The Non-Consumer Advocate

1. I walked to Powell’s Books to return the pricey menorah candles I didn’t end up needing, as well as a bag of books to sell. They’ve switched to only buying books Friday through Sunday, so I patted myself on the back for remembering this fact on a random Saturday. I then detoured to pick up a Buy Nothing item and meandered home. Lastly, I found a quarter on the ground.

   • Returned something.
   • Sold something.
   • Got something for free.
   • Found some money.
   • A bit of exercise.

   My kind of day.

2. We’re starting to tighten up our gift giving plans, which includes an Instacart gift card for an elderly family member who uses the service for all his grocery shopping. (Don’t worry, he doesn’t read the blog!) I checked Costco.com and discovered that we’d save $40 buying the gift card through their website!

   Purchased. Printed. Done!

   Remember to check Costco for discounted gift cards!

3. I was in the mood to rewatch the 1988 movie Crossing Delancey, but it wasn’t available through any of our current streaming services. However, I did find a “Free With Ads” version on Youtube, which was a perfectly acceptable compromise. Such a sweet movie and an acceptable number of invasive advertisements. I even convinced my son to watch it with me.

   My husband and I lived in the Lower East Side neighborhood of New York City around the same era as the movie and there were still open barrel Jewish pickle vendors, which made me feel like a time traveler from the turn of the century.

4. • I mixed up another batch of latkes, this time making them all cute and tiny. I topped the above ones with sauerkraut and pickled red onion, furikake and everything but the bagel. Plus sour cream — always sour cream!

   • My husband worked EMS for a hockey game and came home with a coupon for free curly fries from Carl’s Jr as the team scored a certain number of goals. It doesn’t expire until next June, so I stuck it in my wallet for some later time.
   • I used a coupon for a free pint of Haagen Dazs and then scanned the receipt into Ibotta* for an extra $1.50 rebate.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.

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

{ 34 comments }

1. My family has started celebrating Chanukah and I started thinking about how the traditional dish of latkes is about as frugal as can be. Shredded potatoes, onion, a bit of flour, salt, pepper and maybe some baking powder and oil! Sour cream, but that’s something that’s always on hand at my house.

   Of course it’s not the entire meal, but I can still appreciate the crispy simplicity of this traditional Jewish dish.

   

2. I made up a batch of pickled red onions, which couldn’t have been simpler. The recipe called for a mandoline slicer for perfectly thin slices, but that’s not something I own. I view most recipes as a starting point rather than an edict, so I sharpened my knife and carefully cut thin (mostly) even slices.

   Yet another example of “make it do!”

   

3. Someone in my Buy Nothing Group who follows me on Instagram saw that I’d nabbed a used Bonne Maman jar from a neighbor’s recycling bin, so she messaged me to offer two more. I use these for bulk purchased spices, small amounts of leftovers and other tidbit-y items so I happy accepted her offer.

   

4. I thought I’d run out of menorah candles, so went and bought an $18 set at Powell’s Books as 1) I was there anyway; and 2) I had a gift card. But then I came across a box that I’d thrifted for $1.99 back in January. I saved the Powell’s receipt, so I’ll be able to return the pricey ones.

5. I didn’t thrift any tiny Lear Jets.

“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.

{ 35 comments }

1. My neighbor Nancy and I met up for tea at her house to catch up on each other’s lives. That’s it. No gift exchange, no baked goods, no obligation — just tea and conversation. Finding contentment with the simple option is a freeing mindset, as it means you don’t have to be financially flush or Martha-effing-Stewart to nourish your friendships.

2. My friend Lise invited me to go to the Goodwill pay-by-the-pound Outlet with her. Here’s what I bought for $13.55:

   • A Variera IKEA bin. I thrifted the smaller one a couple months ago and had been keeping an eye out for another one. I use them for fridge organization.
   • A cute vintage 1960s/1970s hand towel.
   • Two tiny baskets that I might use as part of the kids’ stockings.
   • A zip-up hoodie for my son and a pullover hoodie for my nephew.
   • A cheap-o organizing bin that matches the ones I already use for drawer organization.
   • A Pyrex glass food storage container to pair up with a lid that came with a set of replacement lids I recently bought.
   • An Elvis Presley Christmas ornament.

3. My son wanted to make a pasta recipe that specifically called for guanciale pork, so we drove over to Providore Fine Foods, which was a first for me. This “food lover’s playground” contains multiple high end culinary businesses selling impressively gorgeous gourmet items. The prices were outside of my comfort zone. Think $10 cans of tomatoes.

   Instead of bumming me out, the store actually made me feel really good about my own methods of shopping, cooking and food preservation. No, I’m not going to spend $9 on a small jar of jam, but I will forage my own blackberries for jam, dry my own chives, experiment with sauerkraut and bake bread to enjoy the same luxury items as the customers who crowded the store. For pennies on the dollar.

   Seriously though, it was so crowded!

4. • My neighbor put an empty Bonne Maman jar in her glass recycling, which I brought home to use as food storage.
   • I picked off an embroidered corporate logo from the new looking hoodie that I picked up at the Goodwill Outlet. It’s my son’s size and an expensive brand.
   • I picked up my hold copy of Stephanie Land’s Class, which I’d put on hold as as soon as it was available. The book is crisp and I’m pretty sure I’m the first person to check it out. Every library patron’s dream! I’ll let my step mother borrow it when I’m done reading it.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.

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.

{ 60 comments }

1. I stopped into the “Dented Vegetable Store” and picked up a hodge-podge of bargain food items.

   • A canister of (not expired, I checked!) matzo meal for 50¢.
   • A honkin’ huge restaurant packaged bag of prepped chopped red cabbage for $1.69. I’ll use it to make sauerkraut.
   • A massive restaurant packaged bag of organic chives for $1. I’ll dry and chop it for future use.
   • Three gargantuan red peppers for 69¢ apiece.
   • A package of gluten-free mint Oreos for $2.

   This store is a bit of a schlep from the house, so I don’t get there that often. But when I do . . . .

2. We’ve been eating nothing but Thanksgiving leftovers since last Thursday and are finally winnowing down the glut of food. Mind you, this is anything but a sacrifice as a plate of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, gravy and cranberry sauce is pretty much my favorite meal. However, it’s nice to enjoy a bit of variety in life.

   I put a batch of bulk-purchased Winco pinto beans through the Instant Pot last night and am looking forward to tostadas for tonight’s dinner. Unsurprisingly, they’ll feature the red peppers from yesterday.

3. My mother has been winnowing down a few of her collections and invited me over to pick through her McCoy pottery. I chose three small blue pieces, which I especially have space for as my son’s dervish of a kitten destroyed three pottery items in the past couple weeks.

   I’ll keep these ones behind glass.

4. My son decided to try making homemade pasta with pesto at the house, which we were able to concoct using what we already had on hand. The pasta was easy enough as it’s just flour, eggs and water, but the pesto took a bit of creative thinking.

   My son initially wanted to follow a specific recipe, but I convinced him to replace the basil with spinach and simply omit the nuts. Not only did this save money, but it also saved him an unpleasant grocery run. The spinach, garlic, parmesan cheese, olive oil and salt made an absolutely delicious “pesto,” and I will absolutely be recreating this recipe in the future!

5. I didn’t buy any tiny Lear Jets.

“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.

{ 43 comments }