I really want to show you my newly painted bathroom and also Lisey’s bed, but I haven’t gotten around to photographing them yet.
So, how’s about a five frugal things post today instead?
1. I shipped back unwanted Thredup items.
I have kind of a rotating thing going with Thredup at the moment.
I place an order large enough to get free shipping, keep what I want, send the rest back for store credit (return shipping is free that way), and then place a new order once the store credit appears.
If you’re new to Thredup, give ’em a try through my referral link, and you’ll get $10 to spend.
I hear that Thredup isn’t the most fabulous way to sell your gently used clothes (you won’t get a lot for them), but as a buying customer, I haven’t had any complaints.
2. I sold a barely used tool.
Mr. FG bought a tool that was supposed to be handy for removing our old tile backsplash, but as it turns out, it just ended up being messy and ineffective for that purpose.
A hammer and chisel-type tool worked a lot better. 😉
Since we’d only used it once, I listed it on Amazon for a little less than the new price, and yesterday it sold. Yay!
Clutter out, money in.
3. I used some CVS coupons.
I had to stop in for some probiotics and while I was there, I hit up the coupon kiosk to see what was available.
Happily, there were some good ones! I got a card for $0.50, a tube of Colgate toothpaste for $0.50, and a candy bar for $0.50.
4. I did a money email.
I really, really, really did not want to do that this month, because all of the bills from our plumbing disasters are trickling in, along with a lot of other unusual expenses.
I’d rather stick my head in the sand and pretend everything is fine.
But I took care of it all yesterday, and although our outgo far exceeds our income this month, we’ll be ok because we have savings accounts.
5. I negotiated a blogging expense.
I got a yearly $2400 hosting-related bill, and I checked to see if perhaps I was paying for more service than I needed.
With a little back and forth, I got it downgraded a bit and saved $780. Phew.
Your turn! Share your own five frugal things in the comments.
Hawaii Planner
Monday 14th of August 2017
Let's see, we: 1) Ate almost all dinners at home. 2) Used a discount for the pizza delivery on Friday 3) Cancelled our cleaning service, as my mom & I teamed up to clean the house while she was in town. 4) Cancelled our rewards credit card. It was an Amex, and after Costco stopped accepting Amex, it greatly reduced our rewards. I would have kept it, but it has a $95 fee. Saved myself $95 for the year. 5) Remembered to call our insurance company to notify them that our house has sold. Got $108 in the cancelled part of our homeowner's insurance.
Kristen
Monday 14th of August 2017
Yeah, we got rid of our Amex once Costco stopped accepting it. It was really the only reason we kept an Amex open!
Rachel Rusticus
Friday 11th of August 2017
Wow great work this week! You all have had some challenges lately & I pray more carefree days will return soon!
Five frugal things:
1) Used summer reading program coupons for free movie check outs. The library near us charges 50 cents a movie, so always glad to read for a freebie!
2) Made a teacher gift for $1.50 with back to school sales
3) Regifted a book I never found the time to read to someone who I think will really appreciate it.
4) Shopped online garage sales for clothes for me. Also organized some of a closet to sell outgrown kid's clothing soon.
5) Repurposed old shoe boxes into catch all storage (craft supplies, plastic ware, etc.) for cabinets.
Brittany
Thursday 10th of August 2017
Well I'm a day late to this but I had so many frugal victories today, that I just had to reply. This summer has been a bit of a financial mess due to poor planning on my part and now I am in recovery mode. So, today I: 1. Went to a work event that paid a flat fee of 75$. I didn't feel like giving up one of my days off to go in, but it was only a couple of hours -- well worth the$$. 2. At said work event, we were provided with lunch. We had a lot of food leftover so my supervisor let us take home extras. My husband and oldest child are away -- so this was dinner for my 2 youngest and myself. 3. I cut two of my children's hair today. 4. I picked up a library book that I had requested from a different branch. 5. And here is a new one for me.... I had some extra time this evening ( see number 2) so I decided to highlight my own hair. I have been prepping for this moment for a couple of weeks. I bought my supplies at the beauty store last weekend (6$), and have watched several youtube videos on the subject. It is not perfect, but I think it is something that I can improve upon each time:) I am just done paying 100$ for salon highlights!
Laurie
Thursday 10th of August 2017
My girls and I had a great shopping spree last weekend. My 13y/o had a gift card to Forever 21. She founds tons of stuff for fall. She paid $30 and paid for the rest around$25 after GC. She did very well. We then went to Younkers and my mom gave a GC she was not going to use. I found 4 pieces of clothing. The GC was for $50 and then the cashier scanned another coupon for another $30 off so I paid $8. Our last stop was to Payless Shoes. My DD 9 got 3 new pairs of shoes:new white sandals,minnie mouse keds l like shoe and tennis shoes all for $4.28!!!!! I feel we did great for not much out of pocket. Also when shopping I have the Retailmeknot app up and google all the stores we enter to save even more.
AN
Thursday 10th of August 2017
1. Was feeling stressed after waiting nearly an hour for an appointment, and was tempted to buy dinner out on the way home. Instead, I went home, made a box of red pepper risotto and supplemented it with black beans and veggies (all from Aldi!) for a filling meal with leftovers for the next few days. 2. My partner's parents are coming into town for a few days. We're planning low-cost activities to keep us all busy for the long weekend, such as museum visits and walking around the beautiful downtown. 3. The spin cycle on my washer wasn't working yesterday, so the clothes came out soaking wet. At 10:00 last night, I wasn't about to start fixing the problem. So I squeezed out all the water and hung the clothes up on racks in the bathroom to dry, so I didn't have to run the dryer for hours. I expect they'll be completely dry by tonight. 4. A summer picnic at work today, so we get a free lunch. 5. Lately, my mom has been cleaning out her closet of some summer items that don't fit her anymore. We're nearly the same size, so she's been offering me first dibs on anything before she donates it or tries to sell it. I received several pairs of pants, a dress for an upcoming wedding, and a few shirts for work. Nice to get some "new" things to wear!