Four Frugal Things -- Pumpkin Bread & Jeopardy
1) I sold a jumble of Fisher Price toy cars that I've been trying to offload since 2023! I accepted an $18 offer, because . . . duh.
This is what I'm talking about I mention that I'm getting better at choosing what I buy for resale. I still made some money, (I probably paid $4.99?) but I'm still filing it under "Every experience is a life lesson."
2) I pulled some homemade pumpkin puree from the basement freezer and baked up a pair of gargantuan pumpkin bread loaves using this recipe.
I then sliced some warm slabs for the neighbor who recently gifted us a loaf of challah. My next door neighbors declined their share, as two of them "don't like pumpkin bread" and the other eats a gluten free diet.
Is it a freezer challenge fail if I end up sneaking the second loaf into the freezer?
3) I finally photographed the pharmaceutical pens that I thrifted last week. I've been procrastinating the task for no damned reason whatsoever some unknown reason and am relieved to finally cross it off my to-do list.
Some will be listed as a "lot," while others will be done individually. I've learned that three of the pens don't work, so I removed the cartridges and am giving them a short soak in warm water to hopefully break up ink clots. We'll see if it works -- might as well try!
4) I've been watching episodes of Jeopardy through a friend's no-ads Peacock streaming service. The show is 22 minutes without commercials, which makes it an enjoyable way to sneak in a lil' breaky-break from less exciting endeavors.
I'm doing better than I would've expected, as the apparent key to winning is to possess 58 years of random knowledge, just chomping at the bit for the opportunity to be run wild.
I've learned that everything I ever learned is still in house, just waiting (sleeper agent style) to jump into action.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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When I switched from cable to streaming, I lost Jeopardy. I miss it.
I didn't walk today, even though the weather is beautiful. I did laundry, and making three trips up and down three flights of stairs is enough exercise. Three trips = put the clothes in the washer, put the clothes in the dryer, bring the dry clothes upstairs. It's a lot.
I took my air conditioner out of the window today, setting it down on the floor below. I cannot carry it to the closet where it is stored; that will be a job for my son or grandson. But I needed to be able to close the window now that the air is getting cooler, especially at night.
This morning I spotted a box by our dumpster that looked like it would be good for shipping. But to my surprise, when I picked it up, I saw that it contained what looks like all the parts to replace a doorknob and lock. I'm going to donate it to a Habitat ReStore. There is no longer one where I live, but there is in the town where I visit a good friend. It looks like a brand new set.
I was a Jeopardy fan the minute the old show made its debut on NBC with Art Fleming as host in 1964. (At age 9, in fact, I had my very first crush on Art.) But I never really liked Alex Trebek--yes, I know this is heresy for some folks--and I like Ken Jennings even less. I wish the producers had gone with Mayim Bialik instead of Jennings as host when they were trying out the two of them.
Alex Trebek will always and forever be the host of Jeopardy! for me. I just found a copy of his book "The Answer Is..." in a Little Free Library today! I do wish they had gone with LeVar Burton, though--I think he would have been great!
Well, Karen A., I suppose the affection for Jeopardy hosts is like the affection for P&P adaptations: It's a generational thing. But I remain faithful to Art. (NB: I never saw LeVar Burton trying out and wish I had.)
Early Jeopardy! watcher here, too. My grandmother introduced me to it in elementary school and I was hooked for life. She lived to be 93. I was 39 when she died (such a blessing to have her for so much of my life) and we watched countless Jeopardy! episodes together. I remember feeling like a real smartypants when I knew the question What is Paul Revere's house to the answer This is the oldest house in Boston still standing. The only one impressed was my Grandma. Well...I was born, bred and schooled in Massachusetts...I SHOULD know it. Alas, now I'm just a smartass.
I think he does a good job, keeps the game running at the perfect pace.
1. Husband is out of town, staying at a Drury Inn and Suites. Reasonably priced and includes a fresh hot breakfast with real dishes and silverware, and an evening dinner with three drink coupons. He may never leave.
2. Splurged on two days of boarding/play dates for our dog while my husband is gone. I had many activities where I was coming and going that would have been hard on her (e.g., being put in her crate five separate times), plus it was a nice break from being a mom for two days.
3. Gave blood today and enjoyed the free snacks. I brought the Cheez-Its home for my husband as I'm vying for Wife of the Year. Points were lost when I ate the chocolate I saved for him from another event.
4. Declined the free pickleball paddle and ball that Red Cross offered as a gift. Will not be doing that in this lifetime.
5. Checked our redeemable points with the Red Cross (these are in addition to the gift cards that are offered after every donation). Before today's donation, I had 800 points and my husband has 700. A $10 e-gift card is worth 500 points. We'll wait a little bit longer before cashing in, but before any points expire.
There is never points lost for eating chocolate - just saying. Liken it to no calories if it is green or no one sees you eat it.
The hotel you listed peaked my interest. Alas the one in the state where out of state kiddo lives is near kiddo's old place. But definitely an option for an in-state trip I hope to take.
Drury Inn was an unexpected find when driving my son to Indiana. Clean spacious rooms, the breakfast, and evening beverages at an incredibly low price. I wish there were more of them.
That window above the TV! So beautiful. There's nothing like an older home. I miss my grandmother's house, built in 1914.
1. I made chicken vegetable tortellini soup with a leftover rotisserie chicken carcass I froze awhile back.
2. I will grocery shop tomorrow after getting to the bottom of the stuffed freezer. I have to say I don't own a chest freezer so my challenge wasn't as um...challenging...as some of you.
3. While the freezer is nearly empty (full bag of chopped spinach, partially filled bag of peas, partially filled bag of breakfast sausages and two sticks of margarine I cook with when a lactose intolerant friend comes to dinner) I gave the interior a good scrubbing.
4. While searching for my father's WWII photograph albums, I came across three rings in his possessions. I'll have them appraised and make a decision on what to do with them. I suspect they were my great aunt's, who looked at my father like a son. No kids of her own.
5. DH found 45 cents while out walking and I found a penny in a parking lot. Headlines read: Local couple comes into money!
Booked a hotel room at $199/night then unbooked it getting the $84/night
Sold another item online. Eating the last bonafide dinner from what’s on hand. I do have points I can use at Walmart for $25.
Took advantage of the free food at the dog show. Came home with 2 bottles of water for the frig.
1. DH went through our big (acquired through having four boys) stash of Playstation and Playstation 2 games, to see if there were any multiplayer ones we could all play together. I was amused to see how many were bought used at the Half Price bookstore or GameStop. He found a very old Playstation Scrabble game, and though we only have a refurbished Playstation 3, it works! Part of being frugal is using what you already have, or revisiting what you have on hand.
2. We've been exploring all the bikable stores in our area, and happily there's an Aldi and Goodwill right next to us, about 3.5 miles away. We have discovered that many of the foods we routinely buy at Kroger are cheaper or the same at Aldi...today we made a little trip and spent $52 on what would have been $87 at Kroger. DH calculates if we do this regularly we'll save $500 a month on groceries. Note to self: Sunday is PACKED at Aldi.
3. Reading library books, trying to focus on subject areas that are relevant to my current studies. Right now reading Michael J. Fox's book, "No Time Like the Present." I just finished a module in my pharmacology book about Parkinson's and dementia drugs and he writes very well about how he lives with his disease.
4. Ground a batch of rice flour from whole long-grain rice. This is waaay cheaper than buying pre-ground rice flour! All you need to do, if you're picky, is sift it a bit afterwards. But my Vitamix does a great job.
5. Keeping windows open all day to catch the fresh air; not having to have the AC or furnace on is lovely.
That is an amazing per-month savings by switching grocery stores!
Some of those games might be worth a bit of money to a collectible store or game swap!
If I didn't still have a teenager who sometimes plays them, I'd agree! But my kids are also quite sentimental. My youngest tried to donate some old Bionicle paperback books, and my oldest was aghast and offered to house them in his room, because, as he puts it, "Nobody's making these anymore!"
Bagged stuff for donation (1 bag), Plato's Closet (not good payout but it's all stuff I received for free and hasn't sold in my allotted time) and the local consignment shop. I ready to have less stuff in my space.
Listed a few items on fb marketplace/Vinted.
Dh gave the wooden swing and wood table a coat of boiled linseed oil. It gives me great satisfaction to maintain our stuff and prolong its life.
My dad told me to buy Indian food on his credit card, so we had that for lunch. I have leftovers for tomorrow. Dh went to pick it up on his motorcycle, saving a good bit of money on gas vs driving our car.
Made small batch of sauteed apples with apples from our own tree. They had more coddling moth than I hoped. Boo.
Organized the fridge and had to relegate 3 cucumbers to the compost. We just aren't eating them as fast as we did at the beginning of the summer. We have 3 large good ones in the fridge and 3 more on the vine.
Packaged 30 swimsuits to go to J Crew for recycling. They give $5 store credit for every swimsuit piece. I have another 19 pieces ready to go after I mail the big bag in. Apparently no limit to how many one can send in. I do occasionally shop at J. Crew because they're one of the few stores that sell tall women's clothes.
I'm working hard on organizing digital photos. Gives me little time for anything else. I'm in a cooking funk, so meals are pretty sketchy.
May I ask how you came into 30 swimsuits?
I picked up 20 at my town re-use bazaar (all free and many in poor condition). Then I had coupons on Vinted and I bought bundles of swimsuits for 50¢ per suit.
Aristotle called it passive intellect. Using the recollection muscle is such good exercise!
My kids are making random pizzas tonight for family dinner as poor mom has a hacking wheezy cough. The kitchen is a riotous mess!
Will tonight be our last weekend eating out doors?
Since switching TVs, I can no longer get the local channel that shows Jeopardy and I am having withdrawal pains! It doesn't seem to be on any of the free channels..
Got to wear a (new-to-me) dressy short sleeves shirt to church. I bought it over a year ago at the "Salvation Armani" but it looks too autumn-y for spring or summer. Paired it with one of the pairs of slacks I got at another thrift store during their "everything you can cram into one garbage bag for $10" sale. I think that at the time, I figured that each pair of slacks ended up costing me 79 cents. (Or was it 49? I forget!) My ensemble was accessorized with a pair of "pearl" (painted white plastic) earrings studs that came from Walmart, one of those 20 pairs for $9.99 deals. Who says ya gotta spend big bucks to look like a million?
I contributed the salsa, dip and chips that I'd brought for game night (and left in the church kitchen) to the free fellowship lunch -- but with all the fancy casseroles and veggies and desserts, quite a bit of it was left. The ladies in charge told me to go ahead and take my leftovers home, so I had half a party-sized bag of "Late July" brand taco chips and 2 almost-full containers of French onion dip and medium hot salsa and 1/4 of a container of mild salsa left. The dip and salsa was from Aldi.
And yes, I ate a big Sunday lunch + blackberry cobbler for dessert. Yum!
Worked the closing shift at the store. Going out to my car, I found a button and two soda pop cans on the parking lot. I'll put the button with my sewing stuff and recycle the cans for cash. My can recycling bin in the garage is full and running over, so it's time to cash in the cans.
1. My coffee maker was leaking from the base. I descaled it, took the bottom off, thinking that maybe it was a broken hose. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. So I tried descaling it again, but consistently ended up with a massive puddle. So I recycled whatever I could, and took out the $3 Farberware percolator that I bought at an estate sale this summer. And I’m using that now.
2. Saw a TikTok for a small takeout business a couple of towns over. And the food looked amazing. So since I was in that town, I splurged yesterday afternoon and got an amazing lunch for myself. Money well spent to help a starting business.
3. I have been reading a lot lately. I’m on my 12th book this month alone. Between the library and the Libby app. And then I went into Annie’s books stop the other day and picked up two used books. And then went to an independent bookstore, met an author who lives in this area, and purchased one of her books, which she autographed for me.
4. Since I’m in the middle of a north east here in the north east, I pulled a small roast out of the freezer to defrost, made a crockpot pot roast to enjoy on this rainy day.
5. Sold another item that belong to my dad. (Old machine tool things that I would never use). Another $25!
I haven’t found any money lately. Which I loudly complained to my late husband, that he hasn’t left me any dimes anywhere lately. And I’m a little pissed about that. He seems to be slacking off.
1. I had 3/4 of a pound of strawberries in the fridge (necessary purchase for mystery shop) so I made a quick batch of strawberry balsamic jam. I put it in a Bonne Maman jar. Since the strawberries and balsamic (gift) were free, and the lemon juice was from the "dented" shelf, and the sugar was from Aldi, my total cost was about $0.40. My homesteading sister does not make strawberry jam, so I'll give it to her, and I'm sure she will hook me up with something delicious.
2. I also processed the plum tomatoes that were in the free CSA box, and I was able to can 2 quarts of sauce.
3. Tomorrow, I will caramelize onions and shallots in the crock pot (which I learned that you can do from someone here in the comments). All of the onions and shallots were free in CSA box. They will go into the freezer, as I've decided Christmas Eve lunch (used to be dinner, but now most of the guests are in their 80s and don't like driving at night), will be centered on French onion soup. I'll start ordering Gruyere from my mystery shop (I have to buy a block of cheese), and in late fall we also get sourdough bread from the free CSA box, and I have several cartons of beef stock that were also free for a different mystery shop, meaning my portion of the meal (for 20 people) will be about $3.
4. Spent no money this weekend. A nor'easter and some small kidney stones meant that I stayed in my jammies all weekend, where I enjoyed my house, my cats, and my $4 BritBox subscription.
5. Dinner tonight was banh mi pork burgers. The pork and brioche buns were free, and we used the last of our fresh basil (along with green onions) from the garden. I'm drinking the leftover seltzer from my dad's birthday party a couple of weeks ago.
Many years ago, I had a student whose wife was a doctor. The drug reps had given her some pens for the drug Levitra. Part of the pen would raise up when you clicked it. Levitra is for ED. My student showed me the pen his wife gave him & we had a little chuckle.
1. I found 47 cents in the drive thru at Dunkin.
2. I got a free large, iced coffee at Dunkin using my points.
3. My sweet cat's neck lesions have healed. No vet visit required.
4. I removed some leftovers from the freezer for us to eat. Helps free up space & saves $.
5. I found 3 pair of name brand tennis shoes outside a dumpster. Husband could wear 2 of the pairs. I'll donate the pair that is too small. The shoes were lightly worn & in good shape.
On the way to church, I picked up 2 brand new, wrapped, thick exercise mats. We will use them for exercise and camping. Family dinner after church was cancelled as half my sister’s family has the stomach flu. Instead, I dropped off soup and crackers for them and we ate lunch and dinner at home using chicken from the crock pot as a base for each person’s preferred meal. Easy protein!
The meals used up carrots that were getting rough, an avocado on the brink, onions from the freezer, broken spaghetti to sub in for soup noodles and some rice I had frozen. I made iced tea for the week and for snacks we had homemade peach muffins-made from peaches that were not that delicious on their own. It’s really satisfying to eat well and use the food you already purchased creatively.
I know I’m preaching to the choir on that one….
Satisfying is the perfect way to put it!! I was just thinking that last night.
Aww, those Little People cars are the same ones from my childhood!
They're so cute!
1. October is going to be our freezer and pantry challenge. Starting tonight with a pasta shrimp dinner inspired by tomatoes that are on their way out, shrimp from the freezer, cream remnants from the fridge, pasta from the pantry, and The Frugal Girls shrimp pan sauce method.
2. Wearing all thrifted clothes to work, except for my shoes, which my grandmother bought me almost 10 years ago. Comfy yet very well made and very nice work loafers.
3. We joined a pickle ball league for free and had our first game this past weekend. We've never played, so we borrowed a set of paddles and balls from our BN group. If we enjoy it (which I think we might), we'll buy our own set second hand.
4. I went to the movies with a friend last week and used my TicketsAtWork account to get discounted tickets for the two of us. She offered to purchase concessions.
5. Due to some parental health issues, I ended up having to drive my dad back to Rochester in his car last week, and instead of taking my husband or my friend up on their offers to come to Rochester and pick me up in their cars, I bought a $24 Amtrak ticket and took the train. Not frugal for me, but saved them gas money and was more environmentally friendly. I also love the train and needed the hour or so it took to decompress from everything. All is well now.
I'm a train fan, too -- both Amtrak and regional.
I really wish more people used them, and that there were more trains and lines! Most people I know have never been on one, even though its super easy to get to Chicago, NYC, or Rochester on the Amtrak around here.
🙂 That sounds like some environmentally friendly alone time. Best wishes to your parents.
Thank you, Susan!
1. Went and got my flu and covid vaccine. Costs me nothing out of pocket with our insurance.
2. Watched my daughter's best friend's dog for her while she went to a wedding. Our dog loves other dogs and they got along great.
3. Opened a new CD...4.3%
4. Offered 3 new rolls of Chanukah wrapping paper on my buy nothing group. When I helped my friend clean out her in-laws house I got all the wrapping paper and ribbon. I finally went through it all.
5. I started wrapping our Christmas presents. Everything so far has been free, thrifted, garage sales or clearance. All of it will be wrapped in 2nd hand paper, or gift bags and boxes I have had for years.
It amazes me that there is a market for the drug company pens!
One of my best friends since childhood was on Jeopardy! years ago and did pretty well.
Found a couple of items needed for a book club meeting (themed bookmarks and fruit sparkling water) on sale today. The grocery store also had a "thank you for being a repeat customer" digital coupon for an OTC med that saved me $3. Used a register rewards coupon for 50 cents off six cans of cat food. Got two large boxes of Cheerios for nearly half price on sale.
Frugal fail: Accidentally got a spot of paint on my favorite navy blue cotton slacks and cannot get it out. Using paint remover slightly lightened the fabric, so I think they are now yard work pants, unless I can successfully re-dye them navy.
I wonder if those Fisher Price cars would have sold better in smaller lots. As a mom of 3 littles, I can imagine looking for extra cars to go with a set but not wanting 13.