The Non-Consumer Advocate

I sold a cute vintage barstool as well as that kid’s Trek bike that I scrubbed up and featured in a previous blog post. Both of these sales were through Facebook Marketplace. I also sold a streaming Blu-ray player through eBay. The barstool and bike were $5 Goodwill items, and I think I forked out $20 for the Blu-ray player. I try not to buy stuff to sell unless I can clear at least $20 from the sale, although I’ve been known to disobey my own rules. This may sound like a lot of work, but putting together a listing takes less than five minutes, and it’s something I can do while inventing new ways to split the atom watching TV in the evenings.

I just worked three days and packed my own lunches and slurped up a tremendous amount of the free mediocre coffee. I know this is far from a lightning bolt piece of advice, but the money I’ve saved from twenty four years of forgoing on-site hospital food would likely run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Have I ever bought lunch from the cafeteria? Sure, but it’s just a couple times per year when real life has gotten in the way of my best intentions.

The hospital where I work allows you to activate your work badge as a debit card, thus deducting all on-site purchases from your paycheck. I long ago made a conscious decision to decline this program, (even when it provided a 5% discount on all purchases) as I felt it would make it way too painless to inadvertently nickel and dime my paycheck away. I’m there to make money, not spend it.

Portland has been oppressively grey and rainy over the past week, which doesn’t exactly inspire me to to go and about and live my best life. However, there’s an upside to cocooning indoors, which is that it’s hard to spend $5 here and $10 there if you’re embracing the indoor life. I don’t have a habit of online shopping, which means that indoor days = zero spend days. Having said this, I’ll welcome the sunshine if it ever deigns to return.

I popped into The Dollar Tree to pick up shampoo, conditioner and quality surplus bread, I’m stopping at the library to return a DVD that’s due as well as pick up a hold copy of Susan Orlean’s The Library Book, I accepted an offer from my father to take me to lunch and I’m scheduling a time to help my mother clean her Airbnb guest cottage whose long term tenant vamoosed in the night.

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

I sold a pair of thrifted soccer cleats and a bicycle pannier through eBay, as well as a pair of Dansko sandals and an American Girl doll through Facebook Marketplace. I’m arranging to work eight hours of paid online education that I can complete at home. Nurse wages while wearing pajamas? That’s the dream!

I schlepped my tuchus across town for another large grocery shopping trip to Winco. They’re far from convenient, but their prices are low enough to make it worth the effort. Plus, you can’t beat that they reimburse you 6¢ per bag.

I whisked my mother off for a Goodwill Outlet (bins) adventure. My goal is always to find things I can sell on eBay, but I also keep an eye out for things my friends and family can use. This is why I nabbed a set of dog waste bags for my friend Lise. (Brand new — I know I shouldn’t have to clarify this, but I concurrently know that I should.) For myself I bought a vintage linen tea towel, a quality sweater for my husband and a doll dress for my childhood Sasha doll, as I keep stealing her clothes to plump up American Girl doll listings. (Because the only thing creepier than a 51-year-old woman who still loves her childhood doll, is a 51-year-old woman who insists that her doll be nekkid.)

To sell, I bought a fancy cat bed, a guitar case, a Kermit The Frog plush, a set of alien refrigerator magnets, a youth baseball glove, a Microsoft keyboard, and two pink midcentury hand towels. I also paid for my mother to buy a creamer and sugar and maybe something else. And I don’t mean to brag, (I totally do!) but everything has been photographed and listed. Otherwise I’m just a hoarder.

The total was $20.65. 

My neighbor is lending me a black light flashlight so I can face my fears and investigate whether my cat has been urinating anywhere besides the new couch. I live in fear right now, but it’s better to not bury my head in the sand. §¢¢®©ƒ¥§∞∞§¶¥†©¥¶§!!!!!

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

I sold a Thule bike rack that I picked up at Goodwill a couple of months ago. It took awhile to sell, but I wasn’t worried as people simply don’t buy outdoor equipment during the winter months.

I saw that the Supercuts training center was in session this week, so I called to make appointments for me and the kids. (I would have also made an appointment for my husband, but he’s working all week.) We’ll tip $5 apiece, but they’re still tremendously cheaper than any traditional salon or barber shop. I follow them on Facebook, so I always see when they’re available for services.

I brought home a free cute welcome mat to replace a useless rubber one that neither worked to absorb water nor to scrub the bottoms of shoes. It was in front of a neighbor’s house with a “free” sign, which is my favorite price. The useless rubber one? I’ve already set it out with a “free” sign.

This is an example of “make it do,” as I’d been wanting a better welcome mat for a year or so. I figured that I’d come across one at Goodwill, but mostly only found seasonal ones. (The idea of having a welcome mat that gets switched out for specific holidays does not appeal to me, as I’d rather have a single neutral item instead of multiple ones that are needlessly bought and stored.) The ability be patient with this need meant I was able to replace the old one without spending a penny.

Patience a key component to a successfully frugal life.

I make a huge pot of chicken soup from a mostly uneaten rotisserie chicken, I brought home a free jumbo-sized bag of bubble wrap from a local shop for my eBay sales, I drove my minivan through DEQ (Depart of Environmental Quality) to reregister the car and somehow didn’t get charged extra even though it was a week past the deadline, and I made grilled cheese sandwiches for my daughter and her friend so they wouldn’t get hungry while out and about.

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

I drove four-plus hours yesterday to bring my son home for spring break. On my way out the door I realized that I hadn’t eaten breakfast, so I quickly assembled a PB&J,  as well as grabbing a banana and water bottle. He and I did stop at McDonald’s to splurge on Egg McMuffins as their app had them buy-one-get-one-for-a-penny. We also hit Costco midway for cheap(ish) gasoline. Nothing too earth shattering, but it did save money over eating in a restaurant. I ended up bringing our minivan instead of the Prius as it was raining after a dry spell and I was feeling paranoid about safety.

I knew I’d be pooped last night, so I threw some chicken drumsticks into a down and dirty Asian-style marinade before I left the house. Based on this recipe from Struggle Meals, it’s a big hit at our house. Sure I added powdered garlic powder and ginger as I was in a massive hurry, but there were no complaints and it kept us from eating takeout or other random stuff. Although this recipe has to be assembled ahead of time, the hands on prep time is just a couple of minutes.

I’d love to take the family on a fabulous trip for spring break, but it’s simply not in the budget. Instead, I’m planning at least one cheap diversion per day that gets us out of the house to enjoy Portland and her surrounding area. For example, a local second-run movie theater has 2-for-1 admission on Tuesdays, which makes it an affordable activity. (Hello, $2 movie tickets!!) And since they’re showing Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in The Sky, this one’s a no brainer. I do plan on spending out a bit in other areas, but strategically.

I sold a vintage telephone and sauce pan on eBay, my husband and son are going to a free minor league soccer game tonight, I walked to the grocery store for milk, I’ve spent no money on anything other than food/groceries for at least a couple of weeks and I created a cat bed using towels I sourced from a free pile.

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

I just finished reading a library copy of the book Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land. In this memoir, Land chronicles the years she spent cleaning houses while simultaneously single parenting her young daughter. She is a deeply gifted writer, and her stories of how she survived this era are both vivid and informative. Poverty is a complex multi-generational issue, and I highly recommend this gripping book for anyone who’s interested in the human experience.

And yes, I returned it to the library before it accrued any late fees!

I did a large grocery shopping trip to Winco Foods, which is a regiobnal no-frills chain. It’s not in the neighborhood, (which is a tremendous pain in the tuchus) so I give myself a pat on the back whenever I schlep myself across town in the name of frugal adulting. Winco is employee owned and stories abound of long time employees with millions of dollars in their retirement accounts. Their prices are often half of those such as New Seasons or even Kroger, and I brought home six full bags of groceries for just $78. (It was only that high because I’ve been buying gluten-free items for my daughter. Think $5 loaves of bread and $4.50 packets of tortillas!) I really respect this company and feel good giving them my dollars.

I somehow assembled a pan of enchiladas on a day when the refrigerator appeared to contain nothing more than Zuul, the gatekeeper of Gozer. (Ghostbusters, anyone?) I pulled together frozen corn tortillas, as well as leftover rice, beans, cheese, plus frozen shredded chicken and corn. I even had a random can of gloppy green enchilada sauce that I’d picked up from The Grocery Outlet, which completed the assemblage. It would impress zero-point-zero foodies, but it was filling and tasty. It certainly kept me from hitting the grocery store that day, which I call a frugal win!

I convinced my daughter to hold off from getting her hair cut until the Supercuts training center is giving free cuts again, (probably next week) I batched errands to hit the credit union, library and grocery store, I hung laundry on the clothesline and I made sure to turn off the furnace since I was opening windows to get fresh air in the house.

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.