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My husband and I stopped into normally pricey New Seasons Market and happened upon an excellent sale on Portland Coffee Roasters beans. I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but my husband is and this is one of his favorite brands, which is how we ended up buying eight pounds of coffee!
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My youngest just moved from a studio to a one-bedroom apartment, which is fantastic as they can once again enjoy a healthy amount of elbow room. However, they were a few furniture items short, specifically a kitchen table. Luckily they have a thrift savvy mother with an eye for bargains!
This drop-leaf table caught my eye, as it A) has a small footprint, B) is stylistically neutral; and C) was priced at $24.99, including two chairs! I texted a few photos and got the go ahead and made my way to the register. Our Goodwills have a “Plus” card, which gives you a 5% discount on purchases over $25, So I added a 49¢ Tootsie Pop, which earned me a $1.27 discount. Mama’s no fool!
Here’s a photo of the table and chairs, which currently sell at Lowe’s for $658.51!
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I stopped by a garage sale while my husband was running an errand across the street and came across multiple boxes of reproduction fruit crate prints. After leafing through the boxes I ended up spending a dollar for two different sets, one of which was “Tom Cat” brand and the other was a “happy,” umm “rooster.” I’ll let you click here to see what I mean. I think there were three of the Tom Cats and probably twenty of the Happy Roosters. I’ll try my luck with them on eBay.
Seriously, how cute are these old prints?
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My husband and I stopped into IKEA to check out their wall hanging hardware kit for our youngest’s new apartment. (Didn’t buy one.) I considered picking up this Trixit tool kit for our daughter’s birthday, but instead added a Facebook Marketplace alert to get a “push notification” if anyone in my area lists one for sale. This a great tool for finding second hand versions of specific items. Will it work? Maybe, but it can’t hurt to try.
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My friend Lise texted to ask if I wanted to walk with her to Fred Meyer and I was quick to answer in the affirmative as I’m currently obsessed with their produce clearance section. Hello, three packages of raspberries for $1.50! I grabbed two of them.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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Sooo . . . my husband and I paid off our mortgage.
We bought our house in 1996 with an 8.58% 30-year mortgage, which we later refinanced over and over again as interest rates went down. A couple of those times we folded other debt into the mortgage, which I later regretted. (Think credit card debt related to rehabbing our fixer-upper and my husband’s student loans.) Repeat refinancing lowered the amount of interest we paid, but pushed the finish line farther into the future.
2013 brought one final refinance at 2.875% interest as a 15-year loan. We threw extra money at the mortgage when we had it, but the years of sending kids to college put a stop to this practice.
We’ve since had the money to pay off the mortgage, but our high yield savings account was at 5.5%, so it didn’t make sense mathematically. (especially since the mortgage was now mostly principal.) However, HYSA rates dropped and my husband especially wanted the peace of mind of a paid off house. We have no credit debt or car payments, so this was our last financial goal to reach.
I’ve yet to experience that “great sense of relief” that people talk about, but perhaps that’ll happen in time as October and November roll around and there’s no mortgage to pay.
Either way, we’re now officially debt free. Yippee!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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I cut a new batch of rosemary for the bathroom, which reminded me that it had been awhile since I offered any up to my Buy Nothing group. (I replace my bathroom rosemary every month or so when it starts to resemble a February Christmas tree!) I have just one taker so far, but that’s okay as I’m not exactly on commission.
As you can see, she’s a grower!
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I picked up my daughter’s repaired boots, (this time with a check in hand) and will deliver them tomorrow. I’m happy to pay this bill, as $45 is a much bigger percentage of her income than it is for me.
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I walked around the corner to see if a specific apple tree had dropped any more free fruit. I’m happy to take the bruised or otherwise hinky windfall apples, as they’d otherwise go to waste. There were only three apples on the sidewalk, but I’m not too picky to cut off the unpalatable bits.
I noticed there was a sign asking people to not “pick the apples,” which makes me wonder what prompted this unexpected plot twist. I’m friendly with the owners, so I’ll get them to spill the tea!
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I stopped at Fred Meyer for milk and scored two $1.50 clearance bags, each holding two pounds of strawberries. (I’m never going to turn down 75¢/pound strawberries!) I paid using my gift card from The Frugal Girl. I made myself a humongous bowl of yogurt with strawberries and then froze the rest.
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I ran a couple loads of laundry, mostly sheets as Portland has been both sunny and windy the past couple of days. There really is nothing more luxurious than sun dried cotton sheets — solar energy at its finest!
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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One thing that I got out of last week’s FinCon Expo was that it forced me to tighten up my “elevator pitch.” You know, that tiny speech where you rush through your hopefully impressive vision in the short amount of time you get while sharing a metaphorical elevator. Okay, I wasn’t really trying to impress anyone, (nor did I take any elevators) but I wanted to concisely and articulately explain what I write about as The Non-Consumer Advocate.
Concise and articulate is easier said than done.
Yes, my blog about frugality, but it’s also about the ways in which our spending choices have the power to influence the world we live in. It’s personal finance, but also activism. It’s being #cheapaf for a reason.
Breathe, Katy . . . .
It went a little something like this:
“Hi, I’m Katy Wolk-Stanley and I’ve been writing The Non-Consumer Advocate blog since 2008. I made a decision in 2007 to not buy anything new for a year, and when that year I was over there was no going back. I encourage my readers to think about how their purchases influence their communities, not only from a financial standpoint, but also as a form of power.”
Short and sweet.
I’d then answer questions and learn about their platforms. I met so many amazing people and was not shy about introducing myself to people I follow on YouTube and Instagram. Of course I also discovered new accounts to follow and gained my own new followers.
My pitch seemed to land well and I subsequently have a couple possible opportunities as a result of the connections I made.
What do you think of my elevator pitch? Do you have anything to add? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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I drove across town to pick up my daughter’s repaired boots only to discover that my cobbler only accepts checks and cash. I recently used the single check from my wallet and only had $14 on hand. Far from the $45 that I needed. I’ll go back today with check in hand and have also tucked a second check in my wallet to avoid this situation in the future. Oh well, live and learn!
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I borrowed a library copy of Ruth Reichl’s The Paris Novel from a friend who just finished reading it. Reichl’s memoirs are amazing, so I have high hopes for this book!
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I bought a cantaloupe at Trader Joe’s last week, hoping it would be ripen on time to snack on while Kristen visited. (Heavy produce is a bargain at Trader Joe’s, as they charge per item instead of by-the-pound!) Such was not the case. This morning I walked into the kitchen and was assaulted by the scent of ripe fruit, which tells me the cantaloupe is finally ready to be processed.
How is this frugal? Cutting into an unripe cantaloupe is a form of food waste, as I know from experience that our’s sit untouched in the fridge, even if I take one for the team and eat a few crunchy bites. Do you overthink the simple process of planning fruit ripeness, or is it just me?
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I ate the last of Kristen’s restaurant leftovers that she abandoned in my fridge. I added extra “grape tomatoes” as I picked up a few on-sale containers when Kristen and I hit Winco last week.
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We’re low on milk, so I took 45 seconds to see if Safeway or Fred Meyer had digital coupons for it. Safeway didn’t, but Fred Meyer did at $1.39/half-gallon, so I tapped the in-app coupon and will pick it up this afternoon. They’re both close to the house, so neither store is inconvenient for me.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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Portland remembered who she was today with a full deluge of rain, which resulted in utter gutter mayhem. My neighbor texted me the above photo, pointing out that “Your gutter was not happy about the downpour.” Luckily I have a handy husband, who was able to repair the entire situation using supplies we already owned. I can only imagine how much money it would’ve cost to hire out this job. A million dollars? More? Probably more.
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I met up with Angela and Regina from Women’s Personal Finance for a follower meetup at a local cafe. It had been scheduled at a local park, but the heavy rain put a wrench in that plan. Luckily they had a backup plan to keep us dry.
I ended up having enjoyable conversations with a couple financially savvy women and picked their brains about whether my husband and I should pay off our mortgage. The answer was straight up “it really depends,” which is the same frustratingly fuzzy answer I got when I asked a few different financial professionals last week. I’m so happy that I made the effort to emerge from my cozy dry home.
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Kristen left a few items behind, specifically a small red pepper, which I added to a Mexi-bowl for tonight’s dinner. (No food waste on my watch!) I need to point out that I cooked the bulk purchased pinto beans in my Instant Pot, which makes this an extra frugal meal!
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I’m now the recipient of a Fred Meyer gift card, which Kristen tucked into a thank you card. I find it hilarious that my last two house guests have gifted me pilfered hotel tea bags and now a gift card that’s specifically for “Many pounds of bruised produce!” It’s nice when your friends really get you. Sniff . . . .
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My step-mother went through her collection of random tea bags and gave me everything that didn’t meet her high standards. I’m happy to take her offcasts and future guests can now look forward to a plethora of choices.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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