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I walked my friend Lise to her house and passed by an unwanted light fixture that her neighbor put out on the curb at least a week ago. I had no interest in the fixture itself, but it activated my “vulture mode” and I unscrewed the five light bulbs to bring home for reuse. They’re dimmable 60 watt LED bulbs, which’ll be handy to have on hand.
It’s hard to get ahead financially when all your money is tied up in lightbulbs.
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I needed to gas up the minivan, which meant ensuring I had enough cash to fill the tank, as it saves 45¢/gallon! I first thought to hit a nearby ATM machine, but then realized that the gas station and Trader Joe’s are pretty close to one another, so I quickly popped into the store and picked up a dozen of their $3.49 eggs. This allowed me to get fifty bucks back in cash. I didn’t get the receipt, but I did some fuzzy math and figured out that I saved over $7.50 by paying cash.
In other news, you go through a tremendous amount of gasoline when teaching someone to drive!
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I somehow never sold the Rejuvenation Lighting fixtures that I garbage picked last summer, so I was happy to pass them along to my younger sister, as her roommate broke their kitchen light. I was happy to find them and now I’m happy to be rid of them!
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The Portland forecast miraculously calls for a full week of sunny weather, so I swept the brick patio and freed the fabric cushions from their hibernation. I took a look around the backyard and realized that everything I have out there is either garbage picked or a hand-me-down from friends who “upgraded” their own outdoor spaces. The fabrics don’t match, but that really doesn’t matter.
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There are no tariffs on garbage picked items.
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
Everything in your backyard looks like it goes together without being matchy-matchy. It’s all cozy and homey looking.
Today I knocked a bit over $17 off the grocery total by matching sales and digital coupons. For supper we had homemade pancakes with couponed bacon and a few precious free-range eggs, which right now cost the same as the regular kind. Planted this year’s container garden and am focusing on herbs, tomatoes and small peppers, as those will grow well. I did splurge $9.98 on two very healthy lavender plants because life needs beautiful scents.
Thank you, I love how the backyard has come together. And hooray for your $17 savings!
What a comfortable looking backyard! I like the shade, too.
1. Being frugal by following doctor’s instructions following shoulder replacement four weeks ago, and so far healing well. Another two weeks with obnoxious brace. Typing one-handed is not my style. Much appreciate reading the comments here as I convalesce!
2. Stylist at SuperCuts kindly did not charge me for a shampo0. I went there for the layback sink, as shower at home would have been huge hassle. I did tip her.
3. Fabric in fitted bottom bedsheet wore through. I searched for a replacement (100% cotton, no fancy finishes) and finally found one with rather vile pink roses on clearance. I did not load up my linen closet with matching set of top sheet and pillowcases we don’t need.
4. Used some of health insurance “rewards” points for books for next children’s hospital toy drive.
5. Rain scheduled for later this week; need to check if I have grass seed to fill in more of the patch of lawn the gas company dug up last fall before the showers.
6. Carefully took only what I will use/several pens, not tote bags, magnets, clips, etc./ at Home and Garden Show. Purchased an excellent walking taco from County Fair Association booth.
Hello Heidi Louise! I had rotator cuff repair last summer and it’s a long process but so worth it. Make sure you rest it, make sure you follow your PT. The immobilizer brace/sling is so annoying!
(This was actually my third rotator cuff repair/reassembly. All due to injuries. Yes, I need to be bubble wrapped.)
I hope you are strong without the bubble wrap now!
The sling was clearly designed for flat chested people. The Velcro has the strength and flexibility of asphalt shingles, except the place that doesn’t stick right, to which I added a binder clip.
Oh, they definitely did not test the immobilizer on anyone with any resemblance of a chest.
You are so smart to go to the salon to have your hair washed. Some people don’t think of that and they do silly things at home to try and wash their hair leaning over a sink or tub.
Yes– I wouldn’t be able to lean over a sink without flooding the room. I expected to pay, and appreciated the free wash.
Backyard looks great, Katy!
1. I took my headphones out of the case earlier this month, and the left earpiece completely fell off. I purchased them roughly 15 months ago, so I started an online chat with the company. These were not cheap headphones. And they had agreed to replace them if I paid the shipping cost to send them in. Shipping was $16 but I have a new pair on its way to me.
2. I helped my son with his taxes and he got a good amount of money back, and got it within 3 days. He wanted to use a small portion of it to purchase a turntable with built-in speakers as a gift for himself and his BF’s birthday. He then came to the house and went through the hundreds of albums I inherited from my husband. They are enjoying the turntable..
3. I have taken advantage of the Easter sales for butter and coffee this week. I now have 8 pounds of butter in my freezer. That should tie me over for a little while and I’m back up to 12 packages of coffee.
4. I have a free season of MLB thanks to my Cell provider, and I am taking quite a bit of advantage of it. I’ve watched almost every single Phillies game and San Francisco. Unfortunately, the Boston Red Sox always seem to be blacked out in my area. But that’s OK, because I love the Phillies. I also got a free year of AAA from cell provider.
5. I will never have to be investigated for insider trading.
Go Phils!
Your yard and outdoor sitting area look lovely!
This week I:
– Gardened, including my husband brining home a bathtub from work. They’re having him replace it and don’t want the old one, so we’ll use it as a raised bed.
– Cooking almost all our meals at home.
– We got some good quality vintage silverware from a thrift shop to replace our cheap stuff.
– We got a dog from the shelter.
-I shopped making sure to get a lot of sale items.
More details on all of the above here: https://practicalwalk.com/2025/04/13/frugal-five-3/
I have an old bathtub in my yard and it’s a water garden. I love it!
Congrats on the new family member!
Your gas station story reminded me of my grocery shopping trips back when Aldi only accepted cash. I would go to conventional grocery store and buy the things Aldi didn’t have, then write a check for $100 more than purchase so I could drive down the street and take advantage of lower Aldi prices.
Katy, I fear you’re tempting fate with your #5. The minute DOGE finds out how much money we’re saving (and how much fun we’re having) with trashpicking, Trump will slap tariffs on that too. Boo hiss.
Now, FTFT, Passover Edition:
(1) I was privileged to attend Dr. Bestest Neighbor’s Seder Saturday evening. DH and I have been guests at this since the early 1990s, with exceptions for occasional illnesses, the pandemic, and DH’s decline. Dr. BN puts so much effort and love into his personalized version of the Haggadah (he leaves out some of the traditional bits and includes several poems by the activist Marge Piercy) that it’s truly an honor to be there. And DH’s former role as the one to open the door for Elijah was duly remembered.
(2) I boxed up DH’s lead soldiers (he had a considerable collection of lead figurines, but most of these were farm animals/farmers rather than soldiers) and gave them to Dr. BN’s daughter, whose husband collects lead soldiers but is too disabled to have made the trip from MA for the Seder. I’m delighted to have these go to a friend.
(3) Dr. BN’s honorary goddaughter (the daughter of his late partner in family medicine practice) gave me some Red Cranberry and Rattlesnake bean seeds, which I may well live dangerously and plant out this year. (Our city pilot “bait/trap/euthanize” deer control program this past winter has been a great success.) In return, I gave her some Egyptian walking onion sets, which have flourished in one of my garden beds since she gave them to me, and which she says she now needs more of.
(4) My broken rib has now healed nicely, and I’m getting the heck out into the gardens tomorrow for as long as my aging chassis in general and the rib in particular will permit. I’ve stayed out today because we needed a day to dry out after a solid week of snow and rain, but nothing will stop me tomorrow.
(5) And I haven’t spent the last three months jerking the American people around in every way possible.
A. Marie, Glad to hear that your ribs are healing, that you are enjoying special times with your dear friends, and that the lead soldiers got to go to a good home, where they will be loved and cherished all the more since they’re from your beloved DH.
1. Dh and I repaired a joint in our 25 year old recliner. We borrowed the needed C clamp from the tool library for free.
2. Mended a crack in my bike mudguard.
3. Cooked lentil and mushroom shepherds pie, and IP full of soup. Harvesting kale, collards and arugula from our garden. Cheap food season is here!
4. Nursing all of my seedlings along. Seeds are free at seed bank, compost is free from the city. All it costs me to garden is the cost of water. I have to supplement with city water, I water first with water caught at kitchen sink or shower/graywater from washing machine to the fruit trees/rainwater. The savings on my water bill is significant.
5. Got a free fruit cup (fresh pineapple, mango, cantalope, and watermelon) at an event at a local shoe store around the corner. I walked over to get it. Sold a pair of Altras a friend had given me. Listed a few more things on ebay. Worked for pay 2 days this week.
Brilliant, literally, on trash picking the light bulbs! Love the backyard! It looks like somewhere I could totally hang out and read a book!
Katy, your eclectic backyard looks so lovely and inviting.
1. I, too, received dimmable bulbs that we needed after we had the electrician add a dimmer switch. Mine were from Buy Nothing. A woman was giving away 16 new bulbs, and I only needed four, so I regifted the rest.
2. Went to a free art museum with my sister and had lunch afterward using gift cards that we both purchased during a Christmas holiday promo.
3. Attended a library-sponsored Zoom presentation on the Middle East. While listening, I stretched, lifted small weights and did light aerobics. I was on mute and had my video turned off!
4. Brought a bag of personal-sized toiletries to a community organization.
5. Husband downloaded the free Merlin app on his phone. When we went for a walk, it identified 14 different birds in our vicinity. Amazing!
I love Merlin! Use it almost daily.
There are no tariffs on garbage picked items … yet.
1. I found a pen in the street and it’s the best pen I’ve everhad.
2. The city cut down a tree in front of my house, left most of the trunk intact lying on the ground and dumped a huge pile of wood chips mixed with dirt next to it. It’s been sitting there for over a week, so I moved a bunch of the chips/dirt to my flowerbeds as it’s pretty good mulch.
3. Went to a garage sale that was a complete dud. Stopped at Kroger on the way back and picked up a couple boxes of the ice cream sandwiches that were on sale for $2.
4. My library has a box of free greeting cards. It’s odd because they are nice American Greetings cards, but there are always multiples of the same card. I picked a birthday card to send to my niece, the price on the back is $5.69. There were 4 identical cards behind it.
5. Today, I sold three sets of books on FB Marketplace for $20, and a vintage sweater on ebay.
1. We also paid cash for gas saving us 10¢ a gallon.
2. I refilled 40 Nespresso coffee pods with Starbucks coffee that I got on clearance after Christmas.
3. I transplanted 24 tomato seedlings into bigger pots.
4. My son came over to do laundry. I gave him a coupon I found on cat litter. I helped him clip his cats nails. I played with the cat while he ran some errands.
5. Hubby had to go to Home Depot for a part for the shower that he is redoing. We were out of OJ and he drinks it every morning. I told him to stop by Aldi on his way home since it is on his way home. We don’t need any other groceries for several days.
6. We had 10 trees installed in our yard. We paid cash so we got 5% off. I kept the burlap that they were wrapped in and the pots that they came in.
Eeek on the price of gas there. We’re at $2.99 average here in central VA.
Cannibalism is good. The ability to look at an item and use what you can. Score!
1. I stopped at Sav a lot to get the 3.00/lb butter. I forget about them and need to remember to check out their loss leader items. I did some price checking while I was there.
2. Had my MIL over for dinner and made little fruit cups with fruit I had on hand for dessert and they were a hit. She took one home for her breakfast.
3. Downloaded the Libby app. Not sure why I didn’t do it earlier?
4. Assembling some tiny gifts to give to my Mom, MIL, Aunt, and sister on Easter. Cute idea on Pinterest with Terra cotta pot, brown paper bag shred and candy carrots planted in it. I remember buying potted plants, flowers, etc. In the past to the tune of 30 or 40 dollars total. This year’s total- 12.07!
5. Meal planned today.
All my outdoor furniture, 4 mismatched chairs and a glass table are over 30 years old. Its time for another spray paint session.
You’re back yard is lovely and eclectic.
1. The internet bill at my work apartment went up $15 per month, but that is almost 50% more than I pay! I recall that I had signed up for a “price for life” at a reasonable $32.99 per month. I called and 45 minutes later, they returned the price to $32.99. Unfortunately, they were purchased by Verizon, so I think my days are numbered at that price….. But for now, a $180 per year savings.
2. I signed up for 3 more mystery shops which won’t make me rich, but will cover the price of groceries for the week. I DID do a mystery shop at a grocery store and shopped the loss leaders to maximize it.
3. Nothing by my doing, but I’m work-from-home all week, saving me $50 in gas and $12 in tolls.
4. I hit my 200 points, saving me from having to pay an extra 10% on my health insurance premiums.
5. I had to make a number of purchases for work, for which I will be reimbursed. I made sure to use my best credit card for that and should get $30 worth of rewards back.
Appears no one has $2/gallon gas or cheap eggs. “Day one” has been a bit ago.
1 – bagged up the “loose stuff” from a gift basket. The bag, ribbon, and basket were re-homed
2 – passed on buying yoga pants from eBay as one pair cost more than the two I found on the “virtual” clearance rack.
3 – ran three errands on my way to meet the kiddo for mom’s treat dinner
4 – better half took in the neighbor’s mail for a couple of days. You can’t put a price on neighbors watching each other’s house.
5 – continue to give our newspapers/magazines to our elderly neighbors. They are on a fixed income.
1. Husband & I are going to a free event in Dallas next week. On the way, we will stop in a neighboring city to get a free (used) storm door. It needs a new handle, but I looked them up at Home Depot. They are cheap.
2. Husband had to get a new vehicle. His 4 Runner had 300,000 miles on it. He put the down payment on a credit card, so he can earn cash back. He will pay off when the bill comes.
3. I am furnishing the house we will move to with things we already have & items on Next Door Neighbor. Most of our present furniture is too big to fit in a smaller house. I guess my house will look like Katy’s backyard (which is not a bad thing).
4. Insurance on new house is cheaper than old house. (Old house is not sold yet so that is not cheaper.)
5. Neighbor said we can borrow his trailer to move furniture to new residence. Neighbor runs estate sales. After the old house sold, he will run the estate sale to get rid of unwanted items & maybe we can make some $.
6. I trimmed my 2 cats’ fur to helpfully help with shedding. They still have their undercoat & graciously submitted to their haircuts. Then I cleaned up the back of my husband’s neck with the clippers.
7. I have a Chevron-Texaco app. I get 50 cents off each gallon (up to 25 gallons) with points I earn from gas purchases. My husband meets me at the station. First, I fill up. Then I pull forward & he fills up. We got gas for 2.39 per gallon with the discount. And we earn points for another 50 cents off fill up.
Texassilver, make sure you secure/lock that door in your truck if you’re going into Dallas. My cousin got the stuff in the back of his truck stolen…and he wasn’t away from his truck more than a few minutes.
TY for heads up on locking up the door. Maybe we will go to event 1st & then get the door. I guess I thought 2nd hand door would not be tempting to a thief.
1. I didn’t have to pay for my hotel, however enjoyed the complimentary breakfast and free bottled water
2. Friend bought me a bottle of wine for my stay
3. I watched a movie on the plane
4 Used airmiles to buy snacks
5. Hubby managed with leftovers while I was gone
Just finished streaming a strong film on the Norwegian resistance during WWII (Number 24 is the title) and turned to the news to see the Pennsylvania Governor’s mansion firebombed. The photos are chilling. And it’s impossible not to think: Jewish governor, Passover, terror attack.
My fear for this country knows no bounds. An innocent man in an El Salvador prison with no attempt (or desire) by the administration that sent him there to right that wrong.
My husband asked me to buy him a 6”x9” envelope. Buy? Ha!
We had some perfectly good 9”x12” envelopes on hand. They were free envelopes that had an outdated company logo in one corner. Scrounged from work. I altered one of the 9”x12” envelopes into a 6”x9” envelope. Frugal win!
Enjoy your warm weather and your backyard looks so cozy and put together.
That is a great savings on gas for paying with cash.
1. I made a quick trip to Giant and bought Kevin’s entrees on sale, bananas, and on sale sweet potatoes. I used a $10 off Shopper’s coupon, which they are happy to accept.
2. I made a batch of Katy’s Red Lentil soup. It is stored in jars in single serving portions.
3. I listed on Freecycle a fake rock that we curb picked a few years ago. DH is tired of mowing around it.
4. We celebrated our SIL’s birthday. He was not interested in a meal but requested a coffee cake. I made the coffee cake early Sunday morning. It is quick and cheap to make and was delicious.
5. DH returned to doing lawn care a few years ago because of environmental concerns about using a service. We bought a cordless electric mower but it has more than paid for itself.
1. I dropped my phone and shattered the screen. Not frugal, I know! But I have a service plan with Best Buy (because I’m hopeless with technology) and they are replacing it for $49. I think. They have charged me for a temp phone (which I will return) but also for the full price for the permanent replacement which is on the way. At least that’s how it appears, going through my receipts. I think that will be reimbursed when I send the broken phone to their whatever center, but I can’t do that until the new phone comes. The lesson here, even if you have a service plan, don’t drop your phone!
2. Today I’m baking cookies and cooking off chicken for use in meals this coming week.
3. Found a lovely mission-style chair in the alley. I called a friend to see if her granddaughter wanted it for her first apartment. She passed. I toyed with the idea of selling it, but it was almost too heavy to move, and there are 30 steps to navigate to get into my condo. So I left it to it’s fate, and it was gone within a half hour.
4. I also found two charms — a mermaid, and what appears to be cask. I will donate, when I figure out where.
5. My condo has increased in value by $30K. Good news for my heirs, I guess. I will see what it does to property taxes. I am supposedly protected by a senior “freeze” exemption.
My 5FT (wherein I try to refrain from talking work stuff…)
1. Before I ditched Amazon, I had set up reoccurring shipments of oatmeal until I realized I had three big boxes to get through (and then 4 when the last one shipped before I canceled it). While not necessarily frugal, I am working my way through them by making WWII vegan “sausage” patties, apple oat cake, oatmeal raisin cookies, just oatmeal and…planning to donate at least one to food bank.
2. Spent the weekend declutter for a flea market booth we have planned in May. I also made a buy nothing pile. Sunday, we spent the day in the Adirondack Forest plot I purchased a few years ago to steward and we packed our lunch and water. Found bear tracks in the snow and saw many lovely creatures on the wildlife cameras. Fresh air and forest bathing is very frugal.
3. Made homemade pizzas for dinner last night and took leftovers to work today.
4. Found a stray receipt in the post office parking lot and scanned it in Fetch (learned that one from here!) I was there to send my not frugal owed taxes due to forgetting a 17 yo does not get child tax credit-have since corrected it).
5. It’s going to be 60 F here today so finally working on garden beds after work. It’s been a long winter here in upstate NY.
I love your backyard Katy, I also have a lot of shade living in the woods.
I would have taken that whole light fixture and turned it into a hanging planter…fill it with ferns and trailing vines and hang from a low branch. I do love others people junk.
1. found brisket at 2.00 less per pound in the larger town.
2.found a dime in that parking lot
3. using last of last years frozen peaches in my smoothies. I keep thinking I am about at the end of them but find more in the freezer.
4. planting garden, root crops are in and planted lettuce and spinach for spring/summer salads.
5. feeding my chickens weeds and such from my yard, hauling last years leaves into their enclosure and they are loving scratching around in them. They tear the leaves up and mixed with their poo it makes some righteous dirt!
Bonus: not deporting innocent people and not ignoring a Supreme Court ruling.
JCKitty
Yeah, a lot of shade! And woo hoo for found money!