-
Kristen from The Frugal Girl and I stopped for a container of Tillamook ice cream at Fred Meyer, which gave me the opportunity to grab these clearance items:
• A bag of six nectarines from the $1.50 clearance shelf.
• Two cans of baked beans for 67¢ each.
• Four boxes of Betty Crocker gluten-free cake mix for a $1.57 apiece. These normally sell for about seven bucks apiece, so this was a score!
• I also picked up three littered receipts to scan into the Fetch app.
-
I found a dime, nickel and penny at the Goodwill Outlet and then five individual pennies at Winco. All coins have been added to my Found Change Challenge jar.
So yes, I recently came into some money!
-
I ate the last bit of some salad from a few days ago, which was somehow both A) not slimy; and B) delicious! I abhor food waste, but am relieved when eating leftovers is tasty and not “taking one for the team.”
I also put together this Instagram reel to show a couple examples of how I’m working to avoid food waste.
-
I chose not to accept a free FinCon T-shirt, both because they were 50% plastic, but also because I don’t like event specific T-shirts. Any thrifter can tell you that Goodwills are grossly overrun with outdated single event T-shirts.
T-shirts from volunteer events, sorority fund raisers and work events have zero customer appeal in the secondhand market and are an example of the thoughtless overmanufacture of clothing. Doomed to fill our landfills. If we stop accepting these items, perhaps people will stop offering them.
-
I continue to not spend one thin dime on anything Harry Potter related, as I choose to not enrich people who quote Adolf Hitler to support their arguments. I’d already made this choice when J.K. Rowling became vocal with her hateful anti-transgender rhetoric and haven’t looked back. I read every damned word of her books out loud to my kids, but am done with anything and everything Harry Potter now. Period.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Kristen from The Frugal Girl is still visiting while we attend FinCon 2025, although we snuck out early today as:
A) The afternoon seminars weren’t up our alley.
B) A certain person wanted to see both Winco Foods and the Goodwill “bins” with her own two eyes.
Perhaps not as exciting as the $1000 bill I found in the parking lot, but here’s what I bought:
• My husband and I have been slowly breaking our velvet hangers and a fresh infusion was definitely in order. Three’s about right.
• A perfect lil’ watering can. I have one, but had been wanting a second one.
• A maraca, which’ll work as a darning egg. ¡Olé!
• A stainless steel utensil holder for my friend Lise, who just asked me to keep an eye out for one.
• But my most exciting find is the tiny remote control, which is for an adjustable bed and sells used on eBay for $75! Here’s my hastily assembled listing!
Total spent: $3.91!
What did Kristen buy?
• An Owala water bottle, which she’s promised to scrub within an inch of its life.
• A small whisk.
• A tiny black pumpkin for her daughter.
• A garage door remote control, which she’ll try and sell on eBay.
Total spent: $4.14!
Didn’t buy? This fancy toilet paper holder, although perhaps I should have, just to sneak it into her suitcase.
Next up was Winco Foods, as Kristen wanted to compare it to her beloved Aldi.
I don’t want to exaggerate, but Winco somehow knew today was her day to shine!
Seriously!
What?!
I paid $22.35 for my entire grocery haul, with neither coupons nor planning.
I think it’s pretty funny that two frugality bloggers would skip out on their finance conference just to hit the Goodwill bins and a no frills grocery store. Then again, we’re both nutty for some creative frugality!
How did we do?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Busy day at the FinCon Expo, so I’ll just leave you with this photo of me with Kristen from The Frugal Girl.
Not a bad way to spend the day.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
-
I did a sweep through the house and chose to pass along the Pottery Barn rug that I curb picked in June. You remember, this one:
There were still a few stains that I’d been unable to remove, (even though it photographed beautifully HERE) so I decided it was time to curb it along to someone new. I stapled a sign onto the rug that said “FREE Pottery Barn rug” and it was gone by the time I checked on it a few hours later. Nature is healing.
-
My daughter’s boots had a busted zipper, so I dropped them off at a locally owned shoe repair place. It’ll cost $45, but I’d prefer to repair our belongings instead of tossing them into a landfill. The throwaway mentality we practice creates a world I don’t want to live in; and if we don’t support repair shops, they’ll continue to disappear.
-
I stopped by the Portland Convention Center to pick up my FinCon Expo name tag a day early. I declined the low quality branded tote bag. Events like these invariably offer branded freebies that become garbage within a week or two. It’s okay to “just say no” to wasteful swag.
-
I ran into Safeway to grab a couple thick plastic bags from their recycling bin, as they’re the perfect size and strength for our kitchen garbage can. (It’s hard to get ahead financially when all your money is tied up in bin liners!) I also took a loop past their clearance section, which rarely provides anything worth buying. I did grab four 50¢ cans of La Croix seltzer to have on hand for guests. I’m nothing if not an elite hostess. And yes, I’ll keep the price tags in place.
-
I use the last 45¢ of my Red Cross Safeway gift card, which means I finally spent every single cent from my blood and platelet donations!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
The paint on our front porch finally cured enough to put the old furniture back in place.
• Thrifted couch and matching chair — $45 Goodwill
• Throw pillows — $0 curb picked
• Rug — $0 curb picked and then painted
• Green tiled table — $3 Goodwill
• Round metal table — $0 hand me down
• Flowerpot — $0 curb picked & the plant was also $0 as my neighbor didn’t want it.
Total cost = $48!
My backyard is back to her normal self again, without all the random extra furniture and plants. Ahh . . .
I also decided to see if I could improve the top of this thrifted Ikea end table. My husband uses it next to his recliner and although I like the simple design, the top surface was ug-lee!
My first step was to wipe on some wood stain, which I found in the basement. It helped a bit, not not enough, so I got out my kids’ old set of markers. Hello . . . Pentel #S360-118!
It took a bit to color everything in, but I think it turned out pretty good. Especially since I followed the coloring with magical Restor-a-Finish.
Total cost to spruce everything up was zero-point-zero dollars, as I didn’t buy anything new to “freshen up” the porch. That, my friends, is my favorite price!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
-
I tucked a $1-off Twinings tea coupon onto the shelf for someone else to use, as I’m a Tetley “British Blend” girl through and through. However, it was a high value coupon and I didn’t want it to go to waste.
-
I stopped at the Lloyd Center Dollar Tree store to pick up a few items, (specifically moisture eliminators for my daughter’s mildewy apartment) only to find that they’d shuttered the store since my last visit. The entire building was completely empty, including shelving, which meant you could see glimpses of the amazing terrazzo tile floors from when it was Newberry’s. It always bewildered me that they spent however many thousands of dollars on low quality linoleum flooring in the name of covering something both beautiful and durable. Luckily the Dollar Tree on Powell Blvd. was still open, so I was able to pop in and pick up everything I needed.
-
I stopped by my father’s house and was sent home with a pair of onions. Hey, I’m always happy to accept free food!
-
My youngest is getting ready to move apartments, so I went over to keep them company and lend whatever help was needed. I came home with a pair of travel mugs, some opened food items and a few other random items. I brought over my three Ikea Frakta bags, which are infinitely helpful when moving. I also texted my friend Lise to ask if we could borrow any of her Frakta bags.
-
My biggest “frugal thing” for this week is that I’m attending the FinCon conference, which is conveniently located in not hellacious Portland, Oregon. People come from all over the world for this annual event, but this year is just a couple miles from my house. I also nabbed a $99 pass last November, which is a bargain compared to the current price of $599. Kristen from The Frugal Girl is my date for the week, so her “frugal thing” is the money she’ll save on housing.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
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 much of a bargain as its neighbor, packaged for the restaurant trade:
In all, I bought four bread items, including this 16-pack of hamburger buns! It might be time for a batch of my black bean burgers!
People complain about Goodwill pricing, which I totally understand as I’ve certainly been baffled by their $10 Target T shirts. However, you can still locate the bargains that hide between the overpriced items. Just yesterday I found these two items in their furniture section.
This antique oak dining table, priced at $24.99:
Next to an IKEA rolling cart, priced at $19.99:
I also stopped into Fred Meyer for eggs and milk, but made sure to meander through their clearance areas. I scored tomatoes and limes, (both $1.50 per package) plus a bottle of $1.05 organic barbecue sauce. I scanned my Red Cross gift card, which is now sadly depleted. Might be time to schedule another blood letting donation.
My total out of pocket cost for all this food was $4.79, the 79¢ being how much I had to pay after the gift card.
The best part of my day which was wholly undocumented was that I ran into two separate blog readers at the Franz outlet, which was great fun. I always love meeting fellow nonconsumers! Great to meet you, Linda and Katy!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
-
My husband got a piece of junk mail from Twinings tea, which contained two random bags of tea. Okay . . . we’ll take ’em! Nice to have a variety of different teas to offer when we have guests to the house.
-
I stopped by my daughter’s apartment this evening and noticed that she had a light out in the bathroom. Luckily I have a bag of curb picked light bulbs and a generous heart. Lucky girl.
-
My youngest continues on their side hustle journey and dropped by the house after work to package up four items that sold. They mentioned buying their own shipping supplies for future orders, which prompted a lesson on where to score free shipping supplies.
• Ask the person in your office who manages the mail and packages.
• Visit stores and ask if they have shipping supplies, (boxes, bubble wrap, etc) to get rid of.
• Ask in your Buy Nothing group for packaging supplies.
Honey, never ever pay for shipping supplies!
-
I pruned back my forsythia, which filled two yard debris bins! Luckily I have an extra bin from sharing garbage service with our next door neighbors. I’ll ask friends across the street if I can set one of them out with their garbage next week, as they rarely put out a yard debris can.
-
I spent yet another day loving the stunning vibrant city of Portland, Oregon, despite the O.F.F. (Orange Felonious Fascist) referring to my home as a “living hell.”
Katy Wolk-Stanley
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
My refrigerator had once again attained “impressive echo” status, so I jotted down a grocery list and drove myself over to employee owned Winco Foods. I ended up with a few unplanned items, but only because they were on sale. (Winco keeps prices low by not advertising.) This is why I picked up pasta, (99¢) cream cheese, (88¢) string cheese, ($1.98) macaroni and cheese, (98¢) and mini cucumbers, ($1.78.)
My list:
The grand total for everything? $40.99! This should get us though until next week.
Other methods that I use to keep our food spending low:
• I buy our bread from the Franz Bakery outlet when it’s $1/loaf on the first Saturday of the month.
• I hit Fred Meyer’s (Kroger) produce clearance shelf whenever I shop there. It can be hit or miss, but always worth a look see.
• We buy certain items at Costco such as cooking oils, frozen berries, eggs, rotisserie chicken.
• I keep an eye out for and stock up on loss leader items from the corporate chains.
• I forage and freeze blackberries during the summer months.
• I shop at Asian grocery stores for specialty items.
• I steer clear of pricier produce such as berries, fancy apples and out of season asparagus.
How are you doing with food prices?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
-
I scored the cutest box of bookplates from a Little Free Library. Sleepy lil’ mouse sleeping under a homemade fan quilt? Check. Stack of teeny books? Check. Adorable mousey family pictures on the back wall? Check. Company named after the obscure college that I went to in Yellow Springs, Ohio? Check!
-
I was laying on the couch with a library book and kind of wanted a snacky snack, so I ambled to the kitchen and rummaged around. I located an unopened packet of trail mix from when I donated platelets to the Red Cross last month, which is the gift that keeps on giving. I’m all out of their snacks and rapidly spending down my Kroger gift card, so it might be time to make a new appointment.
-
I spent yesterday at the house going nowhere and doing just about nothing. Mind you, I feel 0% guilty about this as there’s no reward for a toxic productivity mindset. Lounging about with a good book while enjoying delicious food is not wholly reserved for those who travel to resort-style vacations.
-
My husband and I watched a couple episodes of Supernatural through our Netflix account last night. This is the only streaming account that we consistently pay for, as it’s used by both of our kids, plus our niece and nephew. We mooch HBO, Prime Video and Hulu from family members, so this is our contribution to the group. I’m aware that Amazon is clamping down on account sharing, but I welcome the opportunity to consume even less of Schmeff Schmezos’ stink.
-
My youngest used my eBay account to list a couple of items, as they’re about to pay double rent for the month of September. One thing sold within a few hours, so they stopped by after work last night to use my packaging supplies and printer. I’m so proud of my kid’s frugal hustle, which I drummed into both my kids from the very beginning.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
