The Non-Consumer Advocate

My sister is winding up her visit to Portland and although most of our time is spent visiting with our parents, I’ve roped her into a few shenanigans. Just yesterday I made sure that our errands took us past my old Providence St. Vincent coworkers, where we screamed and chanted our support for them on the 42nd day of their nurse’s strike.

“One day longer, one day stronger!”

I do not miss working for the Sisters of Profit, a company that berates their nurses for claiming valid overtime due to understaffing, but spends millions of dollars to plaster their name on a sports stadium.

We also snuck into the county passport office, so I could drop off a thank you gift for the employee who went above and beyond to make sure my daughter’s passport application included every possible official document before the new administration took office. Her passport was quickly and efficiently processed and it was 100% because of this person’s attention to detail. I wanted them to know how deeply their efforts were appreciated.

I then convinced my sister to close an old credit union account from when she lived in Portland, for which she was rewarded with considerably more money than she realized was in the account. Happy sister!

She then treated us to dinner, where she paid for us to split a huge fish and chips platter. Free dinner for Katy!

I’ll be back to my normal routine starting tomorrow and although I’ll miss having my sister around, I have some neglected projects that require my attention.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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1. I ordered 21 photo prints from the Walgreen’s near my house, but first did a cursory web search to hunt down a promo code. Two minutes and 50%-off later, I was able to bring my order down from $8.19 to $4.09. Walgreen’s photo department always has easy to find promo codes, so I encourage you to look for them if you’re having physical prints made.

   Extra enjoyable aspect of this transaction is that Walgreen’s is sticking with their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program, so I feel good about supporting their company.

2. My sister and I were at the end of errands and seconds away from entering a cute restaurant, when I abruptly realized that I wasn’t in the mood to drop twenty bucks on a meal. We drove the fifteen minutes home and heated up some black bean chili that I’d stuck in the fridge. I set out a toppings buffet and we enjoyed the addition of crushed tortilla chips, Tillamook cheese, sour cream and windowsill scallions for a satisfying and frugal meal. Katy, you have food at home!

   The homemade chili was something I’d made for the specific purpose of having a grab-and-go meal in the fridge for my sister’s visit. It incorporated the last of some homemade marinara sauce, as well as a half jar of Trader Joe’s cheap pasta sauce as I was out of canned tomatoes. The beans were from the Winco bulk department and cooked in my Instant Pot. I’d also defrosted a small amount of cooked bulk sausage from the freezer to deepen the flavor. The total cost was probably around five bucks, but it filled my crock pot.

   Worry not about the chili tasting like marinara sauce, as I added enough herbs and spices (chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, crushed red peppers, salt, parsley) to cover up that favor profile!

3. I brought a $9.99 tin of Trader Joe Jingle Jangle treats to a health care clinic that serves the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community to “obtain the compassionate and culturally effective health care that they need and deserve.” I’m a firm believer in direct donations to those in need and I’m guessing that these clinic employees were “in need” of a treat.

4. My neighbor set another Bonne Maman jam jar in her recycling bin, which I quickly brought home. I love, love, love (love) these jars to store my Winco bulk spices!

5. I’m not using my influence as a billionaire to take resources away from people living in poverty.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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My husband had a dental appointment yesterday, so I waved him off with a request to “grab a couple of their lip balms for me.” I’ve been addicted to Blistex “medicated” lip balm since the early 1990s and it’s a win-lose cycle of moisturizing my lips with something that inversely dries them out. This is an excellent business model for them and a frustrating experience for me, yet here I am caught in the cycle.

I noticed that a cheapo tube of lip balm, (oddly from my son’s old corporate apartment complex) didn’t seem to contain menthol, which is the ingredient that ironically dries out your lips. This is why I asked my husband to grab a similar tube from our dentist. Luckily the desk staff was generous, actually telling my husband to “take the whole bowl.” Spoiler — he didn’t.

Can I break my addiction to my beloved Blistex medicated lip balm? I hate how reliant I am to the stuff and would love to step away from buying this product. I shudder to think how much I’ve inadvertently ingested through the years.

If you’ve broken the lip balm cycle and have any advice to share, I’d love to read your thoughts. Ugh . . .

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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1. I stopped at the Dollar Tree store near my father’s house and was shocked with how empty the shelves were. I was there to stock up on bar soap, and ended up leaving with just a single bar of not-my-brand soap to hold me over until I could get to a different store. I asked the cashier why the store was so empty and she had no answer. The above photo is from a food aisle.

   Dollar stores serve an important purpose for millions of Americans who rely on them for cheap household supplies and food. I know they’re not perfect, but it saddened me to see how neglected this store had become.

2. I found a nickel and two pennies on the floor at Dollar Tree.

3. I visited with my youngest at their apartment and came home with a handful of sealed ketchup packets that were about to be thrown away. It’s hard to get ahead financially when all your money is tied up in a small amount of ketchup.

   I also brought home a hand held can opener that was no longer needed. I also have no need for it, but I can clean it up and offer it up in my Buy Nothing group.

4. My sister is visiting again from New York, but I didn’t spend any money to get our spare bedroom ready for her. I simply moved a pretty potted plant into her room, washed the bedding and ran the robo vacuum — which was all that was needed to spruce the room up.

   Reminder of the cute duvet that I thrifted last year for the room!

5. I didn’t buy an election and I don’t have 13 children with four different women.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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1. I drove the minivan to the closest cheap (ha!) gas station and spent $22 in cash to save 30¢/gallon, even though it only filled my tank to the halfway mark. I need to be mindful to keep enough cash on hand to actually fill the 21-gallon gas tank, as 30¢ X 21 = $6.30, which makes this frugal hack worth the trouble.

2.  I called to follow up on two things that could’ve saved me money. The answer was “no” in both cases, but you never know unless you put in the effort.

   1) My daughter returned our grocery cart to the cart corral in the Winco parking lot without noticing that her paper towels and toilet paper were on the bottom shelf. I called to see if someone had turned them in, but of course they hadn’t.

   2) I left my nice (thrifted) Hydroflask reusuable water bottle in an urgent care exam room a couple months ago. I was with my father who was having a health issue, so it wasn’t that day’s priority. I finally called their lost and found, only to be told that they don’t save any food related items, which totally makes sense. I figured it was a bygone lost cause, but at least it’s not because I didn’t follow up.

3. My 26 year old and I stopped by Fred Meyer to pick up needed supplies for their weekly meal-prep-palooza. They were about to buy a loaf  of bread, but instead accepted my offer of a loaf from my freezer.

   You may remember that I bought ten loaves of $1 bread at the Franz Bakery Outlet store a few weeks back and I’m more than happy to share. Seriously, I’m so pleased whenever I can help my kids save their hard earned dollars!

4. I pulled a mostly eaten Costco rotisserie chicken from the freezer and cooked it in my countertop pressure cooker to make a big pot of chicken soup. Portland’s been extra frosty this past week and we’re even expecting snow on Thursday, which calls for comforting warm meals. I’ll probably bake up a loaf of overnight artisan bread to dip into the broth.

5. I didn’t enrich the Fox television network by watching even a minute of the Superb Owl.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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1. My son and I watched the movie A Real Pain through my friend’s Hulu account. (Thanks, Lisa!) Written, directed and starring Jesse Eisenberg, the movie is about a pair of cousins whose recently deceased grandmother was a holocaust survivor. The two of them travel to Poland for a guided tour to see where she grew up, as well as the concentration camp where she’d been held. Also starring Kieran Culkin, this film had nuanced characters and was beautifully filmed, thought provoking and even funny at times.

   Although my Jewish family left Europe long before World War II, (I had a great-great grandfather who fought in the Civil War.) I did have extended relatives who didn’t make it out.

2. I curb picked a pair of structured basket cubes that I’ll clean up and use for storage. These Branäs baskets sell for $24.99 apiece at IKEA, so it was well worth turning the car around. The baskets do have some superficial mildew and condition issues, but I can give them a soapy vinegar scrub and bring them back to life.

   Remember . . . there’s nothing wrong with a dented basket!

3. I mailed one of my father’s framed needlepoint mazes to my cousin in Pittsburgh and used PirateShip.com to prepay for the postage. I spent $16.24 for UPS shipping as opposed to the $25.98 had I gone directly though the UPS.com website! (I’ll save you the math, that’s a $9.74 savings!) I don’t have a photo of the specific piece, but here’s one that hangs in my home:

   

4. • I took my daughter to Winco and although I didn’t have more than a couple things on my shopping list, I did stock up/take advantage of a few sale items including mini peppers, avocados, onions, cucumbers and bananas.
   • I got another Fred Meyer coupon in the mail for a free pint of Häagen Dazs ice cream.
   • I had a carton of blueberries that got unpleasantly soft, so I made a tiny batch of refrigerator jam adding a squirt of lemon juice and a handful of sugar.

5. I didn’t spend 290 million dollars to buy myself into an unelected federal government position.

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.
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