Three Frugal Things -- Am I Being "Grinchy?"
1. I used up every single apple that my neighbor Erin brought over from her tree. This was accomplished through last week's pies, additional apple pie filling for the freezer and many apple snacks. (Feeling peckish, may I suggest this bowl of cut apples?) Now I just need to figure out something nice to do for her in return.
2. I sold a Coca-Cola Christmas sweater on eBay for $20 that I listed back in ye olde times of 2021! This is actually the very last Christmas sweater I had up for sale, which is fantastic as holiday specific things really only sell for me in November and December. Good to clear out all my stale inventory!
3. I continue to pick up consumables for holiday gifting. Sure I've thrifted a couple items, but the majority of what I've bought so far has been food or gift certificates to restaurants. I'm hyper aware that my loved ones are in zero need of another random "thing" for their homes, however cool that item may be. I know this sounds Grinchy, but there's no reason to support overconsumption culture just because the dominant culture tells us to.
It helps that my husband and I no longer exchange holiday gifts, plus we've winnowed down how many people we include in gift giving. It's pretty much just our kids, niece and nephew, their partners and my mother and step-father. We'll also give money to the kids and their cousins so they can just buy what they want and need.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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I don't think you are being grinchy at all. The gift mill is a capitalist construct and one that I am happy to not participate in. We gave our young grandchildren actual gifts they would love, our grown children get cash, my mother gets a repeat magazine subscription, usually I make my dad food. I exchange small practical gifts with one aunt and one close friend. Neighbors and other friends get homemade cookies. I send chocolate to both of my sister's families. That is it. My husband and I also do not exchange gifts.
1. We stopped at Winco while visiting out kids 4 hours away. Bought $61 worth of staples, including bulk spices, the price of which cannot be beat.
2. Got a refund on a bag of satsumas that turned to liquid in 5 days. Gross. I am diligent about doing returns and tracking that I received the refund.
3. Skipping food shopping today, though there's quite literally only prunes, eggs, bread and homegrown apples in the fridge. It will be easy mexican dinner from freezer and pantry tonight. Thankful for kale and swiss chard from the garden.
4. AAA membership is cheaper if you bundle extended family members, so we've done that for a few years. I've requested payment from all the people on our plan, as it renews this month.
LOL, I read your second sentence as "grift" mill.
You're not being grinchy in the slightest; you're being generous, smart and thoughtful.
1. Bought a pair of red boot laces to brighten up my old gray suede boots. Spent $7 at the local shoe repair shop. The pop of color brightens my spirits every time I have to put on my boots, which is every day around here. Will give away the previous laces on Buy Nothing.
2. Took my winter jacket to the library’s sewing circle where I was able to use one of their machines to repair a hard-to-reach seam.
3. Walked inside a shopping mall with a friend. It was cold and snowy here, even by Minnesota standards.
4. Gave away a dog kennel and a miter box on Buy Nothing. I was one of two people interested in the miter box, so I passed it on to the second person when we were done using it for a project.
5. Saved $15 by spending $60 on an online grocery order via a Target Circle bonus. I picked it up when it was below zero and the employee was so hard-working, helpful, friendly, and possibly a target of ICE, that I gave him a $20 tip. That felt good and was the least I could do.
No grinchiness at all. DH and I send food gifts to a few relatives who live far away and then gift cards to nieces and nephews. I make chocolate sauce and we give those (in thrifted or reused glass jars that can go in the microwave) to some service providers we see regularly and a few co-workers... my elderly parents like it, too!
My frugal today were:
Making ginger tea with fresh ginger. The real frugal part here is that the piece of ginger was small and did not register on the scale at the self checkout. I needed the store manager to clear the scanner so I could scan the rest if my items. I asked what I owed for the ginger and she told me that if it did not weigh enough for the scale, I should just put it in my bag. Not worth the trouble! Now, the ginger probably would have cost 20 cents. Still, I'll take free!
Not being Grinchy. The Grinch wanted to stop others from celebrating. You are just celebrating the way you want.
1. I found a nickel.
2. We fed a cat on our porch for weeks and brought him inside when the weather got cold. Took him to the vet for some shots. Then we saw a FB post with his"lost cat" picture and contacted his owner. They were so glad to have him back . They gave us a generous gift card for Chewy's. The cat, on the other hand, showed no emotion . He was busy stuffing his face when his owner came for him.
3. We will be giving cash to family and cookies to neighbors. I don't have the energy to track down "things". Maybe they can get some good deals on the things they want at after Christmas sales.
4. We also treat for a weekend in the city that is the most convenient destination for all, so kids, grandkids and grandparents can spend time together and cousins who live far apart can hang out.
Picked more Winter pears to make a spicy pear and walnut cake using my estate sale Nordic ware fancy loaf pan. Will make fresh whipped cream to serve tonight at community potluck dinner.
Made a basket with hone canned marinara, noodles, parmesan cheese spaghetti dinner for the white elephant exchange.
I was gifted 3 bottles of wine (I do not drink), donated it to the New Years Eve wine and chocolate auction benefit to raise monies for a women's shelter.
I don't think you're being Grinchy. My husband and I haven't exchanged Christmas gifts in a long time--unless you count stockings, where I usually put in a few socks for him. He always forgets to buy himself socks. Most people don't need 95% of the things that are advertised as presents and stocking stuffers this time of year.
Frugal things:
1. Scanning every receipt I can nab into Fetch. My oldest goes to the same grocery store we do, and sometimes I find his receipts lying around and I just scoop them up and scan them.
2. My youngest DS is taking the same class as I am this spring semester, so I rented the digital textbook just once and will have him read it on my computer when he needs to. I see no reason to a) purchase it or b) rent two copies.
3. On a similar note, I did purchase the online textbook for the Nurse Aide training course I recently took, as there was no rental option. I have a friend who went through A&P 1 and 2 with me who is taking the same course this coming term, and I sent her my log-in details for the online library so she can access it. I see no reason for her to purchase a $100 dollar textbook for a 4 week course!
4. Planning our trip down to Florida in January, and DH found out there is a military base in Georgia along the way (we break the drive up into two days) where we can stay in their lodging. This is much cheaper than an AirBnB, and significantly safer–some of the rentals we looked at were in very dodgy neighborhoods. If you’re a civilian DoD employee, many military bases will allow you to bring family members in through the Trusted Travelers program. We got a two-bedroom apartment for about $100 a night, which is not bad!
5. I needed to buy mozzarella cheese for lasagna tonight and was very happy to find that the large blocks of cheese were $2 off. I stocked up for future pizzas as well; home-shredded is best for melting.
I love consumable gifts!
1. I'm making a beef stew recipe that uses bacon fat, but not the bacon. Because I'm making it for 25, I need a good amount, so I asked a chef (who cooks brunch) if he could save me bacon fat & he did! The recipe also calls for button mushrooms, but I came into wealth via some free shiitaki mushrooms, which I sauteed and have had in the freezer.
2. We made an excellent chicken & feta meatball, spinach, and lemon soup (NY Times recipe). We get chicken thighs free from a mystery shop but my partner wanted to buy ground chicken. I convinced him that we could convert one into the other, and it was a success.
3. We found a "yesterday's" rotisserie chicken on sale for $2.99. I'll use it to make chicken and dumplings, chicken stock, and use the extra chicken for salads for lunches.
4. I've been enjoying my $2.99 per month subscription to Britbox while I have it.
5. I reserved a cultural pass to the JFK library from my local library (for 1/2 price ticket) for later in the month.