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1. I got a free $8 grocery item.
I was buying some toiletries, and noticed a shelf tag saying an item I wanted was on sale 2/$15.
But when I got to self-checkout, both items rang up at full price. Hmmm.
So, I went over to customer service, and they discovered it was an old shelf tag. But their policy is to honor the shelf tag, so they were willing to re-ring the items.
Neither employee there seemed familiar with this store’s correct scanning policy, though, which states that if an item rings up at a wrong price, the customer gets one of those items free.
In fact, the assistant manager said, “What? Where does it say that?”
And I politely pointed out the sign on the wall and also the sign on the cash register.
Anyway, they were nice about it, and I ended up getting one item free and the other at the sale price.
I’m kind of wondering how in the world I know more about the store’s scanning policy than the assistant manager does, though. Something went wrong during his training!
(reusable bag in the photo is a Flip and Tumble bag, which I love, love, love.)
2. I got my leaky tire fixed for free.
One of my tires developed a slow leak (so slow it took three weeks to need refilling.) As it turns out, something that looked like a drywall screw was lodged in there.
My tire still had oodles of tread left on it, and the screw was in the tread face of the tire, not on the sidewall or shoulder. So, repair was definitely an option.
I know. You wish your wheels were as clean as mine.
I remembered seeing a sign outside the local Midas shop offering free tire repairs, so I made an appointment and they did indeed fix my tire for free!
I think they do this for the same reason that stores sometimes offer free samples…Midas is giving people a free sample of their service, hoping they’ll come back when they need future service.
And of course, if a tire isn’t repairable, Midas is probably hoping people will buy a replacement tire from them.
Anyway, it worked out great for me!
3. I found lactose-free milk at Aldi.
Poor Sonia seems to have become dairy-sensitive on top of all her other allergies. Sigh.
It seems like maybe the problem is lactose, though, which is less difficult to deal with than some other kind of dairy allergy.
Anyway, we’re doing kind of a trial to see how she tolerates lactose-free dairy products, and I was delighted to see that Aldi has their own brand of lactose-free milk. Yay!
4. I got $0.25/gallon discount on gas.
We have our Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card linked to our Shell Fuel Rewards account (it’s a free program) so when we use that card, any gas discounts we’ve earned are automatically applied to the purchase.
And happily, my tank was super empty, which means I got the discount on lots of gallons of gas!
(We use our Southwest Card for almost all our purchases and pay it off every month. Compare this and other travel cards)
5. (the fail) I paid a $1 late fee on a library movie.
I actually did bring this back to the library before it was due only to discover that a certain kid had not actually put the disc in the case. (!)
And by the time I got back to the library again, it was a day overdue.
But it’s ok…I figure that I paid a dollar to rent a movie, which is not outrageous.
lisa
Friday 5th of October 2018
I came up with 6 frugalistic things. Ok, here we go.
1) The dryer broke. We don't have laundromats in town so I went online to see what I could do. I found out that local places wanted up to $5 per pound to do laundry. Yes, per pound... Outrageous. So, we washed our things and hung them everywhere. On chairs, beds, couches, etc. I guess we saved $400. We do laundry 2x/day.
2) The repairman came out to look at the dryer. This dryer is 18 years old and was serviced several years ago. He said the motor is shot and it needs new gas coils. To buy a new one that's comparable would be too expensive. We saved $250 by fixing it. We've had 2 repairmen tell us how these machines were "workhorses" and "they just don't make them like this anymore." Well, we use this set a lot and they have done a great job.
3) After finding turkeys in the freezer, DH wanted to smoke one. But he needed wood pellets. He was paying $20/bag but found a place that sold them for $6/bag. The place sold in bulk, so he had to wait about 8 months to get the pellets since he needed to get a group of people to buy all at once. He finally got them and saved $280.
4) I've been doing swagbucks for gifts this year. I've used it for several birthday presents and some Christmas presents for the kids. I currently have $154 for Christmas for my sister and her family. I'll probably get them gift cards.
5) Our youngest son's birthday is coming up. I got an email that expired within a hour for a Loot Crate subscription. It was 40% off any subscription, so I got him a 3 month package. He told me he liked that brand. I saved $24.
6) I pay a bit extra every month on the mortgage. I doubled it to $200/mth. Savings will be $60,000 on interest and let us pay it off 10 years sooner. Cool.
Jan- Glad that medical bill was short lived, thanks to your keen eyes and persistence!
Marybeth- That's great that you saved the work room food from being thrown out! I'm sure they'll appreciate the juice and bagels all week!
Julia- So glad the rice trick worked for the remote.
Pat Gaudreau
Thursday 4th of October 2018
Stoked!!!!! I did an online survey for Tide pods,apparently they're child proofing their packaging. Samples were to be given,I expected a couple of small boxes like the vending machines in the laundromats dispense. There was a box on my porch this morning,2 21 count bottles of pods!!!! I was shocked,I took them to my daughter's where I do my laundry.
Em
Thursday 4th of October 2018
If you can't find lactose free for other dairy items, she could try lactaid pills. These have the enzyme those of us lactose intolerant people lack which you need to digest the sugars in dairy (i.e., lactose). You can get them at Sam's club where I live. This was a game changer for me. I grew up not knowing I was lactose intolerant and just thought everyone felt sick after eating (a reasonable amount of) ice cream.
Kristen
Thursday 4th of October 2018
Yes! We got a box of those to try. Great idea to look at a warehouse club...we have Costco, so I'll see if these are available there.
Em
Thursday 4th of October 2018
And yes, lactose intolerance is so much easier to deal with than milk protein allergy, which 2 of my 3 children have :P It seems like you are familiar with the difficulties of food allergies, though!
jan
Thursday 4th of October 2018
Oh, I forgot my frugal thing. My daughter had to have a cardiac ultrasound as part of her usual care for a genetic disorder (heart is fine but she has to be checked every 5 years). I paid the $75 co-pay but then was shocked to later get a bill for over $4000--and a claim that our share was $1670. OMG! We were not informed of this out of pocket expense (toward the deductible) and we can't "shop around" because this is a "1-stop shop" HMO--we are obligated to use them.
I fought this. I learned that the procedure was incorrectly coded and since this is an ongoing condition with my daughter, not a new finding, it should not have been charged against the deductible. The bill has still not cleared from our account, but after four trips to patient services and 3 levels of appeal I have it in writing that the bill is in error and I keep getting reassurances that our account will clear "any day." We have had to put several hours of our time into this, but saving $1600 is worth it!
Kristen
Thursday 4th of October 2018
That's so awesome that you have persisted with it. $1600 isn't chump change!
Marybeth
Thursday 4th of October 2018
1. There was a breakfast meeting at work. I cleaned it up. They tell me to throw away everything. I put juice in the fridge for the rest of the week, several coworkers and I were happy to eat the leftover fruit and bagels and I brought home the extra cream cheese and butter. I am not throwing away food!. 2. I am dog sitting for my sister. We are happy to do it and it saves her boarding costs. 3. I was sick over the weekend. Hubby cooked easy meals. YD cleaned up everything. Hubby even made brownies. 4. I hung lots of laundry outside since it was sunny. 5 Still not back at 100% but doing what has to get done.