You might think that my life is just one frugal win after another, but life catches up with me as much as anyone else. So instead of a normal “Five Frugal Things” blog post, today you’ll a theme of two steps forward, one step back.
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I had a thick pile of unwanted bubble mailers from organizing my buffet drawers and it pained me to think of them going to the landfill. I do reuse envelopes for eBay sales, but I haven’t been thrifting much, which translates into almost no sales. I then remembered that my next door neighbor pays for Ridwell recycling service and has offered to let us put our things in her bin, so I texted and asked if she’d take the mailers. She quickly responded in the affirmative and I was able to hopefully put the mailers into the recycling stream instead of the landfill.
This neighbor borrows from us on a regular basis, (snow shovel, muffin tin, last minute ingredients, etc.) so I felt fine asking for this moochy favor.
Frugal win.
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I walked out of my house yesterday and discovered that my front passenger side tire was a complete and utter goner. Luckily I didn’t have any urgent driving errands, although I had been planning on a Winco grocery trip and on a driving lesson for my daughter. My thought was to fill the tire with air from our compressor and slowly drive the car to the Les Schwab tire store. Unfortunately, they’re closed on Sundays, which brought my plans for the day to a halt. Instead my husband filled the tire today and drove it to the store, where the plan evolved into “The front tires were pretty bald, so I’m having them replaced.” I’m not going to argue to drive on bald tires, but it’s still a bummer.
Frugal Fail.
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I walked a Buy Nothing container of thumbtacks to a teacher’s house, as I’d already offered to drop them off for her. Maybe a half mile each way and it didn’t even rain, which is rarity this time of year in Portland! I certainly could have space for this small item in my house, but I’d rather that they went to someone who actually needed them. I still have an Altoid tin half filled with tacks, which should last me the rest of my life.
Frugal win.
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My son dropped by the house to hand wash a couple items, as he doesn’t have a laundry rack. I sent him home with a pair of work lunches and a hug. I moved away from Portland immediately after high school and didn’t come back until ten years later. Although I value the perspective from living in Israel, Ohio, Idaho, New York and New Mexico, I appreciate that both my kids live close enough to spend time with them on a regular basis.
Frugal win.
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I didn’t have access to my car today, so I ended up paying $18.96 with tip for a Lyft to drive me across town this morning.
Frugal fail.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Wondering why you didnt offer the padded mailers on your Buy Nothing Group? I drove to the furthest point in our Buy Nothing area for a large container of Dunkin coffee, I am in the opposite corner of our geographic area! I did have an errand to run half way there. When I got there at our agreed time, the container wasnt out! Luckily the giver checks her messages often and had her husband set it out. I already thought it may not have been worth it to drive all the way over there but felt lucky she had chosen me. Alls well that ends well but for a minute I was worried I’d wasted a trip.
I had a similar situation with red pens instead of thumbtacks. Somehow over the years, I ended up with about 20 red ink pens. 19 and perhaps 20 I will never use. I put them together and brought them over to town elementary school where the principal happily took them saying in spite of technology, teachers still use red pend.
1. We’re about 3 hours out from our home after going to our niece’s husband’s Celebration of Life. Driving 1100 plus miles is a long way but totally worth it. Although our family is spread out, 5 of us made it to Georgia for her.
2. We brought drinks and snacks along in a cooler.
3. We got the senior discount at the hotels we stayed at.
4. We ate at cheap-o fast food places but used the drinks in the car instead of buying them at take-out places.
5. DH and I did not buy any new clothes or accessories for the Celebration of Life but instead wore things we already own.
I think the household gods are disgruntled with us this month, as we’ve had one repair after another and bonus tooth decay for my husband. The only planned expense we had going into this month was a check up and shots next week for the oldest dog and youngest cat. Yeesh.
However, my husband canceled some subscriptions that we don’t need now that we are both retired, saving us $140 a month.
I went to Goodwill in search of jeans and warm weather clothes and the thrift gods smiled on me. I came home with three tops, a lovely embroidered dress, and two pairs of jeans for $38 and a few cents. Everything except one pair of jeans needed some minor alterations that took about two hours. I used seven buttons from my recycled button stash and a length of elastic removed at some point from another garment, along with some thread from the thread stash a neighbor gave me long ago.
Successfully made two dozen excellent gluten-free Anzac Biscuits (coconut-oatmeal cookies) that required only the purchase of a package of coconut for $2.
Used the last of a combined can of varnish — mixed two different tints that we had just a little of — on the cat box surround my husband built. He used some wood reclaimed from an old bathroom vanity that he turned into a potting table and used for a decade before dismantling it. So that wood is on it’s third life as a deluxe kitty outhouse.
Bonus: while doing the week’s shopping at Ollie’s and Aldi, I stopped at a much larger Goodwill and found three summer tops on half-price.
1. Last night a moose jumped the fence into the backyard and started eating the branches of a bush right in front of our picture window. At 2 am. The Great Dane began barking and throwing himself into the picture window. Husband went out and sat in a chair and petted the Dane and they watched together until the moose left, about a half hour later. They looked like a father and his exceptionally hairy son, nature watching. The husband had had surgery a few days before, making his willingness to sit up in the middle of the night even more touching to me. The Dane would not be soothed by me, the husband is most obviously his human of choice. Frugal not to have to replace the picture window.
2. Took on a pizza mystery shop to scratch the itch of wanting food I did not have to make myself. Free food rocks.
3. In a closet found an old computer monitor. Gave it away for free on Craig’s List. Clutter out and made a nerdy high schooler happy.
4. Accepted several meals brought over by friends who had heard about the husband’s surgery. ALL OF THEM contained beans. I ate free pizza instead but was thankful for the care the meals represented.
5. Mended dog toys, a pair of pants, and three socks.
I hope your husband is doing well after his surgery. That’s a really sweet picture of him sitting with the Dane to get him used to the moose.
Awww…sweet Clobber Paws. Danes are so adorable.
Since my yard is encircled by six foot stockage fence, we don’t get deer in our yard. (They won’t jump anything of which they can’t see the other side.) So our backyard visitors are the usual trash pandas, foxes, and a soon to be disillusioned bunny. No skunks because Long Island doesn’t have skunks.
That’s such a sweet story about the husband and Clobber Paws. Much love to all of you.
Katy–I would say the tire one is actually a frugal win. You were able to fill it with air and drive it yourselves to the tire shop. Some people aren’t able to do that and would have had to call a tow truck! So think of it that way! Yes you had to pay for tires, but no you didn’t have to pay for tow truck!
Woo hoo — bow down to my frugal win!!! 😉
At least the tire didn’t leave you stranded while running errands!
Dumpster dove some 2×4’s. We will use them for shelving in our shop.
Dh planted potatoes, three rows! Apparently I went a Lil nuts and over bought seed potatoes. Maybe taking the boycott a wee bit too serious….. or not, lol. Anyway I mentioned 3 more pounds of Yukon gold and he said no way. Tators may power us through the revolution! Frugal win, fail, or draw idk.
Sold some feed sacks on ebay. Using used materials to ship. People use them for crafts.
Ordered lunch out for St Pat’s, fail. Thawed a chicken to crockpot at home, win.
We missed the worst of the storms, so nothing to clean up or repair there.
I did catch a gate with the axle of the tractor. (The axles stick out past the wheels to accommodate duals. We generally don’t run duals until planting.) I broke the gate hinge loose but it can be welded back together. Add that to the to do list, fail.
Line dried laundry and wore stuff I already own.
Wrecking your car and getting injured because you were driving on bald tires would be a huge frugal fail, so we can consider the trip to Les Schwab a win. Also, that’s a business I feel good about supporting, so that’s another win. (Please don’t burst my bubble and tell me Les Schwab sends money to the MAGA!)
1. I got a “health habits” survey in the mail with two dollars enclosed. I kept the money.
2. I walked 1.5 miles to the Ace Hardware to scope out their wares. I plan to shop there instead of at Home Depot. Someone voluntarily helped me find what I was looking for, which is an improvement over Home Depot.
3. I found an interesting spring break read at the free library. I am going to go screen-free at the beach house. My kids aren’t excited.
4. I can tell that the economy has taken a turn for the worse. I used to find approximately 10 cans every time I walked a few miles in my neighborhood. Lately, that’s changed. I covered around 5 miles on my meandering journey to Ace Hardware and back, and found one solitary can. ONE! I have hundreds of dollars in my BottleDrop account, and I’ve decided it’s time to spend it down.
5. Nobody doom scrolls to see what outrageous and hateful things I’ve done.
I also had a frugal fail but hopefully turned it into a frugal win for someone else. I was trying to order a used copy of the cookbook that accompanies another book I own. Instead I ordered another copy of the book I already own(very similar titles). At least it didn’t cost much since it was used and I put it in the little free library by my house, so hopefully someone else can enjoy it!
Now for my wins!
1) This one didn’t save me money but it saved others money and brought me joy. I was picking up my kids at school and saw a toddler wearing a cat costume. I realized it was my daughters cat costume that I had donated at a children’s clothing swap a few years back (it wasn’t a common costume and was missing one of the button eyes so I knew it was hers) I started talking to the mom and she hadn’t even gotten it from the swap, she’d asked on fb if anyone had a cat costume and someone had given it to her. So at least 2 other kids were able to use this costume after my daughter. And it still looked to be in good shape, even though according to his mom, the current owner wears it every day. I’m so glad it could be reused so many times and saved others a bit of money.
2) My son needed to create a poster about himself, which required he print some photos of himself and his favorite things. We went to the library to print them, each patron can print 25 pages a day for free and they can even be in color. Such a great service and with how little we need to print, doing this makes more sense than owning a printer.
3) My husband wanted to go to a seafood restaurant for his birthday. They have a locals night the day after his birthday that is 20% off for locals. He said he’d rather go that day, he doesn’t care if it’s not on his actual birthday. We can still have cake and a good home cooked meal on his actual birthday though!
4) My daughter brought home a scholastic book order and circled about 30 different books in it. I bought a few because it is fun for her to get books and it supports the school but I put the bulk of them on hold at the library. We usually only read most books once anyways.
5) The usuals, making coffee at home every morning, bringing my breakfast and lunch to work from home, cooking dinner at home most nights.
1. I was gifted a drink at Starbucks through e-mail by someone. This is interesting. I dont often drink at Starbucks, I’ll have to stop in and get something.
2. I was gifted a few tops from a friend after she held a yard sale.
3. I was gifted multiple bags of cloths from a friend after her yard sale.
4. I gave myself a pedicure.
5. I went through my clothes and put together outfits with clothes and shoes I don’t often wear. It feels nice and let’s me rotate what I have.
*I haven’t bought clothing in over two years. I accept gifts from neighbors and friends. I have bought shoes full price once, and on sale several times.
Frugal help and ideas….
I need a new phone and use Mint Mobile. They have a Google Pixel at a decent price ($399). I was wondering if anyone can suggest best and cheapest way to get a new phone. I have an iphone 6s and can no longer update the ios and it’s inhibiting me from installing programs I would like. The storage is also very limited and it’s leading me to want to finally upgrade. I’m overwhelmed at all of the choices. Any helpful suggestions are really appreciated.
1. I am working on re-caulking my shower. The previous caulk is 26 years old and was very moldy. I’m also filling some crumbing plaster above the shower at the same time. This all maintenance that needs to get done.
2. I used a 15% off coupon code to order my dogs food for pick-up. I picked it up on my way to another errand.
3. I mentioned to a friend that I was worried about being able to weed this summer with my bum knee. She gave me a stool with a handle that I can lean on with my good knee and bend down or sit on to weed. He dad made it and she had extras.
4. I called my trash provider because they raised my rate by $7 after I just called 6 months ago to have it lowered. They dropped my rate by $12.
Frugal Fail
1. I still haven’t bought a car. My timing just sucks. I’ve been putting it off for years and now it looks like I’ll have to pay a premium.
Frugal fail: I keep losing things that I need! After having lost or misplaced my prescription eyeglasses last week, I did the same thing again today. This time it was my key ring containing house, mailbox and car keys. And items I just bought from Ace Hardware. And my 20% off coupon for Goodwill. I am kicking myself! (And panicking, bc if those keys get into the wrong hands…)May have to call the locksmith tomorrow if I don’t find the keys tonight. Aaarrrggghhh!
Frugal win after a frugal fail:
Frugal fail: the guys who painted my front room did a slapdash job and carelessly got wall paint on the electrical outlet covers. (Yes, they’d covered them with painter’s tape but it didn’t work.) Since my room is a “Grand Millennium” formal combination LR-DR, that was absolutely unacceptable! Looked for fancy outlet covers and they are as high as $27 for ONE. I have 8 outlets in that huge room. None of my usual bargain or secondhand haunts had anything I could use; believe me, I looked all over town! Frugal win: Found some on Wayfair, a package of 3 for $15, and bought three pkgs. The extra one can go in the entry foyer. Frugal luxury decorating! The fancy covers really dress the room up! (Already had fancy light switch covers salvaged from grandparents’ estate).
Frugal win: Aldi was selling king-sized duvet covers for $19 on its Aisle of Shame. Frugal fail: I have a very thick king-sized comforter that is so old, it got a BIG tear in it this winter. I know I got it secondhand, so no telling how old it is, but it keeps me nice and warm and comfy. So it’s getting plopped into the duvet cover for a frugal win and a new lease on life. Right when I’m storing the blankets until next winter. But hey….Future me will be happy she’s staying warm during the cold months.
Frugal win: Friday noon I was off work and our church had an outdoor Stations of the Cross observance. Afterward, they had water and snacks. The folks who brought the snacks bought too many, so I was given a bag of oranges.