The Non-Consumer Advocate

1. My daughter needed to get some paperwork notarized, so we went to our credit union and they did it for free, even though the form was unrelated to banking. They also made copies of everything for free.

   I love credit unions, whose entire existence is for the benefit of their members. Why be a customer when you can be a member?

2. It’s the time of year for convoluted yard debris pickup, which is due to us sharing garbage pickup with our next door neighbors. (This currently saves each of us $234 per year!) It becomes an issue when my maple trees drop infinite number of leaves, as we take turns for which one of us gets to set out a yard debris wheelie bin. I get around this by the grace of other neighbors.

   Before you assume that I’m a horrible mooch*, I make sure to return the favors in various ways. For example, today I texted the neighbors across the street asking if they’d be setting out a bin this week. Their answer was to go right ahead with my bin. I then spent maybe fifteen minutes raking their stairs and sidewalk, filling their empty bin as a thank you. I’ve done this in the past and know that they appreciate this act of service.

   I did the math and we’ve been sharing garbage service with our neighbors for sixteen years. $234 X 16 = $3744 savings for each of our households. Worth the convolution.

   By the way, this overwhelming amount of leaves are from my front sidewalk, plus my backyard brick patio and deck. Not areas where it would be safe to leave the leaves in place, as they get slimy and slippery.

   

3. I offered fresh rosemary to people in my Buy Nothing group, as my shrub is flourishing and it’s nice to share.

4. • I made a big pot of white bean rosemary soup, using this recipe as a template, but added lemon juice, red pepper flakes and soy sauce for extra flavor. Would be good with kale and maybe some sausage, but I used what I had on hand.
   • My husband replaced our bathroom fan timer, as it was no longer turning itself off. Don’t want to burn down the house and I appreciate the money we save by doing these DIY projects on our own.
   • My husband also replaced the bedroom light switch that controls the closet light. It was needing to be turned off and on a couple times before lighting up, so it was time for a replacement. Good to A) not hire out the job, and B) not burn down the house.

5. I didn’t buy a vulgar gold plated apartment in the sky.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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1. I stopped into Trader Joe’s yesterday to pick up eggs, bananas and cabbage. I walked past the flowers, pastries, chips, desserts, candy cane Joe-Joes, cheeses, booze and by-the-register treats. (I stand by my belief that Trader Joe’s is 90% impulse items!) Here’s what I bought:

   • A dozen eggs for $2.99.

   • Six 23¢ bananas.

   • A four-pound head of cabbage for $1.99.

   Yes, I weighed the cabbage for this blog post, although I’d already estimated it to be four pounds. My skills as a labor and delivery nurse include precise weight estimation of an item up to eleven pounds. Seriously, I was usually able to hold a newborn and guess the weight down to the ounce. Who knew this party trick would translate outside the delivery room?

2. I visited with my mother and step father yesterday and was able to weasel their HBO login information out of them. (Worry not, I double checked the terms and conditions and we’re not violating anything with their schmancy ad-free plan!) My husband and I then added it to our Roku last night and watched The Martian.

3. I watched a couple of Ardent Michelle’s “How to live on $1 a day” YouTube videos and reinvigorated myself to cook inexpensive tasty meals. There’s not much frugality content out in the world that’s new to me, but Michelle sometimes breaks through that barrier. I think she’d be proud that I shuffled through all the cabbages to find the biggest one.

4. • Yesterday was a rare sunny day here in Portland, so I jumped at the invitation to go for a walk with my friend Lise.
   • My husband has been sick and tested himself twice for Covid. Luckily it was negative and that we had a couple boxes of free tests from the government.
   • Today is also a precious sunny November day, so I’m washing bedding and hanging it on the backyard laundry line. The next week is forecast for daily rain.
   • I’m fully aware that Trader Joe’s corporate is guilty of union busting activity, so I try to limit the amount of money that I spend in their stores.

5. I didn’t buy a vulgar gold plated apartment in the sky.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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1. I used the final frozen bag of last year’s homemade puree to bake up a pair of pumpkin bread loaves. I brought warm slices to my neighbors and they gave me their uncut Halloween pumpkin, which I’ll turn into enough puree to last until Halloween 2025.

2. I finished reading my library book and then drove over to the library to grab two new “Lucky Day” books, which are the only books available at the otherwise holds only pickup location. (They’re remodeling the neighborhood library.) I returned Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead without even cracking the spine, as I currently need my books to be undemanding of intellect.

3. My neighbor brought me the last of her chocolate Halloween candy bars and wrote “Election Therapy” on the bag. I’m lucky to live in a neighborhood where my friends and neighbors didn’t vote against this country’s human rights. In case you’re wondering what the bag contained, it held a dozen or so small Hershey bars plus Reese’s peanut butter cups.

4. I listened to the newest episode of the Office Ladies podcast while puttering around the kitchen this morning, as I wasn’t enjoying my own devastated thoughts. I’m thankful for this free podcast, which helped distract me through the pandemic and now through whatever the hell this is.

5. I didn’t buy a vulgar gold plated apartment in the sky.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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1. My husband and son had a 5:30 P.M. soccer game last night, which meant we didn’t get home until after seven. (Keep in mind it was the day after daylight savings, which made it seem later.) It would’ve been easy to succumb to takeout or a warm restaurant meal, but I’d anticipated the poor timing and had a plan. The plan wasn’t elaborate, as it was simply “cook pinto beans in the Instant Pot,” which after a quick smush and a sprinkle of bulk purchased “taco seasoning” transformed into tasty refried beans. I’d already crisped up our stale tostada shells earlier in the day, so all that was needed were dribs and drabs from the fridge to turn this into a complete meal. (Dribs and drabs being shredded jalapeño jack cheese, sautéed peppers and onions, lettuce, salsa and sour cream.) I’m pretty sure we inhaled dinner while standing over the kitchen island, but that’s just a slice of real life for you.

2. I assembled a small oatmeal apple crisp from bruised windfall apples. There was enough undamaged fruit on each apple to make it worth the work to carve them up. I’m including the above photo so that you can see how much I’m not exaggerating about how bruised they get from bouncing directly onto a city sidewalk. What can I say? I love free food and I don’t mind the extra effort.

3. I’m at that point in the year when I fire up the furnace in the morning and then turn it off an hour or so later. I snuggle under a blanket and maybe even a heating pad if I’m sitting on the couch with my laptop, as I believe in heating myself, not an entire empty house. My husband and I use a thick down comforter plus flannel sheets, which makes it unnecessary to heat the house at night. We also own a small space heater, but haven’t needed to pull it out yet.

   It was “see your breath” cold at last night’s soccer game, but I was toasty with my sweater, wool eBay Allbirds wool sneakers*, a thrifted from “the bins” Land’s End coat and my ancient fleece hat. There’s a saying that “There’s no such thing as cold weather, just the wrong clothes,” which certainly holds truth. It’s almost “wool socks every day” season, but I don’t want to jump the gun.

4. • Someone put a couple of necklaces into our little free library yesterday, so I pulled them out to give to Goodwill. (It’s amazing how many non-book items people put into the library.) However, one of them was a simple silver chain, which I’ll keep after I remove the cheap charms.
   • I started reading my library “Lucky Day” copy of Abby Jimenez’s Just The Summer last night and discovered that it shares characters with Yours Truly, which I read a couple weeks ago. Very enjoyable!
   • I renewed all my Facebook Marketplace listings, although I doubt they’ll get much action as I think the entire nation is holding its breath.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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My “frugal things” are getting progressively narrow, as I post daily in the lead up to Tuesday, aka “the day that shall not be named.”

1. I heated up the last of my homemade butternut squash soup, which provided two small servings for my husband and I. I’ll assemble a new soup this afternoon, probably a chicken variety as my husband picked up a $4.99 Costco rotisserie chicken last week and it needs to either be processed or thrown into the freezer.

2. I realized that our old Wii Fit balance board works perfectly as a barrier to confine the robot vacuum cleaner to the kitchen. Unlike the stool that I’d previously used to corral the vacuum, this solution doesn’t make it difficult for humans to access the kitchen. I always pat myself on the back when I somehow figure out a solution to an annoying everyday(ish) problem. Even when it’s a silly little solution to a silly little problem.

3. I raked the front sidewalk and the backyard using hand tools, (a rake and a snow shovel which serves as a dustpan of sorts) instead of a leaf blower or a lawn care service. I also spent a few minutes raking for a neighbor as it’s no extra work once I’ve got the momentum going. Most people in my neighborhood manage their own yards, but I’ve seen an uptick in landscaping service companies as property values have increased.

4. I dropped my son’s ballot at the library near my mother’s house, as I was going to pass by it either way.

5. I didn’t self medicate my anxiety with retail therapy. I checked and the last thing I bought new was a replacement refrigerator door shelf, after the last one fell developed a huge crack. Hardly an impulse purchase.

Katy Wolk-Stanley    

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

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1. I went onto the library website at 12 A.M., November 1st to see if they’d loaded fresh “Cultural Passes,” which has worked well for me in the past. (Fresh passes load on the first of month.) Unfortunately the only passes that popped up were for OMSI, (The Oregon Museum for Science and Industry) which is mainly for kids and be best left for young families.

   I did notice that they had Oregon State Park parking passes available, which are normally $5 per vehicle/per day. This is great information to tuck into the back of my brain and I’ll definitely be coming back for a free parking pass!

2. My husband’s friend gave us four Portland Trailblazer tickets for last night’s game, but we were too zonked after our adventure day to brave a dark and rainy 8:30 P.M. basketball game. He didn’t want them back, so I passed them along to my friend Lise, whose husband follows the team. I’m always happy to make frugal opportunities for other people.

3. My neighbor put out another Bonne Maman jam jar in her recycling bin, which I brought home and added to my stash. They’re perfect for the random food items that I buy in bulk at Winco.

4. I finished reading my library copy The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin last night. A really enjoyable read, I feel like I’m on this streak of fantastic books! I hadn’t realized until just now that it’s also a movie and available to watch on Hulu, which we have through an old college friend. Free book and free movie? Cool.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.

Katy Wolk-Stanley    

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

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