Non-Consumer Photo Essay

by Katy on July 15, 2016 · 22 comments

Found money from one of my mother’s guest cottages:

free money

A free vintage shelf that I’ll clean up for resale. I’m thinking it would be perfect as a TV stand.

free shelf

A $7.99 campaign dresser style dresser from Goodwill that I should have bought as a painting project. Seriously, look at all these great painted campaign dresser ideas!

campaign dresser

A targeted savings banks that was new to me.

vet bills

A bag of towels that will now accompany my son off to college.

goodwill towels

Frugal stuff and money making opportunities, they’re out there people!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Twitter.
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Pinterest.

{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }

jennifer July 15, 2016 at 11:36 am

I need that vet fund jar! My husband was gifted a kitten which he tried to turn down but he felt sorry for the woman, and the kitten, and now we have a pet. We soon found out that the “little scratch” the woman said it had on it’s neck was a wolf worm. After that we discovered worms coming out of her butt(sorry so graphic)and she is infested with fleas. Gives new meaning to the gift that keeps on giving!$130 at the vet so far! The good news is I think she’s going to be a great pet once we get rid of all these problems.

Reply

jennifer July 15, 2016 at 11:37 am

Oh, and nice find on the change! I have never found that much at once.

Reply

Susie's Daughter July 15, 2016 at 2:43 pm

Your little kitty is so new and so needy! So was our “bargain” dog from the shelter when we got her. I cannot recommend pet insurance highly enough – it has paid for itself each year we have had it and I would never have gotten if we didn’t get the first month from the shelter. We use PetPlan and I have been very pleased. Good luck!

Reply

Jennifer July 15, 2016 at 3:14 pm

I have an update on my kitty. Somehow we lost her! She is gone. I’m so sad. Not sure if she ran outside when one of the kids had a door open or what. I’m hoping she is asleep under something somewhere but it’s been a little too long for that. I hope she turns up before it gets dark!

Reply

Lynda July 16, 2016 at 12:56 am

Maybe she’s just asleep somewhere you’ve already searched… especially if she’s shown no sign of interest in going out… Fingers crossed.

jennifer July 16, 2016 at 7:31 am

Well, we found the kitty! She turned up HOURS later and way after dark but nonetheless, I’m glad she turned up.

lauren July 15, 2016 at 11:50 am

I love the dresser and the shelf!!! Wish I could find such good things in NJ!

Reply

Mariana July 15, 2016 at 11:53 am

I found a brand new 6 pack of gel pens on a street today. Must have fallen out of someone’s bag. No way to find out who lost it (NYC street) so I took it!

Reply

jennifer July 15, 2016 at 12:24 pm

Awesome!

Reply

Mrs. Picky Pincher July 15, 2016 at 12:43 pm

Wow, your Goodwill has some pretty great prices! With ours it’s always been kind of hit or miss. I think I’d find some good, thrifty stuff if I took the time to window shop there more regularly. I did score a lot of cheap fabric there, so I know the deals exist!

Reply

Isabelle July 16, 2016 at 3:45 pm

I agree! US thrift stores seem to be pretty good on prices! In my neck of the wood, I can get a dress for 10$ at Goodwill (Canada).

Reply

Pauline July 15, 2016 at 1:00 pm

The towels are already grey. How convenient LOL!

Reply

WilliamB July 15, 2016 at 3:50 pm

It amazes me that people leave money behind – in hotels, in office desks, and now at guest houses. And not just pennies, either.

Reply

Kristen July 15, 2016 at 4:22 pm

That’s weird to me too. I mean, I do things that waste the equivalent of change, but I can never quite bring myself to not care about coins!

Reply

Katy July 15, 2016 at 5:08 pm

It was everywhere, including in the heat vent.

Reply

WilliamB July 16, 2016 at 1:38 pm

Were children staying in that cottage?

Reply

Ruby July 15, 2016 at 3:51 pm

Having spent just under $400 today on our older dog and our ancient cat at the vet’s office, I seriously need a targeted savings bank like that. Great finds with the towels and the shelf!

1. Packed my lunch and drinks to work every day. This easily keeps me from spending around $40 a week on lunch.
2. Spent $6 at the Salvation Army on two pairs of office slacks.
3. Did most of our grocery shopping today at Save-a-Lot, which is most aptly named.
4. Hand-sewed down the edge of the placket on a great thrift shop blouse (it tended to fold up when the blouse is laundered) and sewed back on the button on another.
5. Frugal fail: Left a dollar bill in the pocket of my work slacks, and my son claimed it when he took the clothes of the dryer.

Reply

Jennifer July 16, 2016 at 4:27 am

5. At my house whom ever does the laundry gets whatever money is found. Sounds like you actually did the laundry and he just moved it out of the dryer though. Kinda sucks when it happens like that.

Reply

Karen July 15, 2016 at 5:30 pm

83 cents from my husband jeans in the dryers this morning. Ka-ching!

Reply

Marcia July 15, 2016 at 7:25 pm

40 cents in the bottom of my washer today!

Those towels look a lot like the ones I bought at Target when I needed just a couple hand towels and wash cloths. They were not cheap either. I keep telling my husband–who is a car restorer as a hobby–that he’s getting all grey towels too. My daughter gave me one nice one that color that she didn’t want–and it’s a nice large hand towel size too. I love free stuff and she decides to toss stuff out quite frequently. When she finally moved out of the house for good as a young adult, I think I had enough half empty bottles of shampoo for about five years. If I want to try a new brand, I use ALL of what I have before I buy another one. I thought everyone did. She recently gave me several bars of soap she didn’t want any more when she cleaned her bathroom cupboard. I’m using them too.

Reply

Susie's Daughter July 16, 2016 at 5:33 am

One of the frugal faithful who posts (maybe it was you, Marcia?) talked about how she re-consolidated all the body washes into one bottle. I thought of her this week as I did the same thing and ended up with a 3/4’s full bottle. Hurray for “use it up”!

Reply

Madeline July 16, 2016 at 8:49 am

1.Going to Mexico for dentistry– a 3 hour drive from Phoenix,saving over $3000!!!!!

2. Packing a picnic lunch to bring on the road trip so we can avoid expensive yukky food at truck stops!

3. Eating lots of vegan options this past week,saves money and healthier. Beans, lentils, potatoes,veggies.

4. Watching movies on netflix for date nights on hot summer evenings.

5. Using airbnb,very inexpensive rooms on our August road trip to Oregon.No resort fees, and we will meet interesting new people!

Reply

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: