Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on December 19, 2024 · 37 comments
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I sold a Shiny Brite tree topper* on eBay for $20 and packaged it up in the ugliest but most functional Frankenbox. I also used two inside out Amazon bubble mailers as bubble wrap. I was able to get it out for the mail carrier maybe ten minutes before he came by the house this morning, which is great as I imagine the buyer wants it before Christmas.
Maybe it do, baby. Make it do!
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I used my minivan to help my step mother pick up a mattress she was buying from Facebook Marketplace. It didn’t exactly fit, so we drove a mile or so with the mattress sticking out of the back of the car. Luckily, it wasn’t raining.
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I stopped by the Goodwill in my father’s neighborhood and although I didn’t find anything worth buying, I did find a dime on the ground.
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I wanted to buy a multi-bit screwdriver for my daughter’s stocking and chose to buy it from a locally owned hardware store. Wink’s Hardware, which touts themselves as an “old fashioned hardware store” has been in business since 1909 and is a breath of fresh air in the era of Amazon and Home Depot. The store really does feel like stepping back in time, which is my favorite kind of shopping experience.
My father gave me a similar screwdriver maybe 25 years ago and I swear that I’ve used twice a week ever since. It’s not an easy thing to find used, but I still feel good about this purchase.
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I didn’t buy any vulgar gold plated apartments in the sky.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
How fun it is to find just the right gift at the perfect time. I don’t have those moments as often as I’d like so I really treasure it when I come across a perfect gift.
Our family get together is going to happen, but it has been a challenge watching the weather and trying to time it between winter storms.
I am always delighted to receive holiday cards and letter which are indeed getting fewer every year. I know it is quicker and cheaper to text or email , but it is a quaint custom that I still enjoy and I can tell that my friends do, too. Nothing frugal here, just memories from the heart.
I have been the beneficiary of several food gifts, some I will save for our family gathering and some I have shared with friends and neighbors. I am always grateful for the bounty, but I can only eat so much and am glad to share with others.
I’ve received exactly one holiday card this year.
Same here.
Wow – while we don’t receive the exact number we send out, it is pretty darn close. Our kiddos send cards too
Teeny, tiny FFTs:
1. My bottle brush looked odd being in the same container as my utensils so I scouted around the house for another container and remembered I had a tall, thin vase in my cabinet. Voila, a “new” bottle brush holder.
2. I had two aging bananas in the fruit basket. Frugal fail…one had turned to mush. I can’t stand food waste, I think due to my mother who was brought up during the depression. The other one was in better shape so I quickly ate it (I’m not crazy about overripe bananas and have never had luck freezing them).
3. I made a potato salad out of questionable potatoes to go with hotdogs for supper tonight.
4. Sleeping with the flannel sheets on the bed is not just warm but comfy and cozy. I go to bed and read (library or yard sale book)for about an hour (if I can stay awake) every night and the flannel sheets really make it something to look forward to.
5. DH gave the interior of our car a detailing that a auto shop might be envious of.
Flannel sheets are the best! Until they aren’t.
In this New England climate, that moment when they aren’t usually arrives sometime in late March when I wake up in a sweat reminiscent of pre- menopausal nights.
We live in very different climates!
We sleep on our flannels all year long!
48-99 f is our average year round, in sub tropical Brisbane , Australia, we enjoy a pleasant climate, most of the time.
…AN auto shop…
Spent two hours this week at my primary care office with the nicest resident who pulled out all the stops to reduce costs of an expensive medication for me. I finished reading my book club book while there and gave him the copy after we talked about the book. It makes my day to meet bright young people.
Also thoroughly straightened up the contents of our pantry, arranging stuff by type and best-by date. Switched to a new drugstore due to the cost of the above-mentioned medication and the staff is so nice. Sewed up a toy for our pup, who is tiny but her nickname ought to be Jaws. Waited for a sale to kick in for my annual splurge purchase of peppermint ice cream. It was a no go at $8 per carton. $6 I can handle.
Peppermint ice cream is also my favorite flavor!
It was a little hard to find this year. It used to be that all the stores stocked Mayfield (a Tennessee dairy) peppermint, but none was to be found this year. One of the local stores had a Midwest brand called Hudsonville and it is just as good, but pricier than usual. But everything is pricier lately.
My Fred Meyer, which is Kroger has peppermint ice cream year round.
Aw, Ruby, Mayfield ice cream–you’re ringing my nostalgia bells! I don’t recall that there was a Mayfield peppermint flavor when I was growing up in your town, but Mayfield chocolate was the best!
Also a peppermint ice cream lover. I wish they had it year round.
That would be wonderful but ruinous to my waistline. 😀
Have tried Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company? They do not carry every medication but they are always adding more. He charges 15% over what it costs them to get or manufacture it. I know it sounds like a scam but my cardiologist recommended it and that was seconded by one of his nurses who uses it. I have a drug my insurance refuses to cover because I am a woman and the dosage is high (Viagra, which was designed for and does increase breathing capacity for some lung problems) but I have been receiving it from Cuban’s company for about a year and am very happy with the price and their customer service.
I have and his company does not cover it.
A minivan is insanely good for hauling things and I will die on that hill!
@Kristen and @Katy, while I agree that a minivan can haul a lot of stuff, about 8 years ago I traded/sold my minivan with a friend, and ended up with a Toyota Echo, which has a hidden feature where you can knock down both the front passenger seat and the back seat and put LOOOONNNNGGG things in through the trunk. Quite useful.
In all the car trading I also ended up with our first Matrix (from aforesaid friend), and that car, plus a subsequent Matrix, have proven to be exemplary haulers of all kinds of huge things…
I don’t miss the van, and having a Pickup for overflow means we are a haulin’ family.
Mind you, maybe I miss the van on really rainy days when I have a big thing to haul… And the friend finally sold the van, so I can’t borrow it anymore!
That is such a clever thing for the Echo to do! It’s amazing what we’ve been able to move/haul in the minivan, it’s a real work horse.
You and I together, bay-bee!
I love legacy tools.
That is a great stocking stuffer idea. I also have one of those screwdrivers and use it often.
I love mine!
A great gift to anyone moving out of home is ScrewDrivers, Duct tape, Zip ties and E600 andEpoxy glues, plus some assorted screws and nails. A hammer is a plus, pick up the tools etc from garage/ yard sales if possible. I can’t tell you how often I have heard of its usefulness!
I have a smallish hammer that has a screwdriver that threads into the handle of the hammer. (The business end of the screwdriver goes into the hollow part of the hammer handle, and screws into place). I’ve had it for years – it’s very sturdy, and comes in handy when I need both tools.
1. I made an elaborate deal with a local art galley owner to pick up a painting for him at a NYC auction house tomorrow in exchange for a discount on the remainder of my bill. I fell in love with a painting a couple months ago and have been paying for it in dribs and drabs since then.
2. I made cheeeep cacio e pepe for dinner, with salad, that hit the spot as few dinners ever do.
3. I sold yet more stuff on eBay and made do with shipping in various old boxes we have around the house.
4. Xmas presents for my daughter consist of a high-end remanufactured iron and a hundred year old embroidered silk kimono. Also some English chocolate.
5. Son gets a new gift because he needs XXL gloves and for them to be usable on a touchscreen. (If it doesn’t fit you must acquit etc) He gets Rowntree’s fruit pastilles, his favorite.
Was not expecting a reference to O.J. Simpson, almost did a spit take!
A good friend of mine, who’s also a very big guy like my son (6’4″; my son is 6’5″), at the time had a sarcastic remark about the glove, which I actually think is quite plausible: “His wife gave him the gloves? They never fit to begin with!”
1. Husband’s group gave a concert for an old folk’s place, and I went because not only do I like a free concert but I like watching the husband sing.
2. Because we have so much snow, our six foot fence is now shorter. Clobber Paws jumped it yesterday with the sole purpose of stealing their dog’s toy and then he jumped back into our yard. Their dog is pretty fat and can’t jump the fence, so Clobber Paws just stood at the fence on our side and gnawed away at it in front of their now howling dog. As if I don’t do enough embarrassing things, now I am apologizing for a dog doing embarrassing things. This is frugal because the neighbor said her dog doesn’t really like that toy and gave it to us. As I write this, pumpkin dog treats are baking, to give her in return.
3. The Christmas puzzle I trash picked last week turned out to be in perfect condition, still taped shut so new. We are having free fun putting it together and then I will gift it to a friend who loves stuff that is used or free for gifts. I will add a baggie of homemade cookies to it to complete the gift.
4. Sold a remote for a long-gone TV. Had I not read on this blog about people buying that sort of stuff on eBay, I would never have thought to sell it. So thanks for that!
5. I once got a cup shaped like a sloth. Never used it but the neighbor girl spotted it and fell in love. I gave it to her because clutter out is so satisfying, weather or not you make money on it. I thought of you Katy, thinking that the mug is probably by some obscure potter now dead and his or her stuff is worth a fortune and that you would know that the minute you saw it and sell it for hundreds of dollars.
whether, not weather. Honestly…
Katy, my late father loved Mom and Pop hardware stores, as do I. Dad said he loved the fact that such stores would sell you the exact number of nails, or bolts, or screws, or tacks that you needed. So you didn’t have to buy a package of 12 when all you wanted was 3. I love that in such stores, you usually have an experienced clerk waiting on you, someone who can give you accurate advice about what you need in the way of tools, paint, hardware, etc. And those clerks care! Many of the big box store employees don’t know/don’t care/don’t bother, they just want their paycheck and to heck with the customer or her project. Which is why I closed an orange credit card account earlier this year.
My 5 FTs:
1. Went ahead and worked a substitute teacher gig today. Frugal win bc I get paid for doing so. Usually, end-of-semester classes consist of watching some dumb minion or Santa movie. It’s bad enough in an elementary school, but I was at a middle school and would’ve had to watch “Elf” or whatever 7 or 8 times — once per class period — and I’m all “grinched” out on those. Happily, my subbing was for a teacher who really wanted his kids to learn and we viewed a History Channel video. Very interesting and nice! ( I learned something, too: Did you know that the binary code used in computer programming originated not at Microsoft or IBM — but in the 19th Century? In places like the Lowell, Mass., textile factories? Or that they use whale oil in the Hubbell Telescope?)
2. The PTA had snacks for us in the teacher’s lounge so I grabbed some munchies for lunch, and also for later on.
3. About went ballistic last night bc Stephen Colbert said on TV the stock market was way, way down. News said so, too. OMG! Called my retirement IRA brokerage fund this afternoon and found my money isn’t doing so bad. Took me calling back 3x to get someone whose accent I could understand, but this American worker calmed me down and explained everything. (Without going into detail, it’s good news for me. Looks like the wolf is not at the door, at least not yet.) Anyway, we got to talking about finances and frugality (and even feminism, as in “we’re not going back”!) and I introduced her to you, Frugal Girl, America’s Cheapest Family, Dave Ramsey, the Tightwad Gazette, Mary Hunt/Everyday Cheapskate, et al.
4. Dialed up some relaxing Xmas music on the computer and listened to soft guitar strains of Silent Night, Away in the Manager and other classic hymns while working an online jigsaw puzzle. Very relaxing and free entertainment!
5. Fished out my VHS copy of “White Christmas” (the movie with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye). Yes, my TV in the den is so old it has a built-in VCR viewer so I can watch it. Will probably invite a friend over to see it, too. More free entertainment! Bring out the hot chocolate!
Binary – bit on or off
1) Figured out an impromptu dinner tonight, when both teens bailed & then my teens plus an unexpected bonus vegetarian friend popped up for dinner. I got stuff out of the freezer (cheese pizza, for the win) & made a huge salad, bowl of fruit and had some cheese & crackers for those who wanted it. Yes, cheese pizza & cheese & crackers, but hey, I was working under a tight timeline.
2) Went to Trader Joes & bought a ton of snacks for our ski trip next week. There will be 3-4 teen boy skiers at any given time, and they can eat a ton. Bringing our own snacks saves a bunch of money.
3) Helped out friends with “buddy” passes, associated with our kids season passes. This will save them $40/day.
4) Researched & figured out that the hotel we’re staying at has a laundry service, so made a note to pack soap, so we have enough clean ski clothes.
5) Went through and added up all of our credit card rewards & perks. I do this every year, so we can ensure we’re getting enough value vs the credit card fees.