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1. I took my laptop in for a free $475 repair.
My Apple laptop (which I bought refurbished some years back) started having a screen issue in the last year. It looks cloudy around the edges, almost like the screen is smudged and needs to be cleaned.
But the problem is under the glass, and no amount of cleaning fixes it.
I googled to see what the problem was and discovered there was a possibility that Apple would fix this for free, despite my laptop being out of warranty.
So, I made an appointment at the Apple store and as it turns out, they do indeed cover the whole repair for free!
I’m getting a brand new screen, and this would normally cost $475.
(!)
One sad bit of news is that I am going to lose my adorable Snoopy laptop decal, but it’s ok. A new decal is much cheaper than a new screen.
2. I got a bacon rain check.
It was on sale for $1.99, but all they had left was one iffy-looking package which seemed to have lost its seal.
So, I asked for a rain check, which will work out just fine. I didn’t NEED the bacon right now anyway…I was just buying it because it was on sale.
3. I listed four books for sale.
We’re done with our homeschool year, which means I can start selling the non-consumable books that Zoe’s done with.
(Lisey and Sonia’s non-consumable books get handed down, not sold, obviously.)
I know I could probably get more money by selling them mid summer when more homeschool moms are shopping, but I just want them out of the house now!
4. I glued some wooden hangers.
Two of mine started coming apart, so I used some wood glue to put them back together.
You can’t really clamp hangers properly because of all of their curved edges (the clamps slip right off!), but I think my glue job is going to hold. Time will tell!
5. I glued the bottom of Lisey’s door back together.
Lisey’s cat has been scratching at the bottom of her bedroom door, so we bought a cat door (this cute one!)
But the wooden piece at the bottom of the door had come loose, and that needed to be fixed before we installed the cat door.
So, I took the door down, glued the piece in, clamped it, and once it was dry, hung the door back up.
Now we just need to install the actual cat door and we’ll be in business.
Kelly
Thursday 7th of June 2018
1) I needed gift bags for my daughter's preschool teachers' end of year gifts. I bought plain white bags at the Dollar Tree, they come in a 3 pack and had my daughter decorate them. It was less expensive than buying individual bags and a good activity for here.
2) Dinner has been a hodge podge of random things most nights as I am trying to clean out the freezers.
3) One of my kids has lost interest in karate. We were able to extend her sibling's contract and let her stop. This is saving us $80 a month!
4) Currently we are saving no to camps, lessons, etc over the summer. We have two week long camping trips planned. We plan to take advantage of the library, parks, our pool, craft supplies we have on hand, and our zoo membership. My kids are so busy over the school year that we've found they really enjoy/need downtime in the summer. I am hoping that spending time at home will help make progress on lingering home improvement/decluttering projects.
5) My daughter is wearing a hand me down from her sister for her preschool graduation dress.
Jennifer
Wednesday 6th of June 2018
We have had a hot spell here! Beautiful sunny days but I have not had tons of energy for projects so this week has been more expensive than usual. I do have a few frugal wins though! 1. I cleaned out my closet, washed and repaired all my summer clothes.
2. I baked a blueberry cobbler for a parents´meeting instead of buying refreshments.
3. While going through the kids´old school materials, I tore out the used pages in half-full notebooks and saved the rest for random use.
4. Not at home, but while my students´cleaned out their lockers, we collected all the pens and pencils that were being tossed for use next year. Kids are always losing them anyway.
5. One good attempt but Fail! I planned on bunching a ton of errands together. I made it to the dump but got stuck at my next stop when I realized I had left my wallet at home:((
Thanks for a great blog!
Kaitlin
Tuesday 5th of June 2018
1. Cleaned out my closet and found two dresses: 1 from my pre-pregnancy days that fits again, albeit a bit differently, and 1 that was damaged when it was put in a washing machine, but I was able to fix it pretty quickly. 2 "new" dresses without spending a dime.
2. Called IKEA customer service and got a decent refund for a really marked up bunk bed that was delivered to our house. If you happen to shop at IKEA, don't opt for delivery; they're not set up to manage the influx of calls, and we spent 2 hours on hold (most of that time we were able to get other stuff done, thankfully.)
3. Menu-planned around what our garden is producing (no idea how exciting it is to say that after thinking we had lost our whole garden to a wind storm!)
4. Made yogurt (never thought I'd be okay with homemade yogurt after growing up on store bought, but now the store stuff is too sweet!), granola, and bread from scratch.
5. In rearranging and redecorating the kids' rooms I reused most of what we had before and painted some things with paint I already own, and generally didn't buy anything except paint, and aforementioned bunk beds. Pretty pleased with current expense for re-doing 2 rooms (but will be less pleased once we buy the trim and carpet. But some things are worth it. And not having splinters or carpet tacs continually hurting us is probably worth it.)
Kristen
Tuesday 5th of June 2018
Woohoo for fitting into pre pregnancy clothes!
Amy
Tuesday 5th of June 2018
Summer time! This is the first week of no school for the kids and me!
1) We are in the high season of baseball and softball season. Tonight's dinner it is deli sandwiches in the car on the way to a game in the next town. Saves stopping at fast food on the way. 2) We went thru the generous hand-me-downs for my daughter. She should be good for summer clothes and glancing at the rest of items we will have a nice start on back to school clothes too. 3) This one is an oldie but I will share here since you are talking laptops. I was careless and had liquid around my laptop. The keyboard only has a few letters that actually type their letter :( One old keyboard later and I am back in business. I lost a lot of flexibility but it was a free fix for a 10+ year old laptop. 4) I will need new tires before winter comes. A friend was trying to juggle daycare coverage for her son over the summer. I am watching him for two weeks this month and she is willing to pay. An unexpected paying gig = new tires! 5) Chicken was a loss leader at a store we normally do not use. It was worth the special trip there to stock up. I spent yesterday cutting up and portioning it up. We should be good for several months now!
Julia
Tuesday 5th of June 2018
Let’s see.. 1. Was treated to several free meals out this week. A very nice treat! 2. Attended a semi formal 70th Birthday pastry this week. I needed a dress as I’m not a semi formal kind of gal. I found 2 dresses that I loved at a local thrift store, $5 each plus shoes, $3. Both dresses are basic black and classics enough that I can wear them to other things. My husband and I counted the event as our date night and we got to see many of our dear friends. 3, we needed extra flooring for my son’s bearded dragon cage. He had been using felt, which needs washed and takes forever to dry. We were going to buy extra felt carpet to rotate in and out but at almost $20 a piece that seemed a lot. After doing some research we decided to create a slate floor, easy to clean, no real drying time, and it helps keep dragon nail short. We went to a flooring place and they not only gave us the skate for free but cut it to fit free of charge as well! 4. Said yes to some free food my girlfriend had left over. She went on a cooking spree and made too much lol. Enchilada? Yes please! 5. My husband brought a case of bananas home from work, more than we can eat. I’ve been eating them every day and sharing them with everyone I’ve seen this week! Pass the frugal forward!