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Let’s get the not-frugal thing out of the way first, ok?
1. Of library fines and fees
So, I wrote the post about library fines on Tuesday night, and published it yesterday morning. I was drawing on past library-related mistakes for fodder, and I thought all was currently well with my account.
(I’m sure you can see where this is going.)
I started working thru my email backlog yesterday morning and lo and behold, there was a date due reminder. From two days ago.
AUGH!!!!
Of course, we have eleventy billion books out from the library at the moment, which means that in a matter of two days, I managed to rack up an $18 late fee.
I can’t decide if this is funny or dreadful. But I do think it’s kind of ironic.
2. I ordered a replacement part for my grill.
Our grill is a 3-burner Weber Genesis, which we’ve owned since 2002 or so. A big thing I like about Weber grills is that there are so many replacement parts available. If something fails, you can easily replace the part and keep on trucking (or grilling).
A lot of cheaper grills are not so modular.
Anyway, the thermometer on my grill stopped working, so I hopped on Amazon and ordered a new one.
(Amazon has a bunch of Weber replacement thermometers...mine is the 9815 version.)
Weber grills are a bit on the expensive side and their design is rather simple (not many bells and whistles), but I’m really glad we saved up and bought one all those years ago, as I’m not sure a cheaper grill would still be going strong by now.
Simple, reliable, and repairable trumps bells and whistles pretty much every time.
3. I cancelled a credit card to avoid an annual fee.
I’d signed up for Barclay’s travel reward card to earn rewards for Mr. FG and Joshua’s $500 CA trip. But our period of free annual fees was over, and we were about to be charged an $89 fee.
If the rewards program was as good as it used to be, I’d have considered keeping the card.
But they’ve made some changes that were decidedly not improvements, and I don’t think the card was worth $89 to us.
4. I used a coupon code + cashback to buy clothes for Joshua.
He was in need of some clothes for his coffee shop job (jeans with no holes, shirts that fit into the muted company color palette), so I hopped onto American Eagle’s website and put together an order.
I found items that were on sale, applied a discount code, and also remembered to shop through TopCashBack for an additional $7.34 bonus.
And since he needed multiple items, the order met the free shipping requirement. Yay!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: American Eagle is an awesome place to find clothes for tall, lanky teenage boys, and this is especially true on their website, where they carry sizes like 28/34 or 29/34. Seriously, such a godsend. Buying jeans for Joshua in stores used to be an exercise in frustration, and now we just pop onto the website and order them.
If I could insert a heart-eyes emoji here, I totally would.
(I am not affiliated with American Eagle in any way. I just am grateful that they make clothes that fit my son!)
5. I used some Kohl’s Cash + Yes2You rewards before they expired.
I barely squeaked by with this, as the last day to use the Kohl’s Cash was yesterday.
I got Sonia two pairs of jeans and also a leather belt.
The belt is from the women’s department and while it is a bit on the long side, it’s the sort that doesn’t have belt holes, so she can just cinch it up as far as she needs to and tuck the belt end into her jean loops.
We couldn’t find a kid’s belt, and besides, kid belts are usually good for about 5 seconds before they fall apart. Since this one is leather, I have higher hopes for it.
(Fellow moms of very slender girls; after trying on all sorts of jeans that didn’t fit, we were able to find slim S.O. brand skinny jeans for Sonia in the girls department at Kohl’s. Regular skinny jeans usually balloon out in the hips for my girls, so slim skinny jeans are perfect. Yay! I am not affiliated with Kohl’s; just helping fellow moms out.)
One pair of the jeans rang up at $32 instead of the marked $16.99 sale price, but we were able to get that adjusted at Customer Service. Excellent.
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Your turn! Share your own five frugal things (or throw in a fail if you want 😉 ) in the comments.
amanda
Tuesday 25th of October 2016
Irony is the worst when it costs money!
Here are my frugal things:
1. I am almost finished piecing together a Captain Hook costume from Goodwill items. I am especially proud of the fact that the main bit is a $3 ladies red wool blazer. The fabric was just the amount I needed, and $3 was much cheaper than I could have purchased the fabric new.
2. When we cleaned out our home office to move to a commercial space, I discovered where my husband had been squirreling away all the items he had been telling me for years (YEARS!) he was going to Craigslist. The last item, an old camera, sold yesterday for $90.
3. We decided to raise prices in our business and our airbnb rental. My husband and I were nervous about it because we are both very price-sensitive ourselves, but the prices on both had been too low for too long, and it hasn't slowed demand one bit.
4. We've decided to pull our oldest out of aftercare when my semester ends on Dec 9. I'll be home reading for comprehensive exams after this semester ends, and he is old enough sit quietly and do homework and then go about his business while I get one more hour of work done before we pick the little ones up from daycare. It will save us $95/week.
5. We're on month two of Dave Ramsey-style budgeting. My husband and I have always lived very frugally, (we can go a month without getting takeout or buying clothes and not even notice) but I was curious to see if it might help us live even cheaper. Last month we came in under budget by just a little, but this month we are way under. I'm not convinced that it is because of the budget. Rather I think it might just be because this has been an especially quiet month. But I'll take the cash either way. And we'll try it again next month to see how it goes. The jury is still out.
Stephanie
Sunday 23rd of October 2016
We replaced the grate on our grill two years ago and it was like getting a whole new grill.
Y'all, I don't even know what to think about frugality or money anymore. After months of trying to figure out what was wrong I've been diagnosed with a terminal illness. On the one hand, there will come a time when I cannot work anymore And my expenses will get considerably greater – even now, we are relying more on restaurant and other services I used to just do myself.On the other hand, if we're ever going to take certain trips together this is the time to do it. We are deeply in prayer.
WilliamB
Monday 24th of October 2016
Stephanie, may your lord be kind to you and your questions answered.
Kristen
Sunday 23rd of October 2016
Oh, Stephanie. I am so, so sorry to hear this. Are your hand problems all related to this?
Sending you so much love.
Heather
Friday 21st of October 2016
Sometimes I see my two-day notice from the library and don't act on it, sometimes I just don't see it. I never mind paying the fines for all the reasons already listed in the comments. Recently I've been renting two movies on Tuesday ($1.59 for both!) and that gets me back every week for returns so I've had less fines and the kids get a higher turn over of reading material!
Shawn D.
Thursday 20th of October 2016
I have the same grill as Y'all do -- a Weber Genesis Silver. I got it in '99 and it's still going strong. I replaced the grates with stainless ones about 10 years ago and the thermometer about three years ago. :)
Kristen
Thursday 20th of October 2016
Yup, we've replaced our grates too! Love those Webers.
Isabelle
Thursday 20th of October 2016
* I've refrained from personally eating out or buying junk food since the beginning of the month, which is huge for me! * I've been having rotator cuff pain for about a month now and finally decided to see a massage therapist about it. He was really good and after 2 sessions (one last week, one today) the pain is already much better. I have a physical job and I need to be able to use my arms, so it's essential that I have work done on my own body. This is an investment long term (I will continue going every 2 to 3 weeks). 65$ per session is well spent if it permits me to keep taking shifts (I work on-call, so zero sick days). * 2 birthday parties this weekend (kindergarten age). Got a bunch of stuff on sale (asphalt crayons, fruit lather, princesses cups, cotton candy and stickers roll) used gift bags and paper from our stash and added an homemade card. Cost : 10$/gift. * Daughter needs a water bottle. Was on the Christmas list. Found a Gaiam one in the lost&found at work (been there long enough). Washed it well and added it to the Christmas pile. Bonus: it's purple, her favorite color!
* Frugal fail: registered for a support group. 125$ for 8 weeks. Went 3 weeks and realized it's not for me (won't go back). Oh well....