Five Frugal Things | I’m swimming in strawberries

1. I got two big tubs of strawberries from my parents

I don’t deserve a lot of credit for this but…my mom texted me and said, “I have a frugal deal for you! We’re going out of town and we have more strawberries than we can use. Do you want to come get them?”

So I drove over and came back with two huge bins of berries, and I didn’t even have to pick them.

That is a serious bonus for strawberries because picking them is sort of back-breaking work. Blueberries are way easier to pick.

I made pancakes that night so we could top them with berries and cream.

Then I rinsed and hulled most of the rest of that bin. I froze them on half-sheet pans and then transferred them to Ziploc bags to store in my chest freezer and I’ll mostly use those for smoothies.

Man, I love having a chest freezer again!

We’ve also been eating tons of berries just plain, and on bowls of yogurt.

And I made a batch of strawberry muffins.

I’m pretty sure my body composition right now is 73% strawberry. 😉

2. I mowed my grass myself

I really do not love doing yard work. And I have been tempted multiple times to just hire a company to come mow my grass for me.

Butttt, my neighbor has a riding lawnmower she kindly lets me borrow, and I do have time right now to mow.

So, I’ve just been doing it myself.

Luckily, a lot of my yard is in the shade, so my grass (mostly weeds, let’s be honest) doesn’t grow super fast. So it’s not like I have to mow every single week!

3. I booked free flights for the girls

They wanted to do a little sister trip before Lisey leaves for Hawaii, so I booked some plane tickets for them and I used my Southwest points.

(I opened a new Southwest card last year, and so I got the big points bonus that you get when you open a new card and meet the minimum spend requirements in the first few months.)

4. I have been working hard at getting my nursing medical tests done

First of all, this is smart because if you don’t get this stuff done by the deadline, you lose your spot in the program. That’s a terrifying thought to me, so I started getting my tests scheduled the minute I got the paperwork from my college!

But also, I am trying to be financially smart about it. I have a bunch of lab work that I need my primary care physician to sign off on, so I made a physical appointment for early June, and then I went to get my lab work done last Friday.

That way it can all be finished and I can bring the results to my doctor and she can sign off on them. Then I won’t have to pay for two appointments with my primary care physician.

I don’t know that I have ever had this many tests done at once in my life before! And I definitely know I haven’t been tested for tuberculosis before.

(My first one was negative, but then I also have to go in a week and get a second one done, since my school requires two.)

5. I got some travel-size products for just a few dollars

The girls mostly used my refillable product containers for their stuff, but they still needed a few more small things, like toothpaste and deodorant and Zoe needed a toothbrush protector.

So, we stopped in at CVS and I used my monthly $10 Carepass, my $3 birthday reward, and a few other deals to get everything for almost free.

One of you asked for a post about how I work deals at CVS, and that’s forthcoming, promise! 🙂

Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to lately?