem I’ve had with the opener falling off a lot. So far, it’s worked great — no more searching for the little bitty opener going on the floor or under the seat.
2. Attended the church quarterly meeting and potluck after services Sunday. Due to work schedule, unable to take a covered dish, but the night before, I bought a loaf of organic sourdough bread from the store where I work. It was frozen so I left it on the dashboard to thaw out. The loaf was just right Sunday morning. Although several parishioners brought other kinds of bread, a good number of folks selected sourdough slices. So I feel my offering was a success.
3. Was able to take home half of the above loaf, and some leftover meat from my plate. The latter was part of Monday’s lunch.
4. Cut up the rest of the brush and limbs leftover from the latest tree trimming. This has been an ongoing project for the past month or two. I am happy to report that the brush pile, which was once as high as the backyard fence, is no more. The remaining limbs and twigs and leaves are in the yard waste dumpsters, and will be totally gone next trash collection day. No landfill fees!
5. Not frugal but I couldn’t help it: our central air conditioner stopped working. It’s been 90+ degrees this October and the AC unit also runs the furnace….we’re supposed to get a cold front sometime in November (I hope). Had to call the repairman. Turns out a motor went out. This is a 15 y.o. unit so I’m lucky it wasn’t the compressor or something. But it was still expensive! My mini-frugal thing was that I used a cash-back credit card to pay the unexpected, and unexpectedly large, bill. If something goes wrong, the credit card guarantee will help cover it, and I can split the payment into 2 more manageable payments without totally decimating my emergency fund.
I’m voting in person in my small southern Illinois town, full of awful signs supporting the person I won’t be voting for. But a woman who works at the polling place has fed my cats before and I need to ask if she will do it on thanksgiving.
1. Well, we had to buy a new vehicle this week. It broke down and the cost of fixing the old buggy was just too high to be worth it on this old a vehicle. We searched for used vans, that model being a necessity not only because of the dogs but because getting my wheelchair in and out of something like an SUV or smaller is just too much for my 76 year old husband. We ended up getting a new 2023 model, the last one left on the lot, for only $600 more than a used one with 32,000 miles would have cost us. Our roads are vicious to vehicles, in the winter due to the temperatures and in the summer because a lot of our roads are either not paved or have potholes the size of graves. There are also permafrost heaves that happen as the ground warms in the summer, so you can literally end up airborne. There were only two frugal things about the purchase: we turned down extras like lifetime oil changes (we get ours free with mystery shops) or Sirius, and we paid cash. The day we bought our now dead van, we started a sinking fund so that when the time came we would have the money in hand, so we cashed in a CD and now have no car payments. At our ages, we figure this will be our last vehicle before both of us are dead. (We did pay for heated seats and a heated steering wheel. Every single time I sit down on warm seats when the temperature is 30 or 40 below zero, I say a blessing for the person who invented such a miracle.) So, overall I would say this was as frugal as it would get to buy a new van.
2. Bought no groceries this week, as we have a packed freezer and I did three grocery shops so $90 worth of free groceries.
3. Sold a book and sent it doing a post office mystery shop, so did not pay anything for the shipping, so the listed price was all profit (minus eBay cut, of course).
4. Sold the last of my vintage necklaces and it is being sent via another USPS mystery shop I have scheduled for Nov. 1.
5. Made peanut butter cup brownies for a potluck, instead of buying a contribution. They were a huge hit. And I brought home 3 leftover fruit cups someone else had brought.
Lindsey, please accept my sympathy on the demise of Old Buggy. But I’m glad you got a new one that wasn’t a complete frugal fail. May you and the husband drive it in good health for as long as possible.
Lindsey, you sure got the hood out of the Old Buggy, and I hope Clobberpaws has matured enough to be over his seat-eating phase.
My husband’s old Nissan sedan had heated seats and it was blissful in winter.
GOT THE GOOD, NOT THE HOOD. Shakes fist at stupid autocorrect.
Back from a fabulous New York City Trip!! I had never been to the city before but thanks to the commentariat here I had a wonderful plan. The very first day I realized I would have to accommodate a few more musicals because they became an immediately priority. I had to adjust a few budget items this month and will live close to the vest for the new few months but I have got it.
Frugal Moves this week in NYC
1. I did the TKTS booth same day shows. I saved 50% on everything.
2. The Ambassador’s Club receptionist ( Using my IGH points) gave me five breakfast vouchers instead of one. The buffet was top notch ( $55 value.) and my main meal everyday. I focussed on eating the highest nutrition vrs cost items like fresh raspberries items – fresh berries, clean protein and high qualty hot items. The membership was worthwhile to me because there was no initial cash outlay and I have received several hundreds of dollars as a benefit. Now that I will probably be cutting traveling, I will not re-up. I also made some dehydrated meals. Splurged on a couple of fabulous lunches. Homemade soba noodles and homemade pasta are now on my radar to make.
3. I scheduled a bank meeting for next week to change my premiere savings account to a regular now knowing that after rearranging a few things, I won’t have the required balance to avoid service fees. This won’t happen until December but I want to be prepared.
4. I did not buy any souvenirs and became Subway Ninja.
5. Until I leave for an already paid for trip to Vegas in November, I will pay cash for everything. This will help keep me accountable.
1. I went to a library class on dementia. It was very helpful. I now have some information that I didn’t know. I like to take these kinds of classes because medicine and technology are always changing. While at the library I picked up my craft project that I had ordered on their embroidery machine. I have His and Her towels for my daughter’s shower next year. They cost me $7.40. I looked up similar ones and they would have been $60. I put a puzzle we were done with on the puzzle shelf for someone else to get a turn with.
2. I grilled a bunch of chicken and asparagus to have for easy meals this week for lunch. Hubby took a chicken salad sandwich for lunch. I took some chicken and asparagus for my lunch. Hubby has a work dinner tonight so I will have leftover onion soup for dinner.
3. Sister #3 picked up her dog today while I was at work. She left me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. She also brought my coolers home from sister #1. The movers came and moved her fridge.
4. I called about a medical bill. They said we owed money even though they took the money from our HSA. I got it straightened out.
I eat apples like that all the time. I just cut off the bad spots.
Apples have been abundant in my house. I love it. I really hope to try my hand at making apple butter via my Instant Pot. It’s something I loved as a kid.
Hi Katy, did you make the pie dough? If yes, do you mind sharing the recipe?
FTFT, Sweating It Out Till the Election Edition:
Folks, I’m as antsy about the upcoming election as many others here are. But here are the frugal things I’m doing to cope:
(1) I’ve got most of my bird feeders up by now and am enjoying the antics of my fine feathered friends. Chickadees, as usual, are demonstrating that they’re probably the smartest feeder birds out there.
(2) Yet again, I’m rejoicing that I ditched not only cable TV but the TV itself years ago. And I’m looking only sparingly at my preferred online news sources, just to keep track of major developments. (Any more viewing, and I’d probably bust a gusset.)
(3) Fortunately, I’ve got plenty of Jane Austen-related work on hand: I’m proofreading papers for the next issue of JASNA’s online journal. It’s good to be minding my own business and to have plenty of it to mind.
(4) Celtic music is, as it’s been all my adult life, my refuge and my strength. I’m enjoying not only my large collection of CDs, but the riches available online. In particular, the surviving members of the legendary Bothy Band had a reunion concert earlier this year, and I’ve been enjoying the TG4 documentary of that concert and the preparations for it.
(5) And, as always, I rejoice in the good memories of my DH. Grad School BFF (who’s known both of us since the beginning) just called, and I shared a few funny recollections with her.
1. As I type this, it’s 75 degrees… at 6:30 p.m…. on October 29… in Minnesota… The windows and doors are open to heat the house.
2. Cut up some terrible bread into cubes and used them in an egg bake.
3. Brother gave us two large leaf tarp bags to help with fall yard cleanup. We have trees – and therefore leaves – galore.
4. Bought some hair goop that was $7 off; still expensive but less than if it hadn’t been on sale. I have a pixie cut that I like to spike a bit for fun.
5. Listed a free table on Craigslist a month ago. It was finally claimed and now we don’t have to make a special donation trip.
I know this isn’t the place. for political discussion, so will just say that here, in Australia, we are anxiously awaiting results, as it could have enormous world wide
consequences. We are hoping against hope for a good result
I dropped off my ballot on Sunday (not in Oregon!). I live in one of the bluest cities in one of the bluest states, but it still made me feel good to vote. I teach college students and have a fair number tell me that they don’t vote because they don’t care about politics. I just don’t understand…. anyway.
1. I meal prepped using free produce from CSA box (partner gets free from work), mystery shops, and herbs from the garden. I think I have 10 meals.
2. I left home extra early so that I could get off the turnpike halfway to buy gas at BJs.
3. I still haven’t turned on the heat and can easily make it to “trick or treat” before doing so, keeping my almost-lifetime practice of not turning on the heat until Nov. 1st alive (New England it can be a challenge in some years).
4. Made a loaf of bread to use in ribollita. It was late, coming home from a dinner party when I remembered that I hadn’t made the dough, and I was complaining to my partner. He said to just buy some at the store, but I rallied, knowing that it would only take 5 minutes to make the dough for no-knead.
5. our plans for Sunday night dinner were thwarted as we had made gnudi and put in the freezer. I thought that the directions were to cook frozen, but no, had to be thawed. Thankfully, our inability to make a decision about which take-out pizza to order gave me enough time to decide that it would be easier to just throw chicken thighs in the oven with some zaatar, make some tzatziki to serve with beets that I had roasted, and to saute mushrooms to serve over rice. While not a 3-starred Michelin meal, it was tasty, and we had everything already (yogurt, beets, mushrooms, and chicken all were free (see #1).