Well, hi. I’m popping back from my unplanned one-week silence here on the blog.
Whoops.
I thought a five frugal things post would be a good warm-up. 😉
1. We saved $9 on hair gel at Target.
Mr. FG found some highly recommended gel on their website for a good price, and we stopped by, only to find the price was $9 higher than on the website.
I suggested we ask if they would match it, and the cashier did, with no questions asked.
Sweet!
2. We squeezed in a lot of year-end appointments.
We met our out-of-pocket max this year, so I tried to make sure we scheduled every medical thing we possibly could before January 1st.
I have one prescription waiting for pickup and I will make sure I do that before the end of the day today.
$0 is better than whatever it will cost tomorrow!
3. Mr. FG took Sonia to Goodwill for records.
We gave her a record player for Christmas, but no records!
So, the two of them took a little trip to Goodwill where Sonia found herself some good vintage music; seven records for only $2.65.
4. I scanned my receipts with Fetch.
My purse was a disaster, so I dumped it all out on the floor and I scanned all my grocery receipts with Fetch.
Cha-ching!
5. I redeemed my Fetch rewards for a $10 Amazon card.
I needed a new planner, so before I checked out, I redeemed my Fetch points for an Amazon card.
Fetch gives you your reward immediately, which is pretty nice.
If you’re new to Fetch: It’s kind of like Ibotta; you scan receipts with your phone and get rewards.
(note: at the time of writing, 1,000 points = $1, so that’s $2)
Your turn…share your five frugal things in the comments!
P.S. Happy New Year’s Eve, friends.
April
Friday 3rd of January 2020
I love 5 frugal things posts! I’ve been reading yours and Katy’s (non consumer advocate) posts for years and never commented. 1. Stayed home for New Years Eve and hosted 3 kids so our kids could have friends over. 2. For said party I made a big crockpot of venison chili, a cheese ball from leftover cheese purchased for Christmas, leftover crackers and salami from Christmas as well. 3. Joined the frugalwoods Uber frugal month. We’re calling it our low spend January but excited to get some tips from their challenge. 4. I plan to only spend money on the 16th to refresh the produce and dairy categories otherwise it’s a freezer/pantry challenge month. 5. My sister invited me to meet for coffee so I offered my house as a meeting place. My parents wanted us to meet up with them tomorrow so I again offered my house as a meeting place! Lol! We’re trying to not make any unnecessary trips to further our low spend month.
Cathy in NJ
Thursday 2nd of January 2020
1. Exchanged a shirt after Christmas and the price was $5.50 less. Returned it at full price. Bought the correct size at reduced price. 2. Dropped a bunch of Q-tips on the floor. Instead of throwing them out I set them aside for cleaning tasks. 3. Decluttered some clothes and sent them to Thredup. Decluttered some decorations and I gave them to my girlfriend who sells on various sites as a side gig. We will split the profits. 4. Regifted a bottle of wine as a hostess gift. I prefer to drink water or tea. 5. Saved some pumpkin bread in the freezer for after the Christmas sugar frenzy.
Elaine
Thursday 2nd of January 2020
Question - do you have a non-digital daily/monthly type organizer that you recommend?
Thank you for your consistently relevant, fun, encouraging, and authentic blog posts. You're my weekday vitamin blog.
Savannah
Thursday 2nd of January 2020
We also requested refills for all of my daughter's prescriptions (she is type 1 diabetic) before Jan 1st. Our deductible is $3000 and we can hit $1500 in one pharmacy visit! I thank my stars every day for amazing healthcare AFTER our $3000 is hit :)
Amanda
Thursday 2nd of January 2020
1) We very rarely get takeout and even less rarely eat in a restaurant as a family, but thought it would be fun for NYE. Most of the bill was covered by gift cards that were gifts from friends.
2) Despite the fact that I just spent $100 at Aldi on Sunday the fridge is looking bare. We let it get this way knowing we were going out for lunch on Tuesday. Yesterday we let ourselves run out of milk (we survived) and I cooked up a few veggies that were looking like they might not last if I didn’t.
3) We spent DAYS between Christmas and New Years doing a house purge. It was way overdue. When we got a boatload of new toys on Christmas it was time. I prefer minimalism, but it is actually really emotionally difficult for me to part with things. Luckily I have a wonderful husband who shared the work. We feel like we can breathe in the house again, and the kids haven’t noticed. We also spent $0 on organizational bins and things to accomplish this.
4) I listened to two books through the library app. We also watched movies over the break that we already own.
5) Over the break we made our January budget, set our 2020 business goals, and brainstormed what we would do with a hypothetical $100k to do a values check.
Savannah
Thursday 2nd of January 2020
I also decided to de-clutter and thought I'd get a bag or two. I did half of our house and came up with SEVEN large black garbage bags to donate/pitch!