Three Frugal Things -- I Succumb to Viral Consumerism
- I succumbed to the latest viral consumerism trend and picked up one of the Trader Joe's $2.99 micro tote bags, but only because it's perfectly scaled for my childhood Sasha doll. I mean . . . come on!
I promise that I'll be back to only buying used tomorrow.
At least I didn't go full viral and buy a Labubu Stanley cup or the Starbucks bearista cup!
2. I pulled a container of my sautéed mirpoix, (carrots, onion and celery) from the freezer and plopped it into a pan with diced potato and bits off a Costco rotisserie chicken. I then added water and boiled everything together, lastly adding a package of S&B Golden Curry Mix cubes. Served over rice, a perfect meal.
These curry cubes came onto my radar in 2006 when my family hosted a Japanese exchange teacher for the school year. She prepared this dish for us and explained that every Japanese woman keeps a box in her cupboard for inevitable busy nights that require a quick meal solution. I loved this and have kept a box in my pantry ever since, especially since it costs around $3.50 for enough for an entire pot.
3. I spied this $99 antique dresser at Goodwill and it made this think about how although that's a high price for a piece of thrift store furniture, it's still cheaper than its' low quality counterpart. Like this Ikea Hemnes dresser, priced at a mere $399.99.
One of these pieces will last another hundred years, while the other one will inevitably become wobbly within a decade or so.
Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?
I would absolutely love that dresser! Totally work $100, IMO.
It was in excellent condition!
I bought the TJ mini totes too for this year's Christmas giving tree at our farm. Each kid (25 of them) get a prepaid card of their choosing a small personal item and this year a roll of 2025 pennies.
Your doll is stylin'.
Your comment on ikea furniture made me chuckle as I keep picking up pieces for free at the move out piles at the local universities. They work great in my shop and tack room.
People treat Ikea furniture like it's a temporary possesion, which I think is why you see it abandoned and people have no issue with it being such low quality.
Of course, some of their products are amazing. My husband and I bought a piece of their butcher block at least ten years ago and it's been amazing!
https://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/my-island-dreams-dont-involve-balmy-breezes/
Yesterday I walked to the closest grocery store to buy a $.50 lime to use in making Chicken Tortilla soup. I found $.11 in the liquor store parking lot. The soup was made from the broth and chicken on the bones from a $4.98 rotisserie chicken, canned black beans that were $.05 of grocery store rewards, various peppers people gave me this summer, canned tomatoes bought for cheap at Grocery Outlet, and brown rice bought on clearance. There were a few other ingredients. The soup is served with tortilla chip shards.It made enough for leftovers for a couple of days.
This morning I walked to the drug store to pick up an Rx for DH. It was covered 100% by our insurance. I then walked across the street to the grocery to pick up on sale sweet potatoes and avocados and also the items that were "free" for redeeming rewards points: 2 #s brown sugar for $1 worth of points, a red grapefruit for $.05 worth of points, a can of sliced beets for $.05 worth of points, and a can of soup for $.25 worth of points. I found $.21 in the parking lot.
I stopped to see a friend that is undergoing chemo treatments and not going out to gatherings. We had a nice visit. I encouraged her to join a couple other friends and me next week, if she's feeling up for it, as we would be happy to wear masks.
Okay, I just realized that I have all the ingredients for your soup and it's been years since I've made this style of soup. Thank you for the reminder!
You sound like a good friend.
That tiny TJ's tote is too good. I have no need for one, but I can appreciate your doll's stylishness. 🙂
Let's see, frugal things this week?
1. Made a "lazy lasagna" dinner last night with mostly pantry and fridge items, though I did buy a $3.99 1-lb package of Italian sausage and some cheese. It was well received by our 3 teens and my husband, plus we have leftovers, which is always a win.
2. I organized a food drive through a local food pantry nearly 2 weeks ago by requesting a couple of food donation barrels for our porch. I tacked a flyer (made via Canva's free trial) on our little library, and our neighbors have really showed up! We have filled up 1.5 barrels thus far and I'm just so pleased we can do something to help our broader community. No one should go hungry in a land of such abundance.
3. I made my Nana's "big soft ginger cookie" recipe yesterday. All the cookies are gone today (reference our 3 teenagers above). I call that a success!
4. I've had a rash of eBay and Poshmark sales lately. Nothing earth shattering, but nice to keep things moving along. I used the profits to buy some special shoes I've had my eye on for the last year. They're actually made in Oregon to order! Not cheap though. 🙂
5. My husband and I are gearing up for a kitchen remodel (not frugal), and have struggled with how to update our layout that lacks flow and space. I asked my friend Natasha if she'd take a look and give us any tips, as she was a practicing architect for many years before founding another business, and we lack a clear vision. After showing her our space and talking through our goals (as non-invasive remodel as possible), she drew up plans and recommended a builder to help us out. In trade, I'm helping her with marketing her business and filled in for her at a local open house this week.
I love that you're reigning in your kitchen remodel and how you're swapping expertise with a friend.
1. Cut husband's hair, which had finally recovered from the inadvertent bald spot I gave him in the back of his head. He was totally unperturbed: "I don't see it, so I don't care."
2. Husband fixed my leg brace again, since insurance won't pay for a new one even though I have used it for 15 years now. Duct tape and Velcro to the rescue, saving me over $1000 that a new brace would cost.
3. We harvested many pounds of carrots this year and one of the varieties is not keeping well. So, I finely chopped about 10 pounds worth and have been adding them to the dog kibble. I also made my version of mirpoix, which is onions and carrots minus celery (whose merits have always escaped me), and froze it in ice cube trays until they could be popped out and all placed in a large freezer bag so they take up less room. The rest of the carrots are not wilting so I think we avoided a lot of waste by checking the stored root vegetables weekly.
4. a friend who is a butcher dropped off beef bones for the dogs. Unfortunately, our Dane would crush those bones and swallow the shards. Instead I added a small amount of balsamic vinegar to the water and boiled the bejebbers out of the bones for 24 hours and made excellent bone broth, probably to put on the kibble of both dogs and humans.
5. Baked two loaves of no-knead artisan bread to be turned into stuffing. They have already been chopped up and spiced and dried and are sitting in the fridge waiting for the turkey to be stuffed.
6. Sent off Christmas gifts to siblings for free, by doing four USPS mystery shops
Lindsey,
Curses on that insurance company that is not willing to replace your 15-year-old brace! After 15 years and many, many miles, even the sturdiest of medical equipment would be all worn out. Who runs that company, Ebeneezer Scrooge?
Please tell us the name of the stingy insurance company, so we can all avoid signing up with them during Open Enrollment. They deserve every bit of embarrassing publicity you can give them.
And, IMHO, you deserve a brand new, top-of-the-line, fully functioning brace at their expense! They, not you, should pay 100% of the cost after 15 years!Have you tried reaching out to your state insurance commission? To the local TV stations that put on consumer help features? To your congressional representative? This is absolutely outrageous!
Hear, hear!
So smart to figure out a way to make best use of those butcher bones!