1. I made a use-it-up lunch bowl
I cut the bad spots out of two peppers and sautéed them with the last of a red onion.
Then I added a sweet potato from Hungry Harvest and some black beans (the beans were free because there were extras at the food pantry)
I finished it off with a fried egg, some cilantro, and some leftover sauce from when I made these chipotle kebabs.
10/10, would recommend.
2. I buzzed Zoe’s undercut myself
This was before I replaced the broken blade on our buzzer with one from eBay
I usually buzz it here at home unless she’s getting an actual haircut. But last month, we took her to a shop to get the undercut buzzed + a simple design in the undercut.
And um, whoa, it was expensive! Like as much as a whole haircut.
So now I am feeling very frugal when I buzz her undercut myself.
3. I sold a camera charger, lickety-split
During last week’s decluttering, I found an old point-and-shoot camera battery charger. I kinda doubted these were still selling on eBay, but I checked, and lo and behold, they were.
Mine sold less than 24 hours after I listed it!
$7 in my pocket, less clutter in my house, plus I know the charger is going to a home where it will be used.
Win, win, win.
(Whenever possible, I like to declutter without creating trash.)
Luckily, I had saved a small padded envelope in my stash, and it was perfect for shipping the charger.
4. I timed my bread to use the oven while it was hot
Sonia requested beef au jus sandwiches, which we usually eat on homemade French bread.
A lot of the electricity required to heat an oven comes from the initial heating phase, so I timed my bread to be ready to bake when the beef came out of the oven.
Might as well make good use of the heat!
Oh, and I threw in a huge foil-wrapped sweet potato as well.
5. I…
- made my own chia drinks, which are 75% cheaper than the bottled ones
- filled up on gas while I was near BJ’s
- bought a bunch of $0.99 cherries at Aldi
- ate lots of oatmeal topped with bruised peaches
- got another Local Flavor voucher for a date night
Gina
Wednesday 28th of July 2021
Surgery recovery edition:
1. My mother in law gave us dinner one night, my mom brought us food and my dad brought me chocolate covered strawberries when he came to visit. My daughter’s boyfriend’s mom brought us dinner too. Was so nice since I wasn’t on my foot for 3 weeks.
2. One day while Out getting the mail, my neighbor asked if we’d like some zucchini. I said sure and he picked four fresh for us.
3. I borrowed a scooter to get around plus a walker and a shower chair to help with my recovery. Nice not to have to buy anything.
4. I received 2 care baskets, flowers, cards, texts etc. was nice to be thought of when I felt so miserable.
5. I needed to get a script filled and got a “discount card” from the hospital to use. On a $120, I only had to pay $10.
Plus with not being very mobile, I wasn’t shopping at stores saving me money.
Kristen
Thursday 29th of July 2021
Oh, it is so nice when people feed you during recovery!
How are you feeling now?
Tracey Curry
Wednesday 28th of July 2021
Hello once again. I gave up all but a half hour of screen time per day for Lent and it's been a crazy five months since. I didn't post, but I never stopped reading!!! Here's my five frugal things for the week:
1. My youngest daughter wanted a sewing machine to take to college. I found an older, solid, workhorse machine in a garage sale for $15. I cleaned and oiled it and it purrs like a kitten. At the same neighborhood garage sale, I paid $7 a really cool looking three-tier wicker basket filled with sewing supplies. In it were five pairs of scissors worth between $60-$100 per pair. They are solid steel and most were still sharp. They will last her a lifetime. I also discovered the basket was actually an antique Chinese wedding basket and worth about $120.
2. Had a plethora of ripe bananas. I made three loaves of bread and 24 muffins.
3. Opted to hit the local farmer's market instead of the grocery store this week for super fresh produce. Between that and my pantry and freezer, I saved some cash.
4. My car broke down...ugh...I saved $25 on the towing bill by paying cash. I did, however, use that $25 toward the bill to replace two bad sensors. I guess that's a win and a fail!
5. Saved $2506 by going through my daughter's fall college bill line by line. It's amazing what they forget to put in there (one of her scholarships) and what optional "services" they added!!!
Kristen
Thursday 29th of July 2021
Welcome back!
And your #5; wow! That is such a huge financial win.
Isa
Wednesday 28th of July 2021
* Grand-parents took the kids on vacation for the last 2 weeks. Our cost : a gift for them (about 30$) and gas to go bring them and pick them up. * Barely bought groceries in those last 2 weeks. We are eating our from the freezers and pantry mostly. No food waste. * Coming back to work after 6 weeks unpaid sickness, it's great to get paid again! * Back to school shopping is coming up. Will look through what we have leftover from last year and only buy what is needed. Also, got DD a ""new"" backpack from Goodwill for 11$ (instead of...40$?) * Been reusing the same outfits for work for at least a year (health care worker ; no need to be fancy) and will continue to do so until they really need to be refreshed.
Hawaii Planner
Wednesday 28th of July 2021
1) I put out a request on our local Buy Nothing for mailing envelopes, as we've gone through all of ours. I got a TON of interest, and people are thrilled that someone will re-use what would otherwise be recycled/tossed. 2) Sold a few things on eBay. I have a similar philosophy to Kristen, and really just try to keep things out of the landfill. A small amount of profit is a side benefit. 3) Continue to use a bunch of stuff from our garden. Pickled a big mix of peppers & chiles, made a triple batch of pico de gallo from tomatoes & jalapenos, and making smoothies out of the bruised up fruit. 4) Used miles to book a flight for my parents, when they are visiting us & taking care of the kids on our anniversary. 5) Kept the A/C off by cooling the house down during the evenings/early part of the day, & then closing everything up during the hotter part.
Mar
Wednesday 28th of July 2021
We ate party leftovers for 2 weeks now, I may never want to see a nacho chip in my life again. We had so much food left over even though I sent food home with everyone. luckily I had 8 mouths to feed for the week. Getting free produce from a friend, things I did not grow in my garden. Friend gave me 8 puzzles to do, did most and passed them on. Now that Goodwill has color discounts back I got some toys and puzzles for cheap. My sons dog had a cruddy ear, I showed them how to pull the fur out, he had a huge ball of hair stuck in it. We treated with meds I already had = an ear itch free dog.