1. I paid a bill using a travel rewards card.
The medical bill for Lisey’s sleep study (mentioned in this post) is indeed going toward meeting our medical deductible for the year, so we had to pay the full amount.
The sleep study is turning out to be quite an expensive night of sleep! But the good news is that we have now fully met our family deductible, and every medical expense from here to the end of the year is going to be far less expensive.
Anyway, I paid the bill using our Barclay travel rewards card, so at least we’ll get some dollars to use toward travel fun out of the deal.
(We pay the credit card off in full every month, so the rewards aren’t tempered by interest payments. And we only use it for budgeted expenses, so we’re not spending more than we would otherwise.)
2. I paid a utility bill via mail.
I pay everything online these days except for this bill. Why? Well, they charge a fee for the privilege of paying online, and the fee is more than the cost of a stamp.
I think this is kind of ridiculous, because wouldn’t online payments would save them money, especially when you choose a direct debit from a checking account?
(Yup, you still pay a fee even when you don’t use a credit card.)
I feel a little (unreasonably?) stubborn about paying this fee, so I faithfully mail this payment in via check.
I don’t die on a lot of hills, but I guess this is one where I’m making myself comfy. 😉
3. I used up the last bits of honey in my oatmeal bread.
I made oatmeal bread yesterday and the recipe calls for honey. Somehow over the years, I’d ended up with a lot of random jars of honey in my cupboards. I’ve been trying to remember to use them up, and I got through the last one yesterday.
Yay me!
4. I prepped dinner early.
I knew I wasn’t going to be home long before dinner needed to be on the table, so I mixed up sauce, chopped veggies, and peeled shrimp for hibachi earlier in the day. That way when I got home, I just had to cook rice and fry up the veggies and protein.
5. Miscellany
I made yogurt, put books for my kids on hold at the library (I love, love, love online holds. Best thing EVER.), shopped at Target and only bought what was on my list, drank tea brewed from a bag (this flavor, which is quite indulgent), and packed a lunch for Mr. FG.
Marianne
Monday 11th of April 2016
Shopped Aldi last 2 weeks for fruit and veggies and saved a ton. Last 2 weeks eggs were $1.15 a dozen only second to Costco which was $1.74 for 18 eggs. I have not had time to get eggs from the farmers market.
Husband found someone throwing away an old sideboard in really good condition with the original hardware for free dollars. We are still researching but thinking it was from 1930's or 1940's very beautiful piece.
Painted our small bedroom, used leftover paint from another bedroom so it only cost my time and no money out of pocket.
Had a outside garage light die on us again from Home Depot. Last time HD replaced it for free, this time because they no longer carry that model they could not replace (which is a good thing because this is #2 same light that died after 1 year of use and has 10 year warranty) so they offered us a HD gift card for the purchase price of $80. We already purchased a much cheaper light to replace it from Menards this was still win for us. We can use the HD gift card to purchase softener salt & other necessities.
Angie
Monday 11th of April 2016
I purchase honey in a tall plastic container and I have a difficult time getting the last portion of honey out of it. Any suggestions?
Kristen
Monday 11th of April 2016
I've had that problem with Costco honey before, and I took a kitchen scissors or a knife, cut off the top of the container, and then scooped the honey with a spatula.
You can heat the container with the honey in it to liquefy the honey, but that's kind of a pain, and the plastic honey container tends to melt in the microwave...that seems not super fabulous to me, you know? So, I feel like hacking up the container so you can access the honey is just easier!
Stephanie L
Saturday 9th of April 2016
1. I had to go in for my pre-op and quarterly specialist checkup and blood work. I scheduled them back-to-back and got the hospital to agree to accept a faxed copy of my lab results from the doc I'd seen 90 minutes earlier instead of ordering their own labs. Not only is there only one lab fee, I only got stuck in the arm once.
2. At the pre-op they told me my estimated charge would be close to $600, and would I like to pay that now? I asked for an itemized list of where that estimate came from, it's a lot of money, I'm more comfortable having the background, etc. The admissions person and I politely debated for a few minutes, then she realized the estimate had been run incorrectly. $318? That's much better! Patience and manners pay off. :)
3. My niece, who turns 15 today, mentioned a sports massage sounded like the best thing ever. Her other aunt went in with us on a gift certificate. We love that we could give her something she really wanted while staying on budget.
4. Not so much frugal as less expensive... I won't be able to button anything while healing. Pull-on maxi skirts in a petite size are $50 at the Ann Taylor outlet. Target + alterations runs about $27. I bought two.
5. Know what? I'm letting my friends take care of me for a little bit. I was knocking myself out getting meals in the freezer and I'm glad I did, but the truth is we all take care of each other and I'm going to look forward to some delicious meals from our friends for the first few days.
Gladys
Friday 8th of April 2016
I can't believe they charge convenience fee even though you're using checking account. The only time we pay a fee is when we use credit cards or through Western Union.
Anne
Friday 8th of April 2016
I'm going to start adding my frugalities since I enjoy reading everyone else's so much! This week, I:
1) joined Costco with my Living Social deal--I think it cost $55 but came with a $20 cash card and several coupons (including an $12 package of free AA batteries, which we use a lot of with the kids) I made my first stop and stuck to my (short) list except for adding one item which I was surprised to find there at a huge savings. I was especially happy to buy my HE environmentally friendly laundry detergent there at over half off what I would normally spend.
2) am wearing my new favorite designer jeans that retail for $180 but that I found at a thrift store for $7.99 on sale for 30% off. Wow! They fit perfectly and are practically brand new.
3) ate lunch out of scraps today and it was delicious! Salami my son rejected, the broken bits of two boxes of crackers (sounds sad but not really!) some pepperjack cheese and leftover strawberries from the kids' lunches.
4) Reheated some frozen leftovers--chicken makhani made in the crockpot a couple of weeks ago--when caught in a pinch and needed a quick dinner. Added some freshly cooked basmati rice and some veggies and leftover pita bread and voila, dinner in instead of going out.
5) saved all my compostable kitchen scraps this week to add to my new compost bin that I am buying today with a gift card to Home Depot.
6) found some adorable large Beanie Boos marked down half price and bought three for birthday presents for my kids' friends' parties that are coming up this weekend and next weekend. Also bought another gift at Michael's with a 40% coupon. Wrapped them all in recycled gift bags and my kids will make homemade cards.
7) Re-sold a bunch of my kids' outgrown clothing and toys and made about $75 this week. I try to do this regularly as it keeps our closets from getting cluttered and I love having the extra cash.
I think I did pretty well this week!