1. I bought an undated planner pad
You all know how I’ve struggled to find a planner that works with the weird way my brain sees the days of the week/hours of the day.
BlueSky used to make one that was perfect, but they discontinued it.
But I found this made-in-the-USA weekly planner pad on Amazon, and I ordered it.
Since it has no dates, if I skip a week, it’s no big deal (skipping a week in a regular planner means that week is wasted).
I paid $14.99 and since it has 50 sheets, it should last me a year, as I’m bound to skip a week or two.
Note: Once I got my planner, I saw that 321Done is a small business, and if you go straight to their website, you can order directly.
Shipping is free with a $25 purchase, so once I use up this pad, I’ll order two pads directly from 321Done. That way, they get to keep more of my purchase money than if I buy through Amazon, and I’ll still get free shipping.
2. I used $50 of Old Navy credit
Remember how I’d taken advantage of their promotion in the last quarter of 2020?
Well, $50 of the $75 hit my account, and I used it to buy a sweater and a few other items.
(I have a long Old Navy sweater, but Lisey borrows it so much, it’s basically hers now. So I thought I’d buy another one for myself.)
To maximize my savings, I:
- chose the free, slower shipping you get with a $50 purchase
- added a clearance pair of socks to meet the free shipping minimum (I was $2 away!)
- went through TopCashback and got $3 back on my purchase
My total after my gift card was $2.18, and considering that I got $3 back from TopCashback, this order was a little more than free.
Part of my order; obviously this doesn’t add up to $64.
Hopefully everything will fit! My order is obviously not here yet, since I chose the slow shipping.
Good thing I’m patient.
3. I used two rebate cards for groceries
I had an $80 prepaid rebate card from my contact lens purchase and a $50 rebate card from our stove purchase.
I find these cards to be a little annoying…I liked it better when they used to send checks.
But, I used both of these towards my grocery purchases, so they were basically as good as cash.
4. I got an Eddie Bauer tank top for just shipping
They emailed me a $10 coupon, so I looked at their women’s clearance online, sorted by price, lowest to highest.
I found a $19.99 tank top, applied the 50% off coupon code, applied my $10 coupon, and paid for just shipping.
The shipping was $9.99, but I figured that’s a pretty decent price for an Eddie Bauer tank top.
5. I made a rice waffle with leftover rice
We had some pretty old rice in the fridge, and I saw someone on Instagram use rice + a beaten egg to make a rice waffle.
So, I gave it a try!
The verdict:
- I should have added a little more salt
- My rice was really dry, so it was still a little hard once it was waffled. I should have used fresher rice or rehydrated this rice a bit first
I used one egg for 1/2 cup of rice, and that seemed to be pretty good proportions.
I’ll probably try this again in the future, and I think I’ll top it with a fried egg next time.
Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to lately?
P.S. If you want a traditional planner, TopCashback is offering $20 back on any planner from Staples to new TopCashback customers. Click here to see all the details.
Tracey
Saturday 9th of January 2021
I am so going to try that rice waffle. We eat a lot of rice and often have leftovers. Here is our five frugal things for the week:
1. Made grape jam from the bags of green and red grapes I acquired from the tractor trailer tip over. Wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it is yummy!
2. The cocoon sweater I made from yarn my daughter gave me for Christmas was such a success that my youngest daughter wanted me to make her one too. We used a buy one, get one free sale to buy the yarn she picked out for it. She goes back to college next week and I am desperately trying to finish it before she leaves.
3. My daughter's college gave us a $1400 credit on this semester's tuition bill due to covid. Thank you, I'll take it!
4. Froze three bunches of bananas from the tractor trailer spill that were getting rather ripe.
5. Started taking stock of on hand craft supplies that I can use for 2021's Christmas presents. I make most of the gifts I give, so it's vital to start early!
Bean
Friday 8th of January 2021
Let me see what I can come up with - I do love these frugal fives!
1) cut my husband’s hair and my son’s hair. I trim my own ends, not as hard as I thought it would be and something we will continue even after we can go back to salons (well I might go get my multi-texture hair cut professionally, just not as often).
2) we love to cook and are alway trying new recipes, now I’m making our weekly menus with an eye to what we already have in stock and what needs to be used up
3) any leftovers, kitchen scraps go either to our hens or the worm bin
4) cancelled all the little tv add one like CBS access, etc. I signed up for them for sports but they’re not necessary. I did keep Disney+ but that’s it
***** my favorite***** 5) while searching all our storage spots for a specific dish for our NY Eve dinner, I rediscovered our wedding crystal (beautiful Waterford). I wondered why it was sitting in boxes versus being used and so we unpacked our wine glasses and champagne flutes and also found some super cool martini glasses we had packed and forgotten about. While deciding to use those, I wondered why we weren’t using our lovely/fancy glasses that we had stored in the bar. So we brought those up for every day. Every time I open the glass cabinet and see my sparkling glassware, it makes me happy. That I went shopping in my own house makes me even happier. We also give away a lot of our old glassware (not being used) to a friends daughter who is furnishing her first apartment.
Liz B.
Wednesday 6th of January 2021
Hmmmm, let's see, I'm sure I have some frugal things to share....
1. My workplace gave everyone a voucher for the Honey Baked Ham store - choice of a quarter ham, a turkey breast, or 2 large sides plus a pie. Since we had a turkey breast in the freezer (bought at reduced price), we chose 2 sides plus a pie, and had a yummy, low stress NY Day dinner. Leftovers have been eaten for lunch. 2. Some of the leftover turkey was used to make a black bean/ancho chili soup hubs and I bought enjoy. Used broth make from the turkey bones. 3. Used my $5 birthday "Kohls cash", and bought some marked down reusable hand warmers that look like kitty faces. Out of pocket cost was about $2.50. Hubs and I like to do winter hikes and outdoor photography excursions, so these will be put to great use. 4. Mended several clothing items, including my bathrobe. 5. Returned several Christmas presents that were the wrong size, etc. One of my sisters had sent gifts in lovely wooden cigar boxes (she and her hubby are cigar aficionados - yes, they are both aware of the health consequences of tobacco, which falls on deaf ears....). Love her repurposing of these boxes, which will be further put to use in our home (to store my scarves, jewelry, etc). Bonus #6: I joined an online reading challenge, where each month you are challenged to read a book set in a designated part of the world. January is the Artic/Antarctica. They provide book suggestions, or you can do your own thing; I took a suggestion, and chose an audiobook about Shackleton's voyage to Antarctica via my library Libby app. (Audiobooks and e-books are "allowed" in this challenge). Frugal AND fascinating!
Have a great week, everyone!
A curious reader
Wednesday 6th of January 2021
Would you mind to share where we can learn more about your reading challenge? It sounds fascinating, id love to join!
Suzan
Wednesday 6th of January 2021
I continue to cook meals that we eat multiple times. I have been recording all my spending this week to see where the money really goes and it is scary at times. I put bread through the processor to make bread crumbs. Life is putzing along and I am now going to try to stay home as much as possible until next Monday as I don't have any appointments until then. I went out today as my mother broke my little desk that I use for my computer. I bought a replacement but I am not 100% happy with it but it wasn't hugely expensive...and I could not find the same item despite looking online and walking though a lot of stores.
a curious reader
Wednesday 6th of January 2021
1. I started reading not only through the posts, but every single one of the comments on this website (I used to only skim comments before). Surrounding myself with frugal and money-conscious content online helps me make better decisions in my daily life. Plus, I'm getting lots of good tips! 2. I was looking for a specific piece of art online and couldn't find anything I liked. I decided I'll try making my own and its in progress! Its a digital painting that I'll have printed. Cost of printing should be negligible and I'll make sure to have it printed in a size that goes into a cheap IKEA (or similar) frame so I don't end up spending a fortune getting it custom framed. 3. Related to (2), I'm not an artsy person so I had to google apps to draw on my iPad (iPad is not frugal, but I bought it and mainly use it for uni). The first website I saw told me an App that cost $ 9.99 was the "best" drawing app. Since I started making a comfortable living, I have gotten very loosey goosey with small purchases that are convenient, but it's gotten really out of hand lately. I slept on it and the next day I found a free app that is great! 4. I have gotten over my cooking slump and have made meals at home. Some were surprisingly good, given that I just threw a bunch of leftovers together! I also put a ban on buying snacks until the ones we have at home are all eaten. We got tons of snacks for Christmas, so we don't even have space for any more snacks in the cabinet.
I had thought of a fifth one but forgot about it by the time I finished this comment. I'll save it for next week!