Yesterday was Sonia’s birthday, so I didn’t think ahead about the Five Frugal Things as much as I usually would.
So, let’s see if I can even come up with five! I’m pretty sure they’re not going to be very earth-shaking….
One
I made a smoothie for breakfast, using kale from my produce box, homemade yogurt, and various frozen fruit.
Cheap and nutritious.
(Still, kale is not my favorite smoothie green. Give me spinach or Swiss chard any day!)
Two
Since yesterday was Sonia’s birthday, I asked her what she’d like for lunch.
Egg bread was her request.
And I only now just remembered that several of you had asked for the recipe, and I promised I’d take pictures the next time I made it.
Whoops.
I guess we will just have to suffer through some more egg bread for the sake of you dear blog readers. 😉
Three
Mr. FG got to work from home yesterday, so on his lunch break, we went for a walk together, and then after his work day was done (early! because, no commute) we dropped Sonia and Zoe off at dance and then ran errands together.
We are both cheap dates, apparently. 😉
Before we got married, my brother used to teasingly call us “the fun couple” because we spent time together doing Very Exciting Things like grocery shopping, and going to the bank. 19 years later, things haven’t changed much, I guess!
Four
I went to Costco and bought only frozen fruit (for smoothies) and pistachios (for Mr. FG’s lunches).
Oh! I just remembered that I bought one thing not on the list, but it was a birthday present for Lisey, so, I feel like it was kind of justified. 😉
Related: The top ten things I buy at Costco
Five
I played more phone tag with the car insurance adjuster back about the wire damage to my van (squirrels chewed through some of our wiring). Going through insurance is a bit of a headache, but it will save us $500 vs. paying for it all ourselves.
So, it’s worth some phone tag, aggravating as it is.
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Randy
Saturday 12th of March 2016
I really liked your blog post.
My wife and I have done a few frugal things lately. 1 - Saved $30 fixed a leaky sink faucet, free parts from faucet delta. Many of the faucet companies will send parts for free if you call and ask. 2 - Saved $15, Bought boneless skinless chicken from sam's club by the case and save $0.30 per pound. 3 - Saved $3, Went to an old local grocery store for the first time to get a Sunday paper last week and found that they have some really good deals. Eggs $1.49/dz, bread $1.39/loaf. Bought 2 doz eggs and a loaf of bread. Saved about $1 on each item.
Lost money on one item recently. We bought some instant brown rice with a coupon when on sale. It tasted terrible, did not eat it and threw out the other package. Only lost $1, so not too bad.
Thanks!
Lyle Perlstein
Saturday 12th of March 2016
Elizabeth, exactly how do you freeze your steel wool pad? Interested, but have never read this before.
Katsu
Thursday 10th of March 2016
1. Signed up for electronic book borrowing from my library 2. Finally did a big stock up shop for my pantry so that we eat more things at home 3. Have cooked meals at home the past few months with very little waste 4. Made myself a snack basket for my desk at work 5. Have managed in a city for 8 years without owning a car
Diana
Tuesday 8th of March 2016
1. Work lunches 4/5 days 2. "Buy nothing" week for household goods, clothes or entertainment. I found myself discovering unfinished projects to work on and read my camera manual--now I know a few new features to use. 3. Postponed my weekly food shopping and created meals from my freezer and winter garden and made a a loaf of bread. 4. Took my kids to library...We read to both 14 m old and 3 yo nightly and truly love the children's books we have in our library system. Feel blessed. 5. Signed up for FSA at work and paid my child care with it--tax free money! 6. I am reviewing our expenditures for Jan/Feb and talking to my husband about it. I didn't 'save' any thing from it but reviewing our budget and accounting for our expenditures really heightens our awareness of how we spend and that in the long run helps us be mindful and frugal.
Mary Elizabeth Tait
Sunday 6th of March 2016
I have just discovered you and I loved reading about everyone's five frugal things. This week was not the most frugal in my world, but let's see.... 1. The van was nearly empty so my husband took it to the station that uses our grocery store discounts, plus the car wash was discounted. 2. Our HVAC broke down and we had a high efficiency system....it's hot where we live so we use A/C from April to November. 3. Friday was stir-fry using lots of leftover veggies . 4. I'm reorganizing my craft supplies so that I make cards instead of buy them. 5. Sent several cards from my mom's stash of cards rather then buy them...they are part of my inheritance...hahaha
Kristen
Sunday 6th of March 2016
Welcome, welcome! So glad you jumped right in!
So very sorry about your HVAC. We've had two go up at two different houses, and gosh, they're so expensive.