1) I sold the floral Birkenstocks that I thrifted from the bins the other day. I'd listed them for $25 but accepted a $20 offer, which adds another $17.04 to my monthly Oregon Food Bank donation. I spent $6.36 from my $100 Goodwill giftcard to buy three items that day, so I estimate that I...
My sister and her kids are visiting from New York, which always prompts my youngest to stay at the house for maximum cousin fun. Of course seven people at the house requires forethought for hungry tummies. Their first night was an unphotographed burrito/tostada buffet centered on home cooked rice and pinto beans, with an array...
1. My Husband and I spent an afternoon walking down Portland's S.E. Division Street in the name of enjoying a series of small treats. For those outside the area, Division Street has become a central area for small restaurants and dessert spots. Especially for desserts! First up was this taco plate from Taqueria Bravos Tacos....
1. I gathered our clear plastic recycling and walked it to a New Seasons grocery store. We're able to recycle (wishcycle?) most categories of plastic through our curbside pickup, but the "clamshell" style of plastic requires an extra step. My plan had been to grab some individual items from their salad bar, as it was...
1. My husband filled my stocking with heavy treats, to the point that he had to enlist a clamp from the basement to hold it on place! Oy vey! Here are the contents: Everything got set aside, except of course for the milk chocolate digestive biscuits which served as a post-breakfast snack. He and I...
I try to live my life as frugally as possible, but that doesn't mean I abstain from a full and satisfying social life. However, it does require that I make deliberate choices on how and where I do that socializing. Meet up with friends at a bar for drinks? Highly unlikely. Have a friend over...
My husband and I are lucky to get lots of trick-or-treaters, which is fantastic as I love the creativity and sugar fueled enthusiasm. Of course, those treats don't come free. Back in the heyday of couponing, I'd match store sales with double coupons for almost free candy, but those days are sadly long gone. I...
Yesterday was the first Saturday of the month, which meant there was nothing short of a level five hurricane to keep me from hitting the Franz Bakery Outlet! Because: Even though all their bargain bread is priced the same, I was still judicious with my purchases. because this sleeve of English muffins: Was not as...
My husband just repainted our front porch, which means that everything that normally sits out front is currently residing in our back yard. Including this welcome mat, looking entirely worse for wear. Mind you, this was a curb find to begin with, although any wear is our own. You can see that it's molting a...
My Non-Consumer Advocate posts are usually variations of "Five Frugal Things," as I find this is the best way to impart how non-consumerism is made up of small choices. Of course there's a fair amount of repetition, but I try to insert new ideas, resources and ways to reframe limitations in each blog post. You'd...
My neighbor returned from her family's NYC trip, so I walked her mail and packages back to her house. She shared that her plan is to make us some kind of frozen dessert, which is A-okay in my book! I'm happy that her thank you gift is something consumable, rather than a "thing" that I...
My husband bought a replacement shower head for our bathroom, as the last one was spurting water in a illogical manner. We both love the new one, but it unfortunately doesn't work with the previous organizer caddy. I walked into Goodwill hoping to find a better solution and somehow found exactly what I needed! Priced...
My next-door neighbors are going out of town for a week, so I'll water their garden while they're away. Today it's raining both the cats and the dogs, but that's an aberration for this time of year. I'll also put out and take in their bin, so I'll take a loop through our house to...
I motored through my library copy of Fiona Davis' The Stolen Queen and am now lending it to a friend. My neighbor had another extra bag of mixed greens and gave them to me. I removed the back off a broken Cesca free pile chair and listed it on eBay. I made a small frittata,...
I scored this Bonne Maman jar from a free box. My neighbor who sets them out in her yellow recycling tub is moving away, so it's good to have a couple backup jars. These jars + Winco's bulk food section = a match made in heaven! My next door neighbor invited me over for tea...
1) I grabbed these three outdoor chairs from a neighbor's curb. Sure the seats will need replacing, but that's well within my skill set. I think I'll actually keep them afterwards as I've been wanting to have a small table and chairs for the backyard patio. Now to source a free small outdoor table! ...
Our toilet started running after flushing, requiring us to stick close to the bathroom after use to ensure that it stopped. I assumed that we needed to replace at least part of the innards, but my husband instead watched a short YouTube video, (like this one) and was able to adjust the "float cup" using...
My daughter and I hung out at the house yesterday, so I mixed up a depression-era Wacky Cake, but substituted gluten-free flour. I had my doubts as the texture was definitely off, but I put it in the oven with a "how bad can it be?" mindset. People . . . it was amazing! Like...
Remember how my niece and I browsed the Design Within Reach store last week? There was a specific chair that I photographed, (known as the "Jeanneret chair") as I'd recently learned of its humble yet fascinating beginnings. I'd tucked this item into the back of my mind as something "to keep an eye out for."...
I sold my thrifted $3.59 chair for $40 through Facebook Marketplace. Mine was a cheap knockoff of the classic Eames design, but I've learned time and again that Portlanders love faux midcentury furniture. It took a week to sell, but it's okay to wait for the right buyer. The real deal: My knockoff: We had...
We hosted another family dinner, which culminated in a rousing game of Scrabble. (Thrifted of course!) The frozen enchiladas from last week anchored the meal and we assembled a big green salad to round things out. I'm really trying to spend as little money as possible this month, which makes me a slightly unfun hostess,...
My youngest came over and cooked up a big pot of red lentil soup for this week's work lunches, using ingredients we already had on hand. (Lentils, onions, carrots, garlic, ginger, broth and bulk-purchased spices) It may seem illogical to let other people use our ingredients to make their meals, (especially during No Spend March)...
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...
I wrote the other day about how my daughter and I went to Cost Plus World Market to shop for international treats. This was my inaugural World Market experience and was overwhelmed by the enormity of the store. One thing I noticed while corralled in line was how I hadn't spied even a single...
I made a double recipe of kale pesto for the freezer as we finally used up the last batch. I normally buy a single head of kale, but noticed that Trader Joe's had bags of washed and chopped kale for a buck-ninety-nine; and who am I to turn down convenience? I hadn't planned on doubling...
I recently asked members of my Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group "How are people affording groceries these days?" which solicited a lot of information. The group is chock full of creative thinkers and people's answers confirmed this theory. I'm including a few here as there might be some "hack" that you hadn't considered. PLEASE add...
I wanted black bean burgers for dinner, but didn't have buns or interest in making them from scratch. Instead I mixed up a batch of black bean burgers and and spread them on corn tortillas. I then grilled them over thinly sliced onion in an oiled cast iron pan and served them with cheddar, sliced...
An old Antioch College friend came into town and took me out to breakfast, which was a lovely treat. So great to catch up with her and hopefully we'll see each other again while she's in town visiting with her son. I found two nickels and a penny while walking home from the restaurant....
I was gifted an oak wine barrel through my Buy Nothing Group, which my husband was able to cut in half to create a nifty pair of garden planters. I'm very excited about them as I have multiple small/medium size planters, but precisely zero big ones. I'm not sure what to plant in them, but...
My husband's friend gave him four last minute tickets to a Trail Blazers basketball game, which at this level start at $105 apiece. (Plus we got free parking!) Although our son was up for the spontaneous adventure, we did let one ticket go to waste as we weren't able to scrounge up a fourth person....
I had a low key day at home yesterday and cooked up a pot of red lentil soup and a pan of fried rice using some leftover brown rice. I'd picked up a bag of frozen mixed vegetables at Winco last week for a buck or so and threw the entirety into the skillet. I...
My son was able to find a free Ikea Leksvik coffee table through Facebook Marketplace, which is hilariously the same one that my father and step mother own. Plus it's the same one that my sister regrets selling four or five moves ago. I asked for and am receiving a free tall cat tree for...
Christmas is finally in the rear view mirror, so I can now safely share my gifts without spoiling things for family members who read the blog. • I bought each of my kids a new pair of Doc Martins per their request. • I also bought them both new sets of sheets, which I ordered...
Now that Chanukah is over, it's time to pull out my two bins of Christmas stuff, which means our enormous garbage picked artificial tree and the hodge podge of hand-me-downs and thrifted decor. Cheap and irresponsibly manufactured holiday products have somehow become a normalized component of the holiday season; and it's downright depressing to witness...
September was the month for my husband and I to recalibrate our food spending. It's not that we were out of control, but it doesn't take much to spiral out of control. Food prices are all over the place and not in a good way and I wanted to see if it's still possible to...
We've passed the September halfway point to Recalibrate Our Food Spending, which means it's time to share my numbers. (Mind you, I didn't set a specific numerical goal as I didn't want to set myself up for failure.) I'm shopping pretty normally, which means stocking up on sale items, shopping for the pantry instead of...
Although some of my frugality is impressive, most of it is just a series of small rather dull actions. Repeated ad infinitum. Drinking tap water instead of canned sparkling water or soda, cooking from scratch or listening to audiobooks instead of paying for an Audible subscription. It's not news worthy. It's the stuff that...
I sold a Carhartt jacket for $95, (I paid $14.95) as well as a wintery theme painting for $45 that I picked up for $1.99 last year. My friend Lise and I went to Winco Foods and the dented vegetable store, where I picked up: • 3/$1 avocados. Hard as a rock, but to buy...
I pulled out my tote bag of holey socks and darned four pairs back into rotation. Sock darning is a unique activity as it can't be rushed and requires an consistent level of concentration, which can be quite meditative. Plus it's frugal and sustainable. This project prompted me to dump out my sock and underwear...
I'm fully aware that the current advertisement configuration on the blog is the absolute worst at the moment, and I promise that I'm trying to fix it. I do want a couple of ads to cover expenses, but this is ridiculous! I've unclicked for popup ads, but it seems to make no difference whatsover. Please...
I schlepped my 2021 Found Change Challenge jar to my credit union's coin counting machine to discover that I'd gathered a mere $11.91 in dropped money over the course of the year. (Even though I'd found two one-dollar bills!) This shouldn't have surprise me though, as I was serious about minimizing outings last year. Being...
I've been putting off publishing a blog post, as I felt it needed to be amazing and extra special since it's been awhile. However, this mindset was a barrier to getting back in the game, so I present to you . . . a regular, run of the mill post! Sorry about the lapse in...