Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on May 23, 2025 · 7 comments
-
My husband had a box of CPR supplies to drop off across town, so we made the most of it by also stopping into the William Temple House thrift store. It’s been a year or so since I last stopped in, but they’d made changes in the interim. Think used shoes for $18-$24! My highest level of sticker shock was this small wooden wastebasket that I thought would work as a recycling bin, except that it was priced at $30! For. A. Small. Used. Wastebasket!
I still browsed the store and bought a used but “new with tag” rubber spatula for a buck. I spied a sign for a 10%-off senior discount on my way out, but it was too late.
-
I made sure to have enough folding money to take full advantage of my gas station’s 40¢/gallon cash discount. My tank holds 21 gallons, which means I save $8.40 per gas tank fill up. (Were my tank actually completely empty.) I rarely let the tank get super low, but the low fuel warning light was on!
-
My friend cut me some pretty orange poppies from her backyard, which prompted a small flower arrangement.
-
We somehow broke the electrical outlet plate behind the couch, but I replaced it within 24 hours of noticing the damage. I always give myself massive credit for not procrastinating a task. Even better is that we already already had the replacement part in the basement.
-
I sold a baby blanket on eBay* for $20, not newsworthy, but still worth the five minutes it took me to package it up and set it on the porch for the mail carrier to pick up!
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.
* Referral link
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for your frequent posts. I’ve been sick in bed all week and have really enjoyed reading here.
1. STILL saving on food by only being able to eat half a piece of toast and thin pureed soup PER DAY. I’m well enough to feel slightly frustrated with this.
2. After several hours in bed I have strength to get up for 15 minutes or so. I sat and planted green bean seeds and cucumber starts. Also prioritized my other starts that need planting so I can have my husband do them this weekend. He’s a cheerful laborer.
3. Boxed a pair of steel toe boots I sold on eBay with my next 15 minutes of out-of-bed timr. Husband will take them to PO
4. I’m not shopping online to pass the time. Though I’ve watched a lot of TV, which I feel is sort of excused.
5. I can’t remember if I mentioned this before but because my husband stayed home on Wednesday (apparently I looked so awful he was worried) he got to take the cat to the free vaccine clinic that is only held 2 Wednesdays a month at 1pm. How handy was that? Free is my price! They even gave him a bag of dry cat food and a can of wet food, which he very happily accepted
Kara, I hope you’re feeling better soon. Your husband sounds like a good one.
Katy, our local Goodwill stores now charge prices like that. It’s dismaying.
I used the gift card from doing a health insurance survey to gas up my car today and have a few dollars left over. Found our missing plant clippers wedged in the fence and gave them a soaking in WD-40 to get the rust off. Also gave the latch on our front door (73 years old) a good squirt of WD-40 so it would stop sticking. Bought a pet care item and trail mix at Ollie’s. Downloaded several free books to the Kobo app.
Those thrift store prices are ridiculous. You could buy new for that price
1. I stayed home all day and got some things done around the house. No money spent.
2. My mom stopped by and I shared some of my minestrone with her. She took my plant containers back to the nursery since she was going there anyway which saved me a trip.
3. I had leftovers for dinner and soup for lunch.
That’s all for me.
1. I think soy sauce lasts FOREVER. Have had a bottle in my fridge for YEARS and still using it. Used a whopping 2 TABLESPOONS tonight and made “egg roll in a bowl” for supper. Maybe the bottle will get emptied before I die?
2. Googled “Buy Nothing” that you all are talking about. There’s not one in my area…not even one in my state! Can’t justify a move to the West coast just for that.
3. Hubby mistook a piece of venison tenderloin for a package of venison burger (which I needed for spaghetti last night). He cooked the tenderloin. I had him buy some beef broth and will make him beef pot pie (PA Dutch Style – beef, broth, homemade noodles) over the weekend. I don’t like pot pie.
4. I have a 3-day weekend. Hubby asks what we are doing. I replied “staying home.”
5. Our current church doesn’t, but a lot of churches (we used to attend one) still insist on having 2 bouquets of flowers on the altar. While few people put silk or dried arrangements in, most people order fresh flowers from a florist! YIKES! That’s an average of close to $200 for 2 bouquets these days! More $ than brains I say. When we belonged to that church, we did things different. My birthday is in December, so we bought items for a newborn baby (rattles, pacifiers, onesies, clothes, diapers, blankets, etc.) and put them on the altar instead stating that the items were being given in honor of Baby Jesus’ (and my) birthday and that the items would be donated to a shelter that cares for homeless women with newborns. Another time, we bought about $75 worth of non-perishable pantry staples, put them on the altar, and they were donated to the food bank. If I’m going to spend money, I’d rather spend it that way than on cut flowers that will die within a week. Leave the flowers in the ground where they belong for all to enjoy. Think outside the box.
I buy cleaning supplies and tools at dollar tree and finally realized why the shelves are so empty. Tariffs duh.
I haven’t bought a bag of potatoes in forever. But $1.48 for 5 pounds and me wanting potato salad I couldn’t resist. I made pan fries to go with my chicken last night. They were so easy and good I don’t remember why I quit buying potatoes.
I also got some really tasty carrots for 70 cents a pound and another huge head of cabbage at TJ for $1.99. Lettuces are so expensive I just use cabbage instead. Tomatoes 87 cents a pound, onions 50 cents a pound. Red grapes for $1.20 per pound and now I just need to find cheap chicken. Probably Sam’s rotisserie or huge pack of tenderloins. I don’t know why all the bananas are so green right now. Tariffs? I should make my own salad dressing but found Brianna’s on sale for 2 dollars and stocked up. I like the glass jars and reuse them.
Someone in the family recently apologized for giving me RSV. I didn’t even know I had it. Yeah I ached all over and rattled like a cabasa but it never really registered. I’m so accustomed to the world being crappy it doesn’t even register when I’m sick. Sh-boom sh-boom la da da da da da da
1. Used up the last of last summer’s frozen shredded zucchini by hiding it in chili. The husband will eat almost any vegetable if shredded into chili, and 11 months in the freezer had not done this zucchini any favors, so I felt rather victorious using it up. Just in time for this summer’s squash production.
2. Husband Scissor-toes ripped through another pair of socks. I am now mending them with dental floss, and he has yet to succeed in re-ripping any mended like that.
3. I continue to work a little daily on planting the garden, so we will have plenty of produce to eat and preserve in August.
4. Someone gave me four bottled teas, Gold Peak, that were far too strong for my liking. I mixed them with my homemade lemonade, and they added a nice flavor. I had been tempted to just throw them away.
5. contributed several items to a neighbor’s garage sale. She is very generous with their excess salmon every season so I told her to keep whatever she made from them.