Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8020745 times)

4alpacas

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #550 on: March 11, 2014, 12:05:39 PM »
Returned 3 packages of blueberry bagels that were mouldy the day we bought them. Ewww! Will be a while before I buy bagels again.  Should be making my own bread anyways!

I've used this recipe with some success http://www.budgetbytes.com/2010/09/cinnamon-raisin-bagels/

I'm drinking water and eating an apple instead of going to the vending machine and getting the candy bar that I really want.

zinnie

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #551 on: March 11, 2014, 12:38:11 PM »
turned off the heat for the year. we had it way down this winter compared to last year, and just turned it off until next year.

warfreak2

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #552 on: March 11, 2014, 12:48:46 PM »
On Tuesdays I travel by train to a different teaching job. I buy two singles instead of a return ticket, because the railcard discount only applies after 10AM, so this way I at least get the discount on the journey back. Costs £4.00 instead of £4.60.

TheRedHead

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #553 on: March 11, 2014, 01:00:16 PM »
Made Popsicles with my kiddo using silicone molds. Yes it's warm enough here for Popsicles (this week that is).

homehandymum

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #554 on: March 11, 2014, 02:15:36 PM »
I borrowed a tent from some friends for our family's camping trip this weekend. 

Setting it up yesterday for practice, i came across some mustachian fixits.  Some of the tabs where the fibreglass poles slot into the base of the tent were broken, so he has replaced them with tabs fashioned from squashed food cans.  Genius.  The replacement bits will probably outlast the rest of the tent. (Crappy fibreglass poles are starting to split).

Carrie

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #555 on: March 11, 2014, 02:24:37 PM »
I spent a good part of today reading a ridiculous post & all the entertaining responses on here instead of going out to meet my DH for lunch.  I ended up eating some leftover tuna salad that really needed to be eaten.  Somehow reading about facepunchable expenses and all the justifications that go along with them make me want to be ever more frugal.  Go figure!

SweetLife

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #556 on: March 13, 2014, 01:16:10 PM »
So ... I had finally had it ... my clothes no longer fit and I am getting uncomfortable (haven't gaine much actual weight with baby but it seems to be "redistributing" in odd places making even  my "fat" clothes uncomfortable .. so my wonderful husband told me to go and buy new clothes ... (course I couldn't wrap my head around NEW clothes ...) So I went to a neighborhood "Value Village" - second hand clothing store ...

LO and BEHOLD ... they were having their twice a year 50% sale ... so not only did I score a pile of (very very gently used - no stains no rips gorgeous) new-to-me tops I managed to find a PILE of (basically) NEW baby boy clothes for between $1-$2.50 including OSH Kosh ... Old Navy ... so cute ... total for the shopping trip was $100.50 ... but I am set for tops until after the baby is born AND the baby has a good base until he is 6 months old ...

Rather than buying a new pair of jeans I think I am going to take a pair that I have that should be big enough to my tailor and get him to fix them for me ... will cost a bit but not as much as the prices I have seen online! :)

Second ... continued to bring lunch to work ... and milk for my tea that I make here ... Husband made a cake a few days ago so had a lovely dessert didn't have to buy :)


mc6

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #557 on: March 13, 2014, 04:01:24 PM »
A friend is going to treat me to dinner out, for looking after her ridiculously cute dog this weekend.

mrpress

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #558 on: March 13, 2014, 04:07:00 PM »
Switched my wife's basic voice and text cell phone service to Page Plus. $12 a month compared to $58 for Verizon! That's the cheapest I could get Verizon and the first month of PP is free!

Michread

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #559 on: March 14, 2014, 02:51:40 PM »
Put back the bag of mac apples at $2.99 for the bag of Rome apples at $1.99

tmac

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #560 on: March 14, 2014, 06:39:59 PM »
Made pizza at home for dinner. Toppings were leftover veggies from the week.

Dessert is apple crumble -- apples, flour, butter, sugar, and spices. The apples were about to go bad a month ago, so I peeled, cored, and froze them.

QuacktasticStache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #561 on: March 14, 2014, 06:42:52 PM »
Wanted to buy a bag of chips at work, grabbed the leftover box of crackers in the office closet instead.

wealthviahealth

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #562 on: March 14, 2014, 07:18:49 PM »
I fasted until dinner avoiding spending any money on food while traveling.
Great strategy for avoiding high priced airline food which usually makes you feel terrible while on on the plane.

happyfeet

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #563 on: March 14, 2014, 09:33:08 PM »
Friends asked us to go out to dinner.  Instead of dropping the $60 on dinner and wine we ate at home and invited them over after they ate out for wine at our house.  Saved the money on dinner out and still got to enjoy wine and conversation with our friends.

payitoff

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #564 on: March 14, 2014, 11:41:58 PM »
so proud of hubby tonight, co workers birthday, and as a tradition, everybody goes out for dinner while birthday celebrant eats free, tonight they planned to go to a korean bbq, hubby ate dinner at home with us, we had tilapia fillets coz its Friday, and showed up to co workers dinner full, telling them "its Friday, i cant eat meat".

horsepoor

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #565 on: March 15, 2014, 02:23:43 PM »
Tacked some of the old fence pickets onto the new fence I just built rather than making a special trip to the store to pick up the last few I needed.  Also reused the gate hardware from the old fence instead of replacing it.

MrCash

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #566 on: March 15, 2014, 06:22:27 PM »
Moved using our own vehicles instead of renting a U-Haul!

Samsam

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #567 on: March 17, 2014, 02:54:43 PM »
Finally told TWC to eff off!!!  Now I am using my bing rewards points freely fund my hulu plus addiction.

I Love Cake

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #568 on: March 17, 2014, 03:06:24 PM »
I darned 5 pairs of my sons' socks and 3 pairs of mine.

Usually dh just pitches them. If I find them before dh I snip off the toe part and use them as cleaning rags but am accumulating a lot of cleaning rags and we were close to having to buy more socks.

Got two free cookies from work today. I will give them to the kids as a special snack.

Carlsky

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #569 on: March 17, 2014, 03:11:00 PM »
I did not purchase a coffee today.  I waited until I could get free coffee at the office.

Theadyn

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #570 on: March 17, 2014, 03:51:07 PM »
Got taken to lunch by boss.  Will be eating leftovers tonight. 

oldtoyota

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #571 on: March 17, 2014, 06:00:19 PM »
Wanted to eat lunch out. Ate at home instead. =-)


homehandymum

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #572 on: March 17, 2014, 06:54:53 PM »
Need to post some items sold on Trademe (local ebay/craigslist type equivalent).  Will go tomorrow so I can combine driving chores.

Clothes drying outside

Ordering petfood online (special renal diet for cat).  Am currently waiting to hear how to add a one-off request to my autoship order so I can combine shipping costs.  If I can't, I just won't buy the extra food.

szmaine

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #573 on: March 17, 2014, 08:22:31 PM »
Stocked up on lunch food for work. Yogurt/granola for breakfast, sandwich fixings for lunch..all set for week 2 of not buying any lunches or snacks.

Made leftover baked potato soup. My goal to use up all of the potatoes in the cellar that are too good to be used for seed so lots of potato eating for the foreseeable future.

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #574 on: March 17, 2014, 08:41:25 PM »
Made salmon fillets from the freezer, frozen mixed veggies and a blueberry cobbler from last year's farm buy of 100 lbs of blueberries in peak season at lowest price.

Made my own chai tea concentrate -- its delicious!

homehandymum

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #575 on: March 17, 2014, 08:46:38 PM »
Made my own chai tea concentrate -- its delicious!

Recipe please!  I've made spiced chai the Indian way (boil tea, milk, sugar and spices all together), but not a concentrate.  I'm always keen to learn something new :)

swick

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #576 on: March 17, 2014, 08:55:23 PM »
Made my own chai tea concentrate -- its delicious!

Recipe please!  I've made spiced chai the Indian way (boil tea, milk, sugar and spices all together), but not a concentrate.  I'm always keen to learn something new :)

Here is one version:
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/fire-drill!-skip-this-week%27s-grocery-shop/msg47338/#msg47338

homehandymum

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #577 on: March 17, 2014, 11:28:17 PM »
^^ Thanks to you both!

tariskat

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #578 on: March 18, 2014, 07:45:08 AM »
So this was yesterday, not today.. but I finally picked up my quarter beef! 3$ / lb for ribs, steaks, burger, soup bones, and everything, finally nearly filled my freezer to the top.  I still have just a bit of venison and pork left, too (all wild or home raised)

peppermint

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #579 on: March 19, 2014, 05:29:53 PM »
Switched my car insurance and got a much better rate.

homehandymum

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #580 on: March 19, 2014, 05:47:19 PM »
Pre-purchased power at a lower rate for parts of our winter months.

I've just switched to a provider which, while they will bill you retrospectively for used power at a standard rate, allows you to 'pre-purchase' power for the future at a lower rate.  They are also about to put up their base fees across the board (in addition to their usual winter price hike which starts at the end of this month), but have kept their lower prices available for another week.

Electricity is our only heating source so getting good rates really helps in winter.

tldr: have spent lots this month on power, but will even out to lower costs overall, especially over our upcoming winter. 

tmac

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #581 on: March 19, 2014, 05:52:45 PM »
Instead of hitting the market when we ran out of sandwich bread, I baked some.

Falconer

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #582 on: March 19, 2014, 11:42:42 PM »
Not going to the office. Staying at home and trying to do all the organisation from home.


Squirrel away

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #583 on: March 20, 2014, 08:36:11 AM »
Homemade meals all day, no spending and paid off some of my 0% credit card debt.

crumbcatcher

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #584 on: March 20, 2014, 11:59:01 AM »
This is more something that I've been doing for awhile, but it's something I've realized today about how I've saved money. :-)

According to Mint, I've not gone out to eat for a whole month.  This is a first in recent memory.  AND my grocery spending is way down as well!

Also, I sold my first thing on eBay and am going to put it in the mail today!

Carrie

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #585 on: March 22, 2014, 01:01:26 PM »
I painted my own toenails today.
(not that I would pay someone to do it for me, but a lot of my friends do pay for this)

szmaine

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #586 on: March 22, 2014, 01:23:12 PM »
I sorted my change jar. That means that I made sure it was free of non-money debris. I will take this 1/2 gallon of metal to my credit union on Mon. pour it through the free change counter. This will go right into the savings acct. Last time it was $90.

tmac

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #587 on: March 22, 2014, 01:48:03 PM »
I'm waiting for a giant bowl of dough to rise, with which I will make hamburger buns and hot dog rolls for tonight, dinner rolls to have with soup tomorrow, and two loaves of sandwich bread for the rest of the week.  To buy it all in the store would have cost $12 easy. I don't think the ingredients cost more than $2 for all of it.

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #588 on: March 22, 2014, 05:06:16 PM »
@serpentstooth. Thanks for posting  the oregon chai concentrate recipe that was requested by homehandymum. Yes, that's the one I used and just love it and have made several batches since.  I'm looking into making a bulk purchase of vanilla beans for both this recipe and the homemade vanilla I posted about on Homemade Christmas. 

Today's money saving activity was baking some treats for the week for the freezer so I won't be buying premade treats at the grocery store for the kids. Made a blueberry raspberry crisp, peanut butter bars and son made lemon bars.

Squirrel away

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #589 on: March 23, 2014, 02:46:09 AM »
1. Homemade meals. I'm making a homemade roast dinner later. A roast dinner is a British thing I think, it usually means roast meat, potatoes, veg and gravy, mine will be a veg version.:)

2. Reading some more of an investing book and something else on my kindle that I put on there a couple months ago.

3. Refrain from buying incense sticks, I ran out a few weeks ago but have coped living without them. Lol.

chesebert

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #590 on: March 23, 2014, 07:50:42 AM »
Noise canceling headphone I had for a few years stopped working due to corroded (it looked pretty nasty) battery contacts. For a split second, I thought about throwing it away and spending a few hundred on a new one. But, instead of acting on that thought, I Googled. After about 20 minutes, some vinegar and  elbow geese later, I cleaned off the corrosion and my headphone is working again. Crisis averted and money saved!

CentimentalFreedom

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #591 on: March 23, 2014, 07:55:55 AM »
My family and I sat down to a movie on Netflix after walking the dogs in the park.

wealthviahealth

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #592 on: March 23, 2014, 07:57:32 AM »
Today I am consuming only smoothies, using up my fruits/ veggies/ eggs that will soon go bad.

szmaine

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #593 on: March 23, 2014, 08:36:50 AM »
Cooking a turkey. We have a chest freezer and when turkeys are on sale at Thanksgiving for 49 cent/lb we get 4 or 5. Turkey dinner, turkey sammiches for lunch next week, and a big turkey stew all for about $6. Yum.

warfreak2

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #594 on: March 23, 2014, 11:44:48 AM »
I picked up a few bags of parsnips which were reduced to clear. I am making an enormous stew with potatoes, carrots, garlic, spring onion, spinach, beans, and some herbs. If I eat it with the sausages from my freezer, I estimate I'll eat for a couple of weeks at a total cost of ~£0.60 per dinner.

lizzzi

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #595 on: March 23, 2014, 11:54:07 AM »

Decided I can put off grocery shopping for one more day. I'm using up the last of a meat loaf tonight, that was last Sunday's "big" dinner. I'm putting together a vegetable soup to go with it from onion/carrot/celery/potato/cabbage/tomato paste/broth/BetterThanBouillon that I've got on hand. Will take walk in the park, practice my harp, and read my book instead of taking car out for any reason. Did not use car yesterday, either.

Threshkin

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #596 on: March 23, 2014, 01:28:33 PM »
Making Chili Verde using tomatillos from my garden last year.  My SO is using the rest of the pork meat to make Chinese style tofu/pork stew.  Boiling the skin to make pork jelly.  Fried the fat to make cracklings and reserved the oil for future use.  Lunch and dinner for the week!

reginna

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #597 on: March 23, 2014, 04:21:58 PM »
Making Chili Verde using tomatillos from my garden last year.  My SO is using the rest of the pork meat to make Chinese style tofu/pork stew.  Boiling the skin to make pork jelly.  Fried the fat to make cracklings and reserved the oil for future use.  Lunch and dinner for the week!

Wow Threshkin. Nice use of resources!

Prairie Stash

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #598 on: March 23, 2014, 04:33:12 PM »
I went through the grocery receipt last night as I exited the store. I caught an error, went back to get it fixed.
It turned out the store had forgotten to take down a sale tag, 2 days earlier. What I thought was on sale was actually suppose to be at regular price, so I was wrong. However store policy said that if an error occurs I get the product free, so they gave me $6.00 (The items price). I was the first person, after 2 days to notice (they fixed the tag right away).

I also returned 2 carts, not mine. Each cart had a quarter in it, this chain requires coins to unlock the carts. I'm up $0.50 on that too. A very small thing indeed :)

Zaga

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #599 on: March 23, 2014, 08:37:45 PM »
Asked a coworker for an old newspaper, used the pages to make origami plant pots, and started my yellow tomato, red tomato, and sweet red pepper seeds for my garden this year in a "greenhouse" made of a white basin and plastic wrap.  These are heirloom seeds too, so I will save seeds and be all set for next year!

The rest of my plants I will direct seed when it gets warm - kale, romaine, zucchini, and spaghetti squash.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!