1. I bought another American Giant hoodie dress
I don’t know if this is technically frugal or not…but when I was writing my American Giant hoodie dress review post last week, I was poking around online to see what secondhand options were out there.
My original AG hoodie dress
I saw a light pink one on eBay for $42, but it was an XS. I thought my green dress was a medium, so I wrote off the XS right away.
But then I checked the size on my green dress and realized that it was actually a size small, and I remembered the green one does have a little extra room in it.
Soo, I decided to take a bit of a risk and buy the XS on eBay.
It arrived yesterday, and I’m happy to say that it does fit me; it’s just a more snug fit than my green one, and it’s a little more like a long sweatshirt than a short dress.
Yay! $42 is a really good price for a dress that retails for $140.
And since it’s an American Giant item, I feel quite confident that it’s got lots of life left in it, even though it’s secondhand.
(By the way, if you want to search for a hoodie dress for yourself, just use the search term “American Giant dress” because I’ve seen some hoodie dress listings pop up that way, and they don’t always pop up if you include the “hoodie” part in your search.)
2. I planted some basil seeds
As you all know, I am hardly a gardener. But basil is easy enough even for me to grow. 😉
It’s obviously not warm enough to grow basil outside yet, but it IS a good time to start some seedlings inside.
So, I put some soil in my little Orta seed starter (which I got as part of an ebook bundle a few years ago) and I planted some basil seeds ($1.59 for a packet).
And soon, I will see some baby basil plants popping up!
$1.59 is a very, very good price for the amount of basil that these seeds will produce.
3. I caught a double charge
I’d paid for a meal at a restaurant, and when they had a little trouble processing my payment, a manager had to come over and help.
I figured all was well, but later I looked at my credit card statement and noticed they’d run my payment through twice, not once.
The meal was good, but not good enough to pay two times (!!), so the next time I was near the restaurant, I stopped in and they were able to refund one of the payments.
4. I got a replacement poster
Again, I’m not sure this is exactly frugal because it’s not changing the amount of money I spent out of pocket. But it IS me insisting on getting what I paid for (which is a helpful frugal skill.)
I had ordered a small poster for my office wall, and while it came packaged nicely, I noticed it was a little bit damaged on the edges as soon as I pulled it out of the package.
I think it must have gotten bent in the packing process, and it is pretty noticeable when the light hits it.
One of the wrinkled corners
I sent a quick email, along with photos, to customer service to let them know, and now a free replacement is on its way to me.
I don’t know what I will do with the slightly damaged one; I might see if one of my girls wants it, and if not, I’ll offer it on my Buy Nothing group.
5. I bought some paint repair supplies for Zoe’s car
The Civic she drives is older, and it came to us with quite a few scrapes and dings.
Since she’s a teenage driver, it’s reasonable to assume that it might get some more scrapes and dings along the way (no insult to Zoe in particular; it’s just an observation about new drivers in general!)
Given all that, I am not about to suggest we drop a bunch of money into doing body work on it; I just want to address the small rusty spots in a way that minimizes the damage.
I talked to my dad about it, and then I ordered a few products for Zoe and me to use to repair the rusty spots.
I’ll let you know how it goes! It’ll definitely be cheaper than paying for body work. 😉
Nikki
Wednesday 22nd of March 2023
1. I cooked all our meals at home. We made some extra yummy snacks over "spring break." 1b. We finally got the snowblower fixed in time for spring. We are 7 inches away from breaking the all time snow record. 2. I completed the entire mending pile. Yay! 3. I recaulked the bathroom myself. 4. I worked on a quilt using materials we have on hand. 5. I ordered the part and fixed the vacuum myself. I also noticed that my kids' favorite cereal was on sale through Amazon and ordered that at the same time.
Kristen
Thursday 23rd of March 2023
A fresh caulk job is an amazing refresher for a bathroom. Good job, you!
Maggie
Wednesday 22nd of March 2023
"And since it’s an American Giant item, I feel quite confident that it’s got lots of life left in it, even though it’s secondhand." That is what I love about these kinds of brands. Especially for children's clothes, I enjoy buying second-hand brands that I know are made to last.
Nora8
Wednesday 22nd of March 2023
1. I returned my cans for the deposit. Some people return them every week, but I prefer to save them until I've got the max return amount before turning them in. 2. I returned two fixtures (that I found I didn't need when I replaced the bulbs) and a few other items. 3. I used a $10 off / $20 purchase to treat myself to lunch. 4. I promptly filed the Amazon return when they sent the wrong item. I already have the right item and will drop off the wrong one Thursday when I am next door for another errand already. 5. I refused to pay more than the price for gift cards at the school fundraiser. Happy to have them (and pay) if the price is equal to the value, but not willing to go higher.
KarenBC
Tuesday 21st of March 2023
Interesting that Orta seed starter. I haven't seen one of those before.
Other than going into town on Thursday for my dental cleaning appointment at the college I spent the week at home...puttering, puttering, puttering. I've ended my marriage (lots of reasons), he was/is a hoarder, so I'm sorting out the house. Have taken 27 loads to Value Village since Halloween. Now sorting for a garage sale I'll hold in late June.
As far as frugal wins:
1) Borrowed stories on CD from the library to listen to while I'm puttering.
2) Didn't need to buy groceries this week.
3) The kitchen painting project finished up today. The paint was not frugal, but it is good quality and should last for years. I traded with friends to do the actual painting, while I did all the furniture moving and getting things out of the paint splatter reach. I'm always amazed when I see how neatly Kristen paints! The paint is called "Jamaica Me Crazy" and is a lovely fern sort of green. Ceiling is a sand colour. The trade was a large egg incubator & set of seed starting lights. I wasn't using the incubator any longer and they hatch chicks to sell - so it worked well for both of us.
4) Removed 2 indoor doors - this old house has had additions over the years, so has 2 sets of doors at the front. My son asked why we kept the inner door, good question. So off it came. We will reuse it on the basement entrance if it will fit - someone put an indoor bedroom door on an outside exit. No only is it flimsy, it won't hold paint on the sunny side of the house. The 2nd door is 34" wide and is on the living room. That door will go into the hallway where there is a 44" space on an open closet space. It will need 5" built into either side, but that's okay. Closet is going to hold sewing supplies and gift wrapping things.
5) Found the finial for a lamp that belonged to my great-aunt. I misplaced it a few years ago...was debating going to an electrical shop to buy a replacement, but putting it off. Found it yesterday...tucked away right where I knew it would be...not. Up on my list of projects is to try making new shades for this lamp and one in the living room. Thinking of using maps. Bought a small glue gun at a thrift store for this project.
DebbieR
Tuesday 21st of March 2023
1. Did our taxes on Turbo Tax (not the free one) but filed through my Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards account for 1000 RR points and used my Chase credit card to pay for Turbo Tax that gives a $10 reward back. 2. Got a code for a free sample of Greenies (dog dental chews) which I promptly redeemed and got a pack of 6 Greenies for my dog, shipping included! These normally average about $1/each when full price. 3. Redeemed more free product coupons for review and submitted for a rebate on ibotta, netting $1.60! 4. Sold 3 puzzles on FB marketplace for $20. I bought 2 of them at Goodwill for less than $5 each and the other one was originally $10 so I probably made about $2 overall, but got more stuff out of the house. 5. Made a couple birthday cards for friends from my stash of cardstock and scrapbook paper, used leftover new envelopes from Christmas cards.