1. I asked for a ThredUp discount.
Sonia found me a $14 Ann Taylor cashmere sweater, and when it arrived, we discovered it had a small hole in it.
ThredUp does not, as a rule, sell clothing with imperfections, so I emailed them and said I’d be willing to keep the sweater if they gave me a discount.
They gave me an additional 30% off for their error which made the price of the sweater $9.80.
This is a win/win…no shipping required, they don’t have to figure out what to do with a hole-y sweater, and I got a good deal.
2. I mended the sweater hole.
I’ve never done this before, but I watched a few quick YouTube tutorials, grabbed some pink thread, and gave it a go.
the fix from the outside
I’m pretty impressed with how invisible the fix is, and I don’t think anyone will notice it when I wear the sweater.
the fix from the inside
3. I sold another book on eBay.
Slowly but surely, my stack of books is getting smaller and smaller!
4. I splurged a little to avoid takeout.
I did not have a menu plan ready yesterday by mid afternoon, which spells trouble for me.
So when I picked up Sonia from her tutorial, we stopped by a non-Aldi store where I spent $10 on chicken sausages.
I also bought asparagus and potatoes, which made an easy dinner of mashed potatoes, sauteed asparagus, and chicken sausages.
$10 just on sausages is more than I’d pay at Aldi, but it’s also a lot less than I’d have spent on takeout!
5. I…
drank coffee at home, made avocado toast to use up my perfectly ripe avocado and some slightly dry bread, sent leftovers to work with Mr. FG, and washed my Converse.
sea
Thursday 17th of October 2019
All my items are less about saving money, and more about not spending quite so much! I have a hard time resisting a bargain, but I'm trying to get better. My new mantra is "shop less, shop less, shop less". It's not going too well . . .
1. Kristin's sweater repair is much better than, but reminded me of, one I did a few years ago. Found a high-end designer wool cardigan with "signature" buttons at a thrift shop, and mended a snag in the arm. A few days later, I saw someone on tv wearing the same sweater (different color). When I'm tired of the sweater, I plan to remove the buttons and put them on something else!
2. Coincidentally, found jeans by same brand as above at the Goodwill today. Not my size, but a quick text to my cousin and she was thrilled to have them for $5.99 (v. $198 new, or $64 on poshmark).
3. High-end consignment store took a few of my items today. While I was there, picked up $70 owed to me from previous sales. Then took the leftovers and a few other items to a different consignment store, where they took a few more items and paid me $45. Dropped all the "rejects" (still nice and in good condition) at the thrift store benefiting the local animal shelter. BTW, ThredUp may be good to buy from, but I've never had a good experience selling to them. I've tried twice and they've rejected most items, including NWT, and last time they paid out $6 for 10 items. :-(
4. At the last minute, pulled a purse out from the box I was taking to consign. It was pricey, I bought it a couple years ago and only used it once. Decided to give it another try, have been using it today and very glad I did! Would definitely not have gotten my money back if I'd sold it, but now I'll be using and enjoying it for awhile.
5. Found some brand-new, current magazines at a thrift store. These are the "special interest" seasonal kind that are more like books and sell for around $13 or $14. Brought home 3 for 25 cents each! 1 on healthy living, 1 on holiday baking, and the other was the People "Friends at 25" issue.
6. While out and about, stopped at the fanciest jewelry store in town. Recently took a chance and purchased some earrings on ebay, and wanted to make sure they were as advertised. They graciously had their appraiser take a look for no charge; earrings were not only what they claimed to be, but the salesperson estimated their retail price, which is about 7x what I paid! Even if that number is extremely inflated, and realizing I would never get that at resale, I still think I got a good buy and certainly didn't overpay! They also offered me a bottle of water, offered to clean my rings, and let me admire and model some lovely estate pieces while I was there. :-)
Tracey
Wednesday 16th of October 2019
Great job on the sweater repair!!!
My five frugal things:
1. My youngest came home from college for the Columbus Day long weekend. She, my husband and I went to Red Robin for dinner with family friends. I used a $50 gift card and paid less than three dollars... including tip.
2. Started knitting hats from the alpaca yarn I got on sale a few weeks ago at a fiber fair. Turns out that the pattern overestimated (by a lot) the amount of yarn needed. I now have options to make more hats or fingerless gloves (which my girls love) to match hats. Hats for everyone for Christmas!!
3. Hemmed a pair of Woolrich hunting pants for a friend's husband in exchange for two huge jack o lantern worthy pumpkins.
4. Was gifted two boxes of gently used school binders in widths from 1-4 inches. Using them to organize recipes, quilt, knitting and crocheting patterns, craft project plans, and Spanish class notes and documentation (taking for work). Clutter contained!
5. My daughter wanted a crocheting project to take back to college with her. She finds it relaxing and a great way to destress. I used coupons good on sale items to buy four skeins of velvety yarn from Michael's. It's enough for her to make a nice lap blanket. Spent $16.
Marianne
Wednesday 16th of October 2019
If you have an account at Ally they still give you 3 free Webroot licenses. I keep a small amount there just for that. They just sent me an email to remind me they renew year to year.
Trying to find a no pull collar or harness for our new pup. Tried several from Amazon which did not work (at all) so I mailed them back using Kohls service. I was unable to find them at local pet stores.
Seen our financial advisor as we near retirement who suggested some tweeks in our holdings to earn more $ and save some on taxes. We just started using their services about 5 years ago and are really pleased with them.
Made use of some old foot stools that I just have not thrown out. Using them for pup training.
Our other dog died so I have a large box of pee pads and our local adopt a pet had taken in a litter of parvo pups and needed them so they are off to good use.
Slowly gathering things I want to sell on Ebay or marketplace.
Diane
Wednesday 16th of October 2019
Such a beautiful shade of pink!Diane
Diane
Wednesday 16th of October 2019
My comment was meant to say: Such a beautiful shade of pink! No wonder you wanted to keep it.
Natasha
Wednesday 16th of October 2019
1. Skipped our monthly Costco grocery shopping trip. I’m trying to clean out our pantry and freezer by mid-November. 2. Handwashed some of my cashmere sweaters, one of them is from ThredUp. No more spending for dry cleaning them. 3. Buying diapers at a pharmacy is not exactly frugal but I had no other choice that day. At one pharmacy the price was crazy, it took me less than a minute to drive to a different pharmacy where the price per same box was $6 less. 4. After 6 months of back and forth a medical bill mistake was finally resolved. $300 less than the original bill. 5. Our county has a program where each child gets a free monthly book from 6 months of age through 5th bday. My kids loved the books we got so far.