1. I got a few mugs from a Buy Nothing offer
On Sunday afternoon I went for a hike on some trails near my house. I randomly checked Facebook before I drove home, and I saw a driveway pile offer that was exactly on my way home.
a view from my hike
(A driveway pile is not an official term, but it’s when someone does a cleanout and puts everything out on the driveway, in a first-come, first-served style.)
I know almost everyone has too many mugs, but an odd thing about starting over later in life is that you can be in your mid-40s and actually find yourself in need of mugs!
Soo, I picked up three citrus Starbucks mugs from the pile.
2. I got some junk towels from the same pile
Lisey is in a colorful-hair stage of life (this stage has been going on for some time now). Colorful hair is pretty messy, so she is always needing some towels we don’t care about both for dying and for showering.
This was actually a few colors ago.
Under normal circumstances, junk towels are a thing you naturally acquire as your regular towels wear out. But we needed some, so I grabbed a few old towels from the free pile.
3. Aaaand I got a rug from the same pile
There’s an unfinished room in the basement that Zoe has dubbed “the boiler room”, and the concrete floor there is unfinished.
I have my weights in there, and whenever I finish using them and want to walk out, my feet are dusty (because you know how unfinished concrete floors are ALWAYS producing dust!)
So, I thought that a rug would be helpful, but I don’t care one tiny bit what the rug looks like. So I grabbed a flowered one from the free pile.
And now I do not have to have dusty feet when I leave the boiler room. Yay!
4. I made some bread for a classmate
One of my classmates lost a father figure last week, and she was barely holding it together during last week’s class. So yesterday I made some cinnamon bread before class and brought her a loaf.
Yeast bread costs very, very little to make, but it makes a lovely little gift for people. And since a lot of people have no idea how to make it, a homemade bread gift ends up making the recipient really happy.
5. I…
- made sure to find a lab that was in-network for some routine bloodwork
- got a 300-point Fetch rewards bonus
- walked to school multiple times
- made coffee at home
- used a $2.50 coupon that was left at the grocery store register
Carla Peicheff
Thursday 10th of November 2022
Saved all of my broccoli stalks & trims over the last 2 weeks, saved a bone and some scraps from a prime rib roast and make a big pot of delicious soup in the crock pot today! Yum!
Kate
Wednesday 9th of November 2022
Hi Kristen! I have only recently found your blog but am really enjoying your positivity and the straightforward tone of your posts. I also downloaded Fetch with your code so I hope you got a few points out of it :)
Debbie
Wednesday 9th of November 2022
1. I love to send photo Christmas cards to friends and family every year as a way to stay connected with them, but the prices on the photo sites are getting costlier every year. I ordered 10 "free" cards (paid shipping) which was still a good deal, and then looked at Costco photo to order the rest. I didn't see any designs I liked and then noticed that you can make your design your own. So I hopped onto Canva and designed my own card, front and back, then uploaded to Costco photo and ordered my cards! It saved me over $30 vs the photo sites (with all their current discounts) and I got more cards.
2. I somehow got recruited to join an online sampling group which gives you free, full-size products to try in exchange for a short review. So far I've gotten a jar of jam, a bag of granola, 2 pints of plant-based ice cream, a box of Belgian waffles, a chocolate bar, and a small jar of Manuka honey.
3. I bought an planted a small lemon tree in our back yard earlier this year and it has been growing lemons! A couple of them finally ripened enough to pick and I was able to use it for tea for my husband's sore throat.
4. I've been looking for fall jackets for my son on ebay, so I put several options on my watchlist, then waited a few days and got some offers from the sellers for a better price. We decided on the one he liked the best and ordered with a 24% discount with the seller offer.
5. Hung laundry to dry, borrowed books from the library, ate from the pantry, and batched errands.
Gina
Wednesday 9th of November 2022
1. Last weekend hubby and I ran to Sam's club for a few things. We picked up some ready chicken enchiladas (delicious!) to have for dinner instead of going out. Saved $ 2. My husband and daughter's boyfriend directed traffic on the main road right out of our subdivision for our annual neighborhood Halloween parade. My boss lives in our subdivision and his wife organizes our neighborhood events. They had asked my husband to do traffic control (which he's done in past years). My boss brought my husband a case of his favorite beer as a thank you (he didn't have to do that). We thanked him anyway! 3. I cashed in some points from Crowd Tap survey site for an Amazon e-gift card which I applied to a recent order. 4. I started my Christmas shopping already. Our puppies need a bigger bed and we were all out of treats. I used a $15 off $80 coupon on a bed that was on sale, plus 4 bags of treats (3 will be used for their Christmas gift as well as the bed) and with sale prices, I saved over $32 on my purchase! 5. Hubby brought home 2 vouchers for admission to our local hockey team games. I'm so excited! We enjoy watching live hockey.
Nikki
Wednesday 9th of November 2022
1. I made our meals at home again. I ate some meals provided by PAC at work. 2. I fixed my daughter's favorite bookmark (she broke the tassel and was very sad about it). 3. I sewed patches on scouting uniforms instead of paying someone else to do it. 4. I continue to wear my perfectly nice dress clothes instead of buying new. I fixed some loose buttons on my husband's shirts. 5. I got the lawnmower to start one more time. It had been acting up. Now there's a blizzard warning, so it needs to be readied for storage. 6. I combined errands.
Cynthia
Wednesday 9th of November 2022
@Nikki, wearing the same dress clothes: I feel that is very "old money" (I'm joking but only barely.) Old story about the upperclass woman from Boston asked by a nouveau riche neighbor where she bought her hats. She is supposed to have said: "Buy? We HAVE our hats."