During the months I was living with my parents, it was a bit of a challenge to put these posts together. There’s only so much frugality that can happen when you don’t have your own home.
(And for most of the time that I lived there, I hadn’t even told you guys what was going on!)
But goodness, now that I am busy outfitting a new household (and now that I’m back to grocery shopping), I have lots of opportunities to be frugal. 😉
1. I hit up the clearance rack at Safeway
Whenever I’m at a non-Aldi grocery store, I usually take a quick peek at the clearance racks; sometimes the shelves are full of duds, but sometimes you can find some good things!
This time around I got some organic lemonade for $0.75 and a tin of hot cocoa mix for $0.99.
2. I avoided buying a stapler
The other day, I realized that now that I moved out of my original house, I do not have a stapler with me.
I don’t need one terribly often, but it is handy to have a stapler on occasion.
I thought about buying one, but it’s a good thing I didn’t because…look what I found in a drawer at the abandoned house!
Yup. A stapler!
It was dirty, of course (everything at that house is dirty), but you know I’m always up for washing abandoned-house items.
So, I gave it a little scrub, and now I have a stapler for those rare occasions when I need one.
3. I avoided buying a table lamp
I deserve no credit for this one, but I’m including it anyway! 😉 It’s inadvertent frugality, thanks to the kindness of someone else.
After my dentist appointment last week, I stopped in a Goodwill to see if I could find a little reading lamp for my bedroom.
(This was a little preemptive on my part because I still hadn’t even started redoing the nightstand I planned to use the lamp on.)
I came up empty-handed, and when I walked out to my car, I checked my phone and found an email from a book club friend, asking if I wanted some small lamps!
PLUS, she offered me two little nightstands, one of which was already an almost-perfect color to match the bed one of my neighbors gave me.
One extra little bonus: not only is it the right color, but it has a built-in extension cord and built-in plugs, which is perfect because the outlet on this wall is behind the headboard, smack dab in the middle.
Anyway, now I have a much better setup for my nightly bedtime reading, and I am a happy camper.
4. I planted a green onion end
I always love having a few green onions growing my front border because then I can just go snip off a few when a recipe calls for them.
(because WHO uses a whole package of green onions? It is so, so hard to use the entire bunch before they get slimy.)
Obviously, I had none growing here at my rental, so I had to buy a package this week when I needed some for a recipe.
And when I used the first onion, I saved the root end and stuck it into the ground in the front border here.
It’s tiny now, but it’ll get tall and usable super soon.
The nice thing about green onions is that they do not visually scream, “I’m part of a vegetable garden!”, so you can stick them in with the rest of the landscaping and no one is the wiser.
They just look a bit like a daffodil stem or something of that ilk.
5. I got a $10 ironing board and a free iron
I did put the “I need an ironing board” word out on a few free groups, but nothing popped up. So, I found a Facebook Marketplace ironing board listed for $10 and I popped by to pick it up.
A new one costs about $30, so this isn’t a huge discount. But hey, a $20 savings is a $20 savings.
And buying used is a nice responsible thing to do.
The free iron came compliments of my sister-in-law; since she and my brother were combining established households when they got married last year, they had two irons. So, they gave the extra one to me. Yay!
Becca
Thursday 2nd of June 2022
Harvested some rhubarb from the yard and made rhubarb bread and several batches of rhubarb muffins
Got lots of books and paw patrol dvds from the library for the kiddos
Harvested some asparagus from the yard and made refrigerator pickles with them.
Dried clothes outside on some of the hotter days this week.
Hubby got an entire gallon of imitation vanilla from work that they no longer need. We bake a lot so we will certainly use it. I will have to see how long it stays fresh for because a gallon is a LOT of vanilla.
Kids have been wanting popsicles for the warm weather and we need a few things from the store but not a lot. I was tempted to go to the store but I always end up buying more stuff if I go, plus gas is so expensive right now to make an extra trip. So we made homage Italian ice with simple syrup, lime juice, water, and frozen fruit blended and put in the freezer.
Suzan
Thursday 2nd of June 2022
I haven't been too frugal this week. I keep plodding on.
Today I went to Kmart and I couldn't find some of the things I wanted. However I found a bunch of reduced pyjamas and shorts marked down to $1 each.. Some of the items had. $16 tag but they were $1 too. Most of them were Bluey items too. So I have some spare clothing for my granddaughter who stays with me one day a week. Her mum is very bad about returning the clothing.
I also found book for my daughter reduced to $1.50. Pleased with that because al thought I give them cash most of the time now I think is fun to have a gift to open.
I am trying to save money by staying out of the shops.
I also love the little things that you found to brighten your new home. God bless.
Lindsay B
Thursday 2nd of June 2022
The new space is looking lovely, Kristen!
1. DH let me have the free Starbucks drink on his account (he doesn’t drink coffee)
2. Made another loaf of banana bread using the last packet of ham “glaze” that was really just sugar and spices.
3. Baby E had his 4-month pediatric visit and shots, which is totally covered by our insurance.
4. Working hard to avoid food waste. Examples include using finely sliced cabbage in scrambled eggs (we often have an egg/veggie scramble for breakfast, but not usually with cabbage), sorting through bagged apples and clementines after purchase to use any slightly bruised ones first, and using what we have in the pantry and freezer before buying anything (using venison rather than buying beef, for example).
5. We discovered we could get 8 free covid tests from a local pharmacy through our insurance, which came in handy as we have guests staying with us and we all needed to test! We also have some coming in the mail via the USPS website others have mentioned on here.
Rebekah in SoCal
Wednesday 1st of June 2022
I participated in a medical study and received $150 for my time.
I challenged a bill. I don't think it will go my way but I think it is good to challenge bills that you believe are incorrect.
I saved my leftover beans and rice from a restaurant meal and created a great lunch bowl.
Hawaii Planner
Wednesday 1st of June 2022
Let's see, what did we accomplish? -Made meals at home, minus one date night dinner out -Helped my son track down information he needed for his first summer job, and then dropped off the required work permit at the district office (he doesn't yet drive on his own). This isn't "frugal" so much as it's about helping him learn adulting skills, and earn some money of his own. -We are taking my mom to Hawaii on Sunday, to celebrate her 70th birthday. We were going to do a pricey photo shoot, but realized the hotel offers a free photographer + a 5x7. We're switching to that, and can have other snapshots taken throughout the trip. -Made a bunch out of leftovers, and keep reducing our freezer inventory, to rotate through things. It's nice that I can actually see the majority of what exists in there! -Used a few coupons & rewards to treat the teens, who are going through finals: used grocery store rewards + store coupons to buy Ben & Jerry's ice cream, used a reward for boba, & took them + a friend to lunch & bowling (decidedly not frugal). We had a lot of fun, & the small splurges were totally worth it.