Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on April 18, 2025 · 37 comments
-
My daughter and I hung out at the house yesterday, so I mixed up a depression-era Wacky Cake, but substituted gluten-free flour. I had my doubts as the texture was definitely off, but I put it in the oven with a “how bad can it be?” mindset. People . . . it was amazing! Like a chewy brownie, but somehow better!
Cheap and gluten-free? Perfection.
-
I unzipped the cushion cover off my got-it-from-buy-nothing Joybird couch and gave it a wash in the bathtub. Their website is vague and risk averse about whether the cover is washable, but I figured I’d throw caution to the wind. I was pretty nervous that it would shrink it or I’d otherwise fuck it up, but it turned out great with just a gentle soapy swish and a couple hours on the clothesline. I also gave it a spin in the washing machine to remove excess water.
The best part was the satisfyingly murky wash water, plus of course how nice and clean my couch now looks. Ahh . . .
Reminder of the couch:
-
I cooked fresh batches of both rice and black beans to keep in the fridge. Both these ingredients can anchor an endless variety of meals and help to keep me from succumbing to Portland’s amazing food carts. Those who don’t live in Portland don’t understand how the temptation is ever present, especially as there’s a new “pod” that just opened up a couple blocks from the house!
I fixed myself a bean and cheese quesadilla for lunch and we had taco salads for dinner.
-
I listed a pair of vintage “Jaru” ceramic bookends on eBay, as I’d recently learned the brand and that they sell for a pretty penny. Mind you, mine have a couple of tiny chips, so I listed them at just (ha!) $75 rather than the $135 they’d otherwise sell for. However, I picked them up for a buck maybe twenty years ago, so I’d be happy to get that amount. Can’t hurt to try!
-
I saw on Instagram that the new oval office “gold” trim is actually just $58 stock Home Depot polyurethane pieces (aka plastic!) with gold leaf, so I had to try and find it for myself.
Oval office:
If there’s a more on the nose “It looks like gold, but is actually plastic” metaphor about the current white house inhabitants, I don’t know what it could possibly be.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
I sent your #5 to my Mom. Well said!
1. Have been doing a price book a la Amy Dacyzyn. Much easier with online prices. Luckily I’m old poor and not new poor and feel I can weather upcoming turmoil if need be.
2. My pharmacy gave me a little bag of samples and freebies. Not sure why, but a few granola bars, etc.
3. Found a quarter in the parking lot.
4. Filled up gas tank for 2.91, which is pretty good for our area.
5. Will make BLTs for dinner tonight using bread we need to use up and bacon from freezer.
Michele, I love the term “old poor vs new poor!!” Fits me to a tee!!
Katy, if the reminder pic is of the couch prior to washing, it must look great I think about your previous emerald green couch, with envy!
So glad that you pointed out that horrible desecration of the White House fireplace. There should be a person in charge of keeping the White House historical and in “good taste”. And the mantel looks like a trophy shelf in a little boy’s bedroom! I save money every day by not buying junk like that.
If you think the fireplace decor sucks, and it does, you should see how they ruined the historic White House Rose Garden during Trump 1.o. Took out all the beautiful rose bushes and replaced ’em with concrete. Oh, and let us not forget the red Xmas trees Melanie decorated the White House with several Decembers ago….they looked positively Satanic. Which is no surprise, IMO, but rather fitting. A ratty old trailer park would be decorated in better taste than the Trumps’ White House. So would a junkyard.
Melania, not Melanie.
Some people online call the real one Melania and her stand in Melanie.
I’ve taken all of the plants out of their winter storage in my garage. Almost everything made it, even the summer begonias. The only thing that died back was the Creeping Jenny pot filler and even that may come back. I’ll cut it back and give it a wait/see. I had one come back last year so who knows, maybe.
The patio is swept and the furniture is all put out. Things look pretty good considering their age, all of it is over 20 years old, which is pretty amazing. Buying good outdoor furniture pays big dividends in the long run.
My daughter found some bargains at the “dented vegetable” store and she shared them with me. I so appreciate her thoughtfulness and it definitely saves me time and gas, not to mention real hard cash. I will share some of the things that I make such as an apple pie with the bargain apples and spaghetti with the marinara sauce.
I attended my book club meeting yesterday and enjoyed the usual lively discussion of this month’s current read. I also keep notes about what other people are reading so that I have some good books to look forward to over the summer when we go on hiatus.
Regarding your last comment, I think the decor definitely speaks for itself. No other comments or critique necessary.
1. Rode my bike to PO to drop off an eBay sale.
2. Went to Costco and did some comparison shopping. Costco beat Trade Joe’s significantly on every item. I also saw 2 items I bought last month had gone on sale so I stopped at customer service and received a price adjustment of $22! Costco was a zoo 15 minutes after opening. It has been very busy the last 2 times I’ve been there.
3. Washed towels and shower curtain and hung them to dry on the line.
4. Sorted seeds we are giving away at next week’s plant sale. I kept a few for myself.
5. Set up an overstock shelf in my garage. I’m keeping tight track of the stock-up buying I’m doing. It isn’t a savings if I can’t find it. Everything is non perishable. Just one extra of a few things but it was enough to make me want to organize it well.
Katy, LOVE your awesome coffee table- Gorgeous! Couch looks amazing, your backyard photo from previous blog looks so peaceful. Those cheap looking trophies are probably his championship trophies he eon at golf tournaments on his home courses. I’m still trying to figure out how his physician (Navy Captain= Colonel in AF) could seriously sign his name and reputation attesting to Trump’s golfing as a big testament to his excellent health! Seriously? All he does is go back and forth, probably the shortest distance he can get away with from his balk to the cart!
Made a couple of recent changes that will save a considerable amount of money:
1. Changed up my Internet service from one provider to another that will save me $55 a month
2. After years of allegiance to one insurance company (auto/house) because I had a great agent, I realized that was ridiculous and did some research- switched to another company I had been affiliated with for years (over 35 yrs) and reduced my auto policy for same full coverage by $1400+/yr and house policy by $300+/yr.
3. Now, I just need to wean myself away from Amazon (I know how you feel about these big companies), but some things can’t be found at better prices.
4. Continuing to do my weekly prep, stay in gratitude got my Instant pot, frugal/thrifty mindset from my parents.
5. Haven’t blown a chunk of money blasting into space for an 11 minute ride in a spaceship that resembles something else or reported any immigrant neighbors to ICE for deportation!!
Woah! Those insurance savings are amazing!
Thanks- I was shocked! Went from Farmers/Foremost (mfg home) to USAA/Foremost… Many of the insurance companies don’t insure mobile/manufactured homes?), so much fewer choices available. I started out by checking with Insurify (dot) com.
We have USAA. My father was in World War II and the Korean war so he’s my ticket in. We love the rates. And our kids can use the rates as well.
The new Gilded Age. At least that was over wood and not plastic. I wonder what M. Twain would say about today’s politics…. damn modern robber barons.
1. Picked up some meat via FlashFoods, and took the opportunity to pick up butter at $2.99 lb and onions, $0.50 per pound.
2. Used my FSA $ to buy some health care items at Walgreens that were Buy One, get one 50% off PLUS and additional 20% off everything. I bought online to get a few Swagbucks dollars back.
3. Completed 2 additional mystery shops, $30 each (each were buy a pair of shoes, return them a few days later). I left my car at the grocery parking lot (see #1) so I saved $0.25 in meter fees.
4. While walking from said grocery store to mystery shop, I picked up an empty soda can on the sidewalk, enriching myself by $0.05.
5. I froze a loaf of beautiful artisan sourdough that came free in the CSA. We are still eaing the last loaf, opened the windows for the beautiful day here in the greater Boston area,
BONUS: getting ready to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord! Let’s hope that the “cradle of liberty” can withstand this current administration and keep democracy safe for another 250 years.
I really feel like the 250th anniversary is the time when the old republic breaks and the new Republic comes to fruition. It’s going to be literally another revolution, I believe. I’m ready for it. I’m so angry with what is happening in Washington/oligarchs/anything to do with Trump. He ruins everything he touches. So let’s hope our next 250 years are better after we get rid of him. I’m in the DAR so we are talking about this a lot. Not Trump per se, but all of the anniversary stuff.
Just got back from a big family vacation that was not very frugal at all, it was a once in a lifetime experience though (literally, I told my husband I am never traveling with that much extended family again haha) I got right back on track once we were home though.
1) Our flight got in late at night, it was also my sons birthday (he loves airplanes, so a birthday spent mostly on a plane wasn’t as terrible for him as it would be for most) My husband wanted to stop and pickup food, my son was eager to get home to open his presents and said he’d be happy with egg noodles with butter and Parmesan for dinner. So the birthday boy won and we went straight home, the egg noodles didn’t take long to make at all and both kids ate a big bowl of them and went to bed. No money spent on takeout.
2) We were out of some groceries when we returned, I went into Sprouts and shopped rather than do the pickup option, which costs $1.99. Very small savings but if I have the time, I like to go in and shop. I also have been shopping there for years and know a lot of the employees so it’s nice to chat with them too.
3) This week was really off since we got back in the middle of it but I still managed to stick to the meal plan I made before we left and cook dinner every night. I also had plenty of meals I’d previously made and frozen that I used for lunches.
4) My one regret with deleting my Facebook is losing marketplace, I would sell items on there from time to time. My daughter outgrew her bike and it’s a good brand with high resale value. I had to rely on old fashioned word of mouth though and found a coworker who wants to buy it for her son.
5) Signed my daughter up for soccer early so got the early bird registration discount. Hoping she likes it, she asked to try it but doesn’t mean she’ll stick with it at her age!
All that glitters is not gold. Not even gold plated.
1. Cut 4 inches of hair off in preparation for spring events. I look much less like a sheepdog. I bought my hair products from the salon at the same price as Amazon, while supporting a local business (and no shipping needed!) This is a great reminder that e-commerce is no longer the deal it once was.
2. Picking through the fridge and freezer to avoid eating out. Lunch today was a weird amalgamation of pasta noodles, veggie burger, and a protein bar, but hey, it wasn’t a $30 uber eats delivery!
3. Attending a bridal shower this weekend – making a day trip to avoid the hotel cost (and can avoid traffic by going home later at night) and wearing something already in my closet. Happy to support a family friend without many added costs. Going to get a nice card from a local shop to supplement the item off her registry I got 🙂
4. Drinking mostly water and all coffee/tea breaks brewed myself. My Pakistani friend taught me how she makes chai and now I crave it every afternoon. At least it’s cheap!
5. Spending Sunday at a friend’s family’s house instead of meeting them out for dinner or drinks. It’ll be nice to see them all without obligatory spending. We’ll pick up some flowers on our way over to thank them for having us.
The faux gold had me laughing and horrified at the same time! And good for you for experimenting with the gluten-free cake. It’s always great to have a quick dessert recipe.
Yesterday I found chicken marked down at our local supermarket, bought it and cooked it for our lunch today. There will be leftovers for a couple of days, My husband rummaged in his pile of useful lumber and built two pantry shelves for me. Put two books on hold at the library that I need for upcoming book club meetings. Husband spilled chainsaw oil all over his jeans and I got it out by treating them with dish detergent and adding a cup of white ammonia to the washer.
We did have to pay an urban lumberjack crew to remove two trees that would have damaged a neighbor’s house if the wind caught them wrong, but the price was very reasonable and we did the prep work of taking out bushes beforehand ourselves.
1) I am inordinately proud of myself for “making” a new bar of soap. Chopped up leftover soap bits that were otherwise unusable, a little water and a few turns in the microwave and voila. I smooshed it into an old take out tartar sauce cup so it is round. It’s the little things in life…
2) Used grocery store points to pay for two Easter lilies I will give to folks this weekend
3) Hung out three loads of laundry on the line in this morning’s sunshine
4) Dear Wife had nothing in the tank to make dinner last night so I prepped sauce bought on sale, trader joe’s mini meatballs and a lingering half box of mini pasta shells for her and DS before I went to an evening church service. Pantry/freezer for the fast win. If we had awesome take out options like Portland, I would probably be more tempted. But it is mostly subs or pizza here and neither are fantastic nor cheap.
5) While FINALLY cleaning up some paperwork, I found a certified copy of my birth certificate. Should I ever need one, I now have it in the safe with other important papers.
I thought of the metaphor immediately when I read your post and saw the photo. Fake and phony, just like their surroundings.
1. Using points and Extrabucks at CVS, I got two 16 oz. packages of red licorice for 12 cents.
2. We saved $59 on a new dishwasher with a 10% off coupon plus saved another $50 due to a sale this week where the delivery is free.
3. Another purchase that day netted us a savings of $28 using the same 10% off coupon for a limb saw, an umbrella for our deck table and a hand held shower head.
4. DD is hosting Easter this year and requested the only thing she asked me to bring is a broccoli and cheese dish. My birthday falls on Easter this year so I let everyone know well ahead of time I’m not cooking Easter dinner this year!
5. My friend whose birthday is one week before mine treated me and my cousin who is my birthday twin to “breakfast for lunch”. I had a Greek omelet…so good. Thank you my friend.
Converting Wacky Cake to gluten-free was one of my first attempts at recreating a known to gluten-free. I now have several versions I make depending on the season. For the chocolate one, I substitute cold coffee for the water. The coffee really enhances the flavor of the chocolate. I also add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to give it a bit more rise. I also frequently make it as cupcakes … I tend to only get 11 cupcakes. Weird!
For Easter dinner, I’m going to do a lemon wacky cake and use olive oil. I hope it works!
#5…Spot on analogy. Plastic, gold spray tan.
Like how you’re continuing the line drying theme!
Contemplating buying a copy of “The Emperor has no Clothes” to read to my son. Hmmmm I wonder why?***
Borrowed a triffle dish from my mother for Easter Monday get together.
Roasted a chicken from the freezer. It made several good meals. Turned part of the remainder into freezer burritos. Broth and chicken carcass remain.
Removed a make up strain from the carpet.
Slapped together emergency supper last night with bacon from the freezer, eggs from the hens, and banana bread from frozen banana stash.
Hung out laundry.
Avoided buying and listening to cheap, plastic crap.
I’m sorry, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. It’s been a minute but the lesson holds true.
At least the current emperor wears clothes. He would be even uglier without them, and that’s saying a lot. And the world may run out of orange spray-on fake tanning stuff. Which may be a good thing….
Well–as much as I loathe the current president and his tacky love for gold, not sure what anyone was expecting. Historically, decorations like that would be molded plaster and then gilded.
1. Still giving stuff away in preparation for moving. I literally don’t know what to do with many items. I have a beautiful mahogany art nouveau bed, with inlaid mother of pearl and exotic wood decoration, which I bought for my daughter in Glasgow when she was a baby. I have no idea what to do with it.
2. I don’t like lamb that much but Son talked me into it for Easter. I’ll just eat potatoes and asparagus instead.
3. Dug up heirloom apple tree I recently planted to move to new spot.
4. Washed a very nice not-new dress for Easter. Stifling myself.
5. Not frugal: bought Niece a silver colored leather motorcycle jacket as a prom wrap. She will accessorize with silver Chucks.
See if an antique dealer or upscale auction place will buy that bed from you, or even better, sell it on consignment for you. Or could you sell/auction it online? It sounds amazing! Surely someone will want such a beautiful and rare piece of furniture. I bet you could get a really nice amount of $$$ for it.
As to your #5, prom fashions sure have changed since we were that age! LOL!
Popping in to say hi. For those keeping score at home, my list of 70 tasks from last week is down to 52! We’ve been working like mad on house to-dos, including exhausting landscaping work.
The new Oval Office decor could not be uglier. Like the occupant, everything is fake, cheap, garish and gross.
1) I made black beans, rice, TVP, and vegetables on Monday, to eat as taco bowls. DS took a taco bowl for lunch on Tuesday. Wednesday I used some of the beans and TVP to make black bean chili. Thursday I combined the beans, rice, TVP, and vegetables to make a burrito fillings. DH had leftovers as burritos today for lunch, and I froze the rest of the leftover filling to use another day. I also have 4 servings of black bean chili freezing in individual portions for our own freezer fast food — I doubled the recipe and DS took one serving for lunch.
2) Someone was giving away several bags of “ribbons” on BN. Sorting through the bags I found far more shoelaces than ribbon, along with some lovely trims for sewing, a package of double fold bias tape, 6 different skeins of yarn, fishing line, and other miscellaneous items. I kept what I wanted and am passing the rest to my youngest’s partner, who loves crafty things. A lot of the shoelaces are “fashion” laces, but there were plenty of brand new white laces as well.
3) My youngest is taking my Valentine’s Day azalea to plant in their yard. It gave me almost 2 months of lovely pink blossoms (last much longer than roses), but the blooms are spent now and they need to plant some landscaping at their rental.
4) I buy toothpaste and hand cream in metal tubes. As they get low, I use a tube winder to squeeze the contents toward the openings. This week I cut off the tops of both tubes so I can get the last bits out. I then cut off the ends of the tubes, cut them open and washed them, and added them to my piles of pretty gold sheets ready to be crafted into a star garland.
5) I didn’t shop at Amazon, Target, Walmart, or Sam’s Club this week. I did order from Amazon once in March, after exhausting every other option. I’ve been boycotting Target since February, Sam’s Club since January, and Walmart for years. Not shopping at Target, Walmart, or Amazon has made buying certain items difficult, but we’re finding our regional chain supermarket has a lot of what we need, it just costs more.
It’s good to hear from someone else who’s boycotting. I haven’t had a problem boycotting any of the big box stores you mentioned, but trying to be extra mindful this weekend since today was the first day of a new 3-day economic blackout. I don’t think this one was as well advertised as the first one, though.
1. Someone down the street called in one of those rotor rooter clean out your pipes and drains companies; I saw their truck go down the street with that big machine thing. Next thing I know, my house starts stinking. I go into the bathroom and the shower and tub drains have nasty muddy* stuff coming up from the drain. So the neighbors’ workers cleaned out their drains and it backed up into my house. *(at least I hope it’s mud and not some other organic substance)
My new handyman came by to see about another job and I showed him that backed up drain disaster; he’s booked today and tomorrow but wants to work on Easter Sunday after church and said he will come snake out my drains and check that I don’t have any broken pipes under the house. He also will be able to put in the leftover flooring planks into a small room. Glad I fished them out of the trash pile when the big box store installers left! He’s even going to be able to refloor a bedroom, but that will have to come out of another SS check some other month.
2. Redeemed my $50 worth of OTC meds for this quarter.
3. Shopped the GW Boutique for a new(-to-me) Easter dress. No luck. So being a good non-consumer, I “shopped my closet” and cobbled together an Easter outfit using a blue long-sleeved blouse for a jacket and a plain blue shift underneath.
4. Called a roofing/insulation place and yes, they have the special roof paint that will extend the life of your existing asphalt shingles by 10-15 years. (I’m 70, and will probably be in the old folks’ home or the cemetery by then.) It maybe more affordable than new shingles. Even if it’d only last 2 or 3 years, it’ll give me some breathing room to save up for a new roof. So they are coming out to give me an estimate of the cost. I’m also getting estimates from other roofers. So far, I could buy a good used car for what they’re charging for roofs!
5. Also shopped the thrifts for a Harvard T-shirt. No luck, it’s hard to find ’em down here in the South. Would like to wear it at work in support of that Ivy League school standing up to you-know-who. Will keep looking. (My right winger of a boss dislikes us wearing Trump protest stuff, but if I wear a Harvard shirt, I doubt he’d know what it’s for. Our more enlightened customers will get it, though. If you know, you know.)
1. I purchased a vintage wax perfume locket for a dollar at a consignment shop. Put it up on eBay as a whim, and sold it for $17.
2. Had a ganglion cyst on my wrist drained so I can push off the removal surgery until I hit my out-of-pocket (I’m pretty close). Drainage bonus: my physiatrist has the dreamiest blue eyes. :melt:
3. I was in desperate need of new running shoes, and the new balance outlet had a Bogo deal. So I got two new pairs of running sneakers (different styles/colors) for $104. I’m good for at least three years.
4. I did a really fun activity by taking a gummy and then deciding to change my router name. I then remembered I had to re-sign in to every Wi-Fi thing in my house. But I chose a funny name. I do not suggest this activity.
5. I don’t cost the country millions of dollars so I can chase a little white ball.
I love everything about your comments.
I had a ganglion on my wrist when I was living way downtown in NYC in the 70’s. Went to a doctor down the street. He looked at it, said “close your eyes” and smashed a heavy dictionary on my wrist, which broke the ganglion. I’ve since been told that the old time cure was to smash it with a Bible, and that the cyst was called a “Bible bump” or “Gideon’s Disease”.
It worked, and he only charged me $3. Some months later I took my boyfriend to him with severe diarrhea and he gave him paragoric. I don’t remember exactly but I’m pretty sure he dispensed it from his office rather than a prescription. I keep thinking I stepped back into the early 1900’s when I entered that office.
I’m thankful I stumbled upon your blog. All the comments make me feel not alone in this craziness and give me great ideas! I’ve always been frugal but I’m taking it further.
1. Attended Lenten Lunch at church on Weds – free meal and an important message.
2. Costco trip where I used my $107 in cash back from 2024.
3. Found Alani in cases and on special at Costco for my daughter. Price came out to $0.92/can versus $2.50-3.00/can when my husband buys it for her at the gas station, ugh.
4. Baked my own bread for the first time! Ate 2 loaves, froze 1, and took one to my grandma. Stayed on track with making meals at home (have allowed eating from a restaurant only once per week since Jan 1st).
5. Started using the Fetch app, which I learned about here. 🙂 And redeemed my first gift card from completing surveys on Survey Junkie!!
Hang in there everyone and do the best you can for the people around you!!
As a semi-new-to-Portlander, I’m glad that my budget allows food cart meals once or occasionally twice a week. I like this way of exploring our city through food and I like supporting local entrepreneurs. I also completely understand that not every one has disposal income to buy $13 burritos.