As always, a hat-tip to The Nonconsumer Advocate for the post theme, which I am totally stealing from her.
1. I’m selling old school books.
I just recycle consumables, of course, but when I have a non-consumable book we no longer need, I list it on half.com or ebay.
And of course I ship my stuff using packages I’ve saved from my own purchases.
2. I made pizza subs instead of going out for pizza.
I spent the afternoon at the pool with the kids one day this week and we had to squeeze dinner in between our pool afternoon and music rehearsal at church that night.
I was sorely tempted to pick up pizza on the way, but instead I stopped at Aldi to pick up a package of sub rolls so I could make pizza subs.
(I make them like pizza bagels, in case you were wondering.)
It would have been rock-bottom cheap to make my own pizza, of course, but in this case, buying rolls saved me from buying takeout pizza, so it was definitely the cheaper option.
3. I made hamburger buns.
The next day, I had more time (and when I stopped at Aldi, I didn’t even think about hamburger buns!), so I opted to make my own.
I used my fluffy hamburger bun recipe, of course.
The nice thing is that I end up with 24 buns, which is far more than you get in a package of hamburger buns. And though I haven’t calculated it out, I bet my 24-bun recipe costs the same or less than an 8-count package of commercial buns.
4. I used up squash.
I got a bunch of squash in my produce box, and I’ve been sliced it up into spaghetti-sized strands, sauteeing it with spices, and using it like pasta.
I’m not big on summer squashes, but this is working out pretty nicely.
Also, a co-worker gave Mr. FG a gianormous zucchini, and I tried a double-chocolate bread (er, cake?) recipe with it.
It was pretty good, but I’d do some things a bit differently next time.
(The recipe is from King Arthur.)
5. I insisted on getting paid.
Spending avoidance tactics are super and all, but so is getting paid!
I’d done some blog-related work this past spring and still had not received payment. After some persistent effort to track down the person who could help me, I got it resolved.
(I think I was getting the run-around, because after a bunch of nice emails, I tried calling and was told the person I needed to speak to had no phone. Which…what??)
Anyway, apparently someone had fat-fingered my bank account routing number and the deposit hadn’t gone through. But still! No one reached out to let me know or to try to fix the issue.
Needless to say, I won’t say yes if this company wants me to work for them again.
But the happy news is that the money is in my account now. Yay!
(I’d have had to make a awful lot of homemade pizzas and hamburger buns to make up for the absence of that payment.)
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Want to join me?
Comment and share five recent frugal things you’ve done! It’s fun, and you might give other readers some good ideas.
Bonnie
Wednesday 30th of July 2014
1) Just hung up a load of laundry outside. This is a win/win for me as it reminds me of my Grandma who used to hang up her laundry all the time, I get a good dose of Vit. D, this gets me moving in the morning & warms up my back & hips, and it's become a meditation for me. I love it. 2)Purchased some items from Vitacost that were BOGO free and shopped them through ebates.com which gives me a percentage back on whatever I spend on Vitacost. I wasn't deserpately in need of any of the items but I'm not turning down a BOGO free on items I know I will need in the near future. If you do a lot of shopping online, I highly recommend signing up on ebates.com. If you go to their web site before you do any online shopping, click which site you want to shop on, ebates will give you a different percentage back (as in a check mailed to you!) for each store you shop. 3)Have been looking for good sneakers and hadn't found anything that works for me (and not spending $100). Went to a web site for sneakers that I have been longing for (Altrarunning.com) since I need shoes with a wide toe box. Found a pair that were on clearance for $65 (normally over $100) and they just happen to have my size in stock. *FYI-yes, $65 for a pair of shoes isn't terribly frugal but because I stand on my feet for my job, I have to have good shoes; this was a great investment. 4)Did my laundry as soon as I got up this morning when the energy load is the least expensive. I only run my washing machine and dishwasher either early mornings or after 9pm. 5) We pack our own lunches ALWAYS. It's soooooo much healthier. 6) Another day of loving our investment of a solar hot water heater this morning; here in Central Fla. this should be a no-brainer for everyone that lives here! Sorry, I know you asked for only 5 but I can't stop being happy about my solar hot water heater. :)
Innkeeper Seely
Tuesday 29th of July 2014
I have been wanting a small flock of turkeys after paying for an organic, free range bird last Thanksgiving. It is a hard expense to justify so I put myself on a strict budget. Craig's List to the rescue.
I got a free six foot high pen off for a few hours work taking it down. I'll have to buy six bags of concrete and spend a few more hours putting it back together but that is a still a huge savings.
Then I found some (free) really great used stockade fencing to use as siding on the coop. The posts are in good enough shape that I can use them for the corners of the coop. Tomorrow I'm picking up more (free) lumber from someone that took down their kid's tree house. I already had some old doors and windows to use. I have plenty of tools and nails so the coop will cost next to nothing. As a bonus, I love building things.
I got two free poults off of Craig's list too. They were lame and the breeder thought they would improve with good care. I spent about $12 on feed and vitamins. After a week it was clear that they needed to be put down but that week taught me that I could raise poults and that having them was amazingly relaxing. The breeder is saving 5 poults from her next brood for me for free because I tried to save the first two.
Kristen
Wednesday 30th of July 2014
Wow! Good luck with your turkey raising!
Marianne
Tuesday 29th of July 2014
1. Our neighbors offered to take down a very large tree in our yard for the fire wood, it should heat their house for a month in the winter. We also gave them a couple of additional cords that we will never use. 2. Cleaned up a neighbors garage sale leftovers, some going to Goodwill, metal items going to a scrap yard. Nothing went to a landfill. 3. Hit a Tide detergent sale at Meijer that cost me $9 for $60 worth of detergent. I don't normally purchase Tide because of the cost. 4. Only had some left over fish that was tossed out, I just can't stand leftover fish. 5. Helped my son build a workbench & a shelf for the garage using wood, wheels & paint from leftover projects. Turned out really nice and we did not buy anything. Yay!
Hannah
Monday 28th of July 2014
I switched to cloth diapers and now an advocate for a company by selling cloth diapers I can earn free ones too
WilliamB
Monday 28th of July 2014
More frugal exercises: 1. Posted - yet again - five items to sell on Craigslist. One already sold, three others being looked at today. This is the third time I've posted these items. The previous times I got no responses at all.
2. My roommate spent 6+ hours in the metalwork shop, fixing an 11+ year old Target coat stand. The stand retails for $60 and he spent $15 on supplies, so he didn't earn even so much as minimum wage. Not so frugal from this perspective. But look at it from another perspective: he's just learning metalworking, but his student product was something very useful rather than the usual useless metal box. And he kept the item out of the recycling bin.
3. My crafty coworker fixed a fancy watchband/wrist chain for me. In return I gave her a loaf of multi-grain bread.
Kristen
Monday 28th of July 2014
Good for you for being persistent in selling your stuff!