Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8028961 times)

Chaplin

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2800 on: March 15, 2015, 08:35:53 PM »
Went for a run but did NOT stop by the convenience store for a Gatorade (I don't keep it in the house because if I did, I'd be tempted to drink it all the time).

Powdered Gatorade is quite economical, especially considering the markup for the water.

Nickyd£g

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2801 on: March 16, 2015, 05:13:01 AM »
Fairly standard today - I walked to work and will walk home, and brought in my lunch and snack. 

Yesterday I was doing a spring clean (hoping it will induce spring to arrive!) and ran out of surface spray and polish.  I just wiped everything down with soapy water instead - using a cut up old towel as a cloth.  I'm actually pretty proud of that, as before I would have either used it as an excuse not to finish my cleaning and went out to the store and bought multiple cleaners and cloths.

laka

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2802 on: March 16, 2015, 07:25:00 AM »
Walked to the grocery store instead of driving.

Was able to stock up on some pantry staples that were a good price because I've been keeping track of prices (so I know when something is a good deal) and I have a separate budget category just for this purpose (YNABer).

Found some new (free, natch) podcasts that will keep me interested in my walks during lunch time.

Line dried my laundry (I love spring!).


nico demouse

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2803 on: March 16, 2015, 08:37:49 AM »
It's my birthday, so we're going out to a fancy restaurant. For lunch, of course, which is less expensive AND with a gift card we got from our dentist for referring him (who we genuinely love) to a friend who was looking for one AND a $10 off coupon we got for signing up for the restaurants email. Between the two, it should end up covering most of our lunch. If this gift card/coupon windfall hadn't happened, we would either have cooked at home or ordered in from somewhere inexpensive.

I've been working hard at selling stuff from our basement on eBay and Craigslist and brought in about $200 this week! Still have more to list. Hurray for the extra money and a basement that is slowly being decluttered.

cashstasherat23

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2804 on: March 16, 2015, 08:40:54 AM »
Late post as this happened on Saturday, but took a trip to Aldi to stock up and got some amazing deals! Some deals: Mushrooms for $.50 a pack, 90/10 ground beef for about $2.40/lb, Chicken breasts for $2.20/lb...stocked up on all the bargains, got a ton of food, spent $100 total on the trip, and it will last me at least 1.5 months!

When I got home I made a big batch of chili, made and froze some calzones, cooked up a couple pounds of shredded chicken in the slow cooker, and chopped up and froze a whole bunch of veggies so that I am set for meals for at least two weeks for food!

BlueBeard

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2805 on: March 16, 2015, 08:46:51 AM »
Late post as this happened on Saturday, but took a trip to Aldi to stock up and got some amazing deals! Some deals: Mushrooms for $.50 a pack, 90/10 ground beef for about $2.40/lb, Chicken breasts for $2.20/lb...stocked up on all the bargains, got a ton of food, spent $100 total on the trip, and it will last me at least 1.5 months!

When I got home I made a big batch of chili, made and froze some calzones, cooked up a couple pounds of shredded chicken in the slow cooker, and chopped up and froze a whole bunch of veggies so that I am set for meals for at least two weeks for food!
Does aldi markdown groceries to clear them out? I know my store get new stuff in on tuesday, wonder if there is a good time to score the best deals. I went sunday this week and prices were good but mushrooms were 1.69 at my store you scored a much better deal.

cashstasherat23

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2806 on: March 16, 2015, 08:50:49 AM »
Late post as this happened on Saturday, but took a trip to Aldi to stock up and got some amazing deals! Some deals: Mushrooms for $.50 a pack, 90/10 ground beef for about $2.40/lb, Chicken breasts for $2.20/lb...stocked up on all the bargains, got a ton of food, spent $100 total on the trip, and it will last me at least 1.5 months!

When I got home I made a big batch of chili, made and froze some calzones, cooked up a couple pounds of shredded chicken in the slow cooker, and chopped up and froze a whole bunch of veggies so that I am set for meals for at least two weeks for food!
Does aldi markdown groceries to clear them out? I know my store get new stuff in on tuesday, wonder if there is a good time to score the best deals. I went sunday this week and prices were good but mushrooms were 1.69 at my store you scored a much better deal.

That's what it looked like! The ground beef was originally at around $10, but had a $5 off sticker on it, same with the chicken, it had a $2 off sticker on each package. The produce had specific sales-the mushrooms were one of them, there were also sales on some varieties of other vegetables and fruits. I think they were probably nearing exp date and needed to be sold quickly. But then on the other hand, I saw some stuffed salmon in one of the freezers that had expired on 3/1 and was not on sale, so idk exactly how it works. I would imagine that they have different things marked down every day for clearance...may be just have been lucky when I got there!

MountainGal

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2807 on: March 16, 2015, 12:33:07 PM »
Monthly grocery trip last Friday resulted in a 27% overall savings using coupons and shopping the sales.  Budgeted $200, spent $195.05.  Am going to attempt to continue to keep my grocery/HBA spending at $200 for a few months (down from $300).  Total savings $100/mo.

Paid off a line of no interest medical credit today ($1,060!!), two months before it would have started charging the deferred interest.  Total savings the $50/mo payment.  Time to attack the rest of my small school loan balance!

Batch cooked yesterday:  Boiled eggs, made a breakfast casserole for breakfast, assembled a casserole for tonight, used up cowboy beans from the freezer last night, baked Irish soda bread for tomorrow, processed fresh strawberries and blueberries for lunches.  Tonight I'll process radishes and bell peppers, and bake green cookies for tomorrow.:)

I'll use my grocery value card at the gas pump later on today for at least .10 off per gallon.

Called the office land line carrier last week for an annual account review.  Unfortunately, no savings found.

$75 in gift cards combined with online codes resulted in a casual shirt, skirt, 2 necklaces, pair of socks and skivvies, tights and a pashmina.

Brought my usual filtered water, coffee and leftovers for lunch and snacks to the office.

thef0x

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2808 on: March 16, 2015, 03:31:37 PM »
Huge win for literally 18 minutes of on phone time.

Heathcare via state health care finder in WA was:

$109 / month -- $1500 deductible / $1500 out of pocket stop, pay for everything via deductible

Called them up, corrected my income (realizing you report after tax income as a self-employed person via their service), increased my tax credit by $26. 

Also had them open up the shopping system so I could re-check my insurance plan to make sure I was getting the best deal.

I found a plan for:

$87 / month -- $6000 deductible / $6500 out of pocket stop, but 3 free primary care appointments / year and cheap generic drugs if needed

THEN I apply my $26 credit..

Now paying:

$61 / month -- saving $576 on the year.


OOOOOoohhh yeah!!!

Gerard

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2809 on: March 16, 2015, 07:37:28 PM »
I'm always so intrigued by bulk buying (difficult to do when you would take public transit to Costco...) - do you have a particular means of storing a year's worth of rice, or do you leave it in the bag in a cupboard or pantry (same thing with the beans).

I have a big rubbermaid storage bin that I keep most of my bagged dry goods in (basically flour, rice, beans, oatmeal, almonds). I don't even really worry about the individual containers being completely closed.

And I do take transit to Costco and buy the big bags. Usually I put all the smaller stuff in my backpack and buy one big thing per trip (rice or flour). I carry it home from the bus stop in my arms, or, more recently, on my head. Carful of rowdy youth saw me last time and slowed down to yell out the window... but what they yelled was "Dat is awesome!"

choppingwood

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2810 on: March 16, 2015, 07:55:04 PM »
I was returning from a vacation in Maui this morning. The trip involved a third flight to get home -- apparently there was a financial benefit to a slow trip home that seemed really sensible when I booked the flight!

In any case, the airline decided to reduce the size of the plane for the third flight, leaving four people without seats. They asked for volunteers to wait for the next flight and offered two hundred dollars in flight credits. I accepted and got on a flight that was scheduled for a hour later. Since the earlier flight was running half an hour late and the next flight was on time, this held me up a half hour. My luggage was already on the first flight and was waiting for me when I got there. The  flight I took was also not full and they gave the rows with extra seats to the people who volunteered to give up their seats on the crowded earlier flight.

Two of the people who were waiting for seats were really upset and worried about missing their flight, so a major bonus was helping people out when it would make a difference to them.

In any case, $200 saved towards my next travel before I returned from my trip....

MsPeacock

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2811 on: March 16, 2015, 07:59:05 PM »
Carried my lunch to work - ate budget bytes leftovers.

Had a great day Sunday doing lots of yard work now that it is starting to warm up. Spread the wood chips from having a huge stump ground last year. Trimmed and raked and bagged and just generally had a good time. Burned the sticks that were all over the yard and roasted  hotdogs w/ the kids.

lunahsol

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2812 on: March 16, 2015, 09:50:13 PM »
Homemade lunch yet again (& for the rest of the week . . .)
No money spent today
Hanging clothes now that the weather is semi-decent
Everything around here is unplugged, yo!

midweststache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2813 on: March 17, 2015, 06:04:03 AM »
I'm always so intrigued by bulk buying (difficult to do when you would take public transit to Costco...) - do you have a particular means of storing a year's worth of rice, or do you leave it in the bag in a cupboard or pantry (same thing with the beans).

I have a big rubbermaid storage bin that I keep most of my bagged dry goods in (basically flour, rice, beans, oatmeal, almonds). I don't even really worry about the individual containers being completely closed.

And I do take transit to Costco and buy the big bags. Usually I put all the smaller stuff in my backpack and buy one big thing per trip (rice or flour). I carry it home from the bus stop in my arms, or, more recently, on my head. Carful of rowdy youth saw me last time and slowed down to yell out the window... but what they yelled was "Dat is awesome!"
I'm always so intrigued by bulk buying (difficult to do when you would take public transit to Costco...) - do you have a particular means of storing a year's worth of rice, or do you leave it in the bag in a cupboard or pantry (same thing with the beans).

I have a big rubbermaid storage bin that I keep most of my bagged dry goods in (basically flour, rice, beans, oatmeal, almonds). I don't even really worry about the individual containers being completely closed.

And I do take transit to Costco and buy the big bags. Usually I put all the smaller stuff in my backpack and buy one big thing per trip (rice or flour). I carry it home from the bus stop in my arms, or, more recently, on my head. Carful of rowdy youth saw me last time and slowed down to yell out the window... but what they yelled was "Dat is awesome!"

I guess my Costco excuses just got a lot lamer! :)

Yesterday was the normal stuff:
- Walked to and from work.
- Leftovers for lunch; made dinner.
- Kept lights off in the apartment almost all day (until BF came home).
- Entertainment was walking our dog in the GORGEOUS weather.

2Birds1Stone

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2814 on: March 17, 2015, 06:33:52 AM »
Purchased about to expire protein bars from GNC for 50% off on top of their buy 2 get 1 free.

Really good for breakfast at work and at ~$1/bar they are convenient with 30g protein and high fiber.

Pooperman

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2815 on: March 17, 2015, 06:46:56 AM »
The biggest way I save money is by being lazy. I say something like "I totally need to get a new pair of shoes to replace these" (I actually do need new shoes at some point). Then I get distracted or consider it being too much effort and so spending that money never happens or gets delayed for a long time. Seriously, my sneakers have the plastic heal bit showing. It doesn't bother my feet yet, so I haven't done anything about it. The shoes are about a year or a year and a half old now.

Cookie78

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2816 on: March 17, 2015, 08:37:18 AM »
Remembered to wear green today so I could get a free slice of pizza at lunch.

I'm a red panda

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2817 on: March 17, 2015, 09:12:27 AM »
Convinced my husband to max out his 401k. 

We've had that money sitting in the savings account- and it wasn't going to be doing anything there.

thef0x

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2818 on: March 17, 2015, 06:59:18 PM »
Walked to USPS and mailed an old amazon fire tablet I sold on ebay.  Net $39.

Bought ingredients to make yogurt at home -- got a batch going in my instantpot (I love this device -- minimalist cooks dream, only thing you need, can fry eggs and pressure cook a whole chicken AND has a yogurt setting :)

horsepoor

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2819 on: March 17, 2015, 08:24:09 PM »
Found a deal for getting $10 back for using my AmEx at Lowe's.  Combined with a $10 off of $50 coupon, and while I was there, stopped by the paint desk and asked about mistinted paint; the guy found an $18 quart of gray paint and marked it down to $2.50 for me because someone didn't pick it up. 

Found fake flowers at the Dollar store for the flower boxes that came with my Craigslist horse jumps.  Way cheaper than buying them at Michael's or whatever (I know this sounds idiotic, but gotta get the horses used to different looking jumps so they don't freak the first time they see them at a competition).

Brought coffee, breakfast and lunch from home. Had green tea in the afternoon instead of Starbuck's.  Pulled lots of weeds tonight so there are just a few limited areas where I'll use herbicide or the blow torch, instead of all over the place.  Fed a big armload of the dandelion-type weeds to the chickens.  Dug up some volunteer blanket flowers from the driveway and transplanted them into the perennial beds.

Made a stirfry for dinner with some napa cabbage and celery that were on their last legs, plus frozen Thai pesto from last summer's garden.

DagobertDuck

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2820 on: March 18, 2015, 12:27:21 AM »
Had a free haircut at our local barber school.

nico demouse

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2821 on: March 18, 2015, 06:35:06 AM »
Have been working at reducing electricity use. So, our bill is lower than this month last year. But, as a bonus, a consumer organization in the area lets us track our progress and earn gift cards. We just earned enough to cash in for a $5 Amazon card. Since this program started, we've earned about $35 in gift cards, for doing something we would have done anyway.

pancakes

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2822 on: March 18, 2015, 07:14:32 AM »
I closed a bank account that had used to be fee free and at some point without me noticing had a $5/month fee added too it.

Since we are 18 days into the month, the bank in question charged me pro-rataed the fee for this month which just seems so petty. So petty that I finally took the time this evening to change all my auto payments and deposits so that I can close my remaining accounts and CC with that particular bank. Total savings will be about $100/year in fees (why did it take me this long?).

I've had that particular account since I was six and every kid at my school was signed up with one, I think most schools bought into it. I wonder how many of my old classmates are also being slugged $5/month now. Nice way to repay a customer for sticking around.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2015, 07:16:03 AM by pancakes »

Zaga

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2823 on: March 18, 2015, 08:03:22 AM »
Went to my usual Toastmasters meeting, and after we all went out for appetizers, which the club paid for.  We had to pay for our drinks though, so I had the free water.

Fun time with nice people, no money!

wintersun

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2824 on: March 18, 2015, 10:49:26 AM »
I started a price book yesterday and today shopped and recorded prices.   I suddenly started noticing the prices of things like onions per pound (loose vs. bag),  jam and tea, chicken per pound, etc.  I think I probably saved about $20 in choosing lower prices and also saying no to things I used to just grab.




I'm a red panda

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2825 on: March 18, 2015, 11:08:53 AM »
Well, we've been doing it for awhile- but we always grind our own ground beef.  It allows us to get much better, leaner cuts.  So yummy!

Husband was wanting to save some time, so went to look at pre-ground beef. It was almost $3 more per pound!

thef0x

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2826 on: March 18, 2015, 11:30:56 AM »
Home made yogurt!   First batch I only steamed the milk for 1 minute (pressure cooker) and it didn't come out as well.  Second time I brought the milk to a light boil, held it for 6 minutes or so, then ice-chilled the yogurt and left it overnight.  Currently in the fridge becoming greek yogurt!

Put away the coffee maker and started hand-brewing my coffee in a malita again.  Making one cup of extremely delicious and EXTREMELY strong coffee and so far I'm liking the cost savings + I'm super buzzed! 

Had bought 3lbs of bacon ends at Grocery Outlet for $6.50 and put the huge amount of fat to good use:  rendering it to make a high quality pint of bacon fat!  I threw it in the slow-cooker overnight with some water and it's looking super good already. 

Looking like a no spend day again today! 

Work meeting, then work, then a lady friend and I are going to have a tea at my house (free), then I'm headed to play basketball with my buddies ($2 for gym, sunk cost, will not give it up). 

Booooooom!

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2827 on: March 18, 2015, 11:39:51 AM »
Making pots of oatmeal for breakfast for the family almost every day. We had gotten into the (bad) habit of cereal...such a ridiculous markup!

Having groceries delivered this morning ($7.95 plus cost of food) -- have had a problem with my foot from surgery last fall and it was cheaper to order groceries (aka real food) than to start ordering in, or having teen drivers go get quick/instant food from the grocery store for me.

Turning off heat every day now. Checked my power company website and our daily usage is way down from last year. YAY!

Working my way through my tea cupboard and enjoying lots of great flavours I'd forgotten about.


Better Late Than Never

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2828 on: March 18, 2015, 12:07:00 PM »
Just called my insurance company and raised deductibles to $1,000 on my auto and homeowners policies and removed scheduled jewelry coverage. Annual savings = $417

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2829 on: March 18, 2015, 01:55:45 PM »
Well, we've been doing it for awhile- but we always grind our own ground beef.  It allows us to get much better, leaner cuts.  So yummy!

Husband was wanting to save some time, so went to look at pre-ground beef. It was almost $3 more per pound!

What kind of grinder do you have? I've thought about getting one.

I'm a red panda

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2830 on: March 18, 2015, 02:09:27 PM »
Well, we've been doing it for awhile- but we always grind our own ground beef.  It allows us to get much better, leaner cuts.  So yummy!

Husband was wanting to save some time, so went to look at pre-ground beef. It was almost $3 more per pound!

What kind of grinder do you have? I've thought about getting one.

It is an attachment on our kitchen aid mixer. 


I think we are among a very small number of people who use our kitchen aid enough to make it worth the price. We use it multiple times a day...

2ndTimer

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2831 on: March 18, 2015, 03:05:55 PM »
Score free potatoes and kale today.  Googled potato kale and came up with a yummy looking soup that uses up some Italian sausage that was lying around the freezer.

SailorGirl

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2832 on: March 18, 2015, 05:26:51 PM »
Called the company about my on-demand water heater that is still giving me problems.  My handyman SO did the requested meter checks on the various connections and the tech-guy on the other end of the phone said it was toast, but since it was only 5 0r 6 years old it's still under warranty and he'll be sending us a new unit immediately.

Transferred my bank account to the credit union the next town over (local, small account for the occasional check) to avoid an upcoming fee the local bank has just instituted.  While there we went to the grocery store to peruse the 50% off meat bin.  Found packages of fresh sausage marked "Original price $.99 - 50% off"  I grabbed them all and when the checker ran one through the scanner it rang in at $8.99.  I asked if they would honor the printed price....and the did.  $63 worth of sausage for $3.50.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2833 on: March 18, 2015, 06:59:48 PM »
Score free potatoes and kale today.  Googled potato kale and came up with a yummy looking soup that uses up some Italian sausage that was lying around the freezer.

Potatoes and kale? Sounds like time for colcannon to me!

Joshin

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2834 on: March 18, 2015, 07:08:35 PM »
Fixed the only jeans that fit me right now (I've recently lost 35 lbs, but have 20 lbs more before my closet full of old clothing fits again). The riveted on button came off, and the jeans were thrifted, so it wouldn't have been a big loss. Didn't want to buy more jeans, though!

Here's the fix I came up with, in case anyone else ever suffers this issue: I took an old debit card and cut out a plastic washer. Slit it from the outside to the center hole. Pushed the rivet shaft through the jeans at the hole where it tore loose, then slipped the washer around the shaft on the inside of the jeans, using the slit in the washer. Works perfectly, just make sure to sand down the edges of the plastic washer to avoid tummy irritation. If I had any teflon washers on hand, I may have used one of those instead.


Eristheunorganized

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2835 on: March 18, 2015, 11:00:30 PM »
Spent no money, only drove my company van for work, they cover gas! Had leftovers for dinner. Oh, and I got a promotion. Hopefully that helps me save money.

Zaga

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2836 on: March 19, 2015, 06:12:46 AM »
Nice fix Joshin!

I hemmed a pair of consignment store jeans.  These are by far the nicest and best fitting jeans I've had in 3+ years!

I'm a red panda

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2837 on: March 19, 2015, 09:26:31 AM »
Finally got my phone set up where the company pays a subsidy. Most people say it pays 30-50% of their bill.  It pays 98% of mine :)

ShaneD

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2838 on: March 19, 2015, 09:43:51 AM »
This evening I went to Amazon.com and searched for "immersion blender". I got who-knows-how-many hits and wilted at the thought of picking out a model. I used to love making the comparisons and picking the best value for the money! But it's been long enough since I ordered something from Amazon that it felt like more of a chore. I made a half-hearted effort and then decided, "Screw it, I don't really need an immersion blender. Or driving gloves for that matter."

I already have a regular blender and a food processor. An embarrassment of riches, actually. And instead of fancy driving gloves I can continue wearing the stupid-looking gardening gloves I bought years ago for $1. They work just fine.

The one place I'd say about immersion blenders are amazing is if you make a lot of pureed soup. I mean, a lot. Like, by the gallons. Batch pureeing that much in a blender is painful, and you need a ton of vessels to hold the batches in. (More than I own vs. the amount of soup I make at once.) I make a ton of pureed veg soup semi-regularly (stored in chest freezer) so my immersion blender is a necessity. But they're so simple, you really don't need anything fancy. My $15 model from some discount store has lasted nearly 20 years already.

My small things:

* Bagging up clothes for Twice and ThredUp. (Rest getting boxed for Goodwill.)
* Have logged about 100 LPs to sell/get rid of; working on what's left.
* Going to do something (TBD) with a quart of overripe strawberries.

Armer Student

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2839 on: March 19, 2015, 01:11:45 PM »
Today I repaired my bike. The bottom bracket and chain had to be replaced which would have cost 95€ in a bike shop around the corner.

I bought the parts and tools myself, chose better quality than the bike shop would have chosen and did the repair while enjoying 16°C and 90 minutes of sunshine. :-)

Saved 50€.

Susan

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2840 on: March 20, 2015, 03:03:57 AM »
One of my favourite threads, in which I hope to contribute a lot!

I sometimes buy sundried tomatoes, which you get in a can containing sunflower oil. Normally I throw it out, yesterday I used it to bake my potatoes in.

pancakes

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2841 on: March 20, 2015, 04:07:42 AM »
I wouldn't gather the energy to cook dinner and clean up so opted for take away. Instead of going for a $25 meal + delivery I compromised and walked up the road to the local noodle place which feeds two for $12. I've mentioned in here before that I find money in the street all the time when I walk places, well I found $10 on the walk home!

Joshin

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2842 on: March 20, 2015, 08:26:33 AM »
I didn't spend any money yesterday :)

My mom invited me out to lunch yesterday if I would help her with a DIY project. She then didn't want the leftovers, so I brought home the doggie bags for they guys to have for lunch today. Good news, because we're low on groceries but I don't want to shop until Saturday.

Since we're low on groceries, I didn't have any tomato sauce for last night's planned pizza. Instead, I used bbq sauce, half a chicken breast, and some bacon to make barbecue pizza. We'll have vegetarian stirfry tonight to use up the last of the wilting veg.

Younger son and I went to a free REI class last night. He was awarded a door prize for being the youngest one there (binoculars, compass, flashlight kit). Where ever this kid goes, he always walks away with a prize of some sort. Seriously, I'm considering changing our FIRE plans once he's 18. Kid's so lucky, I'll just give give him our life savings and send him to the casino (I jest)!

midweststache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2843 on: March 20, 2015, 12:20:45 PM »
I was tempted by the smell of Chipotle on the way home and decided that since we were low on food at home I would grab a chicken bowl (lunch for two days). I walked in, took one look at the line, and walked out.

In the time it would've taken me to order and get my food, I walked home, made a sandwich, and was noshing on that and the last of a bag of grapes.

$8.50 saved. Thanks, all those other people who deterred me from convenience food!

zinethstache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2844 on: March 20, 2015, 03:53:03 PM »
I am working on a fresh new hobby that costs a fraction of my old one... However I really want these alcohol based pens for it. The cheapest I can find them is 4.85 each, free ship no tax...however you need 36 of them to cover the basic range of colors. YIKES. So I started researching and found another much less expensive brand...AND then stumbled upon this cheaper brand being sold used by a hobby community forum member, get this... 96 of them for $40... holy cow am I excited. I've not taken the plunge yet, because they are being shipped from Canada, I've asked for a quote to ship to me in the US... fingers crossed... Since I am new to this particular type of art I really was not comfortable spending hundreds of $$$ but I am ok with $40. /whew. Doesn't seem so small a thing now that I've written it all out.

lunahsol

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2845 on: March 20, 2015, 04:06:24 PM »
Instead of buying an expensive greeting card to mark an occasion, I am going to find a more meaningful way of letting someone know I am thinking of them.

Neglected to bring lunch today, but did not go out to buy it, either.  Just snacking on junk food in my desk drawer - lol. 

2ndTimer

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2846 on: March 20, 2015, 04:32:21 PM »
I found $10 in the long grass when I took the dog out to potty. It was a nice surprise.

Wow, I am off to check the catbox. 
In keeping with the spirit of this thread.  I made hot and sour soup today by adding some juice I saved from making a chinese roast pork, a few red pepper flakes and a little apple cider vinegar to a pkg. of shrimp ramen.  I also made a batch of body butter.  Haven't washed the mixing bowl yet because even after scraping there is enough to use after the next couple of showers if I squeegee it off with my finger.

wintersun

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2847 on: March 20, 2015, 06:36:13 PM »
*water heater turned off
*hand washed dishes
*hung clothes up to dry
*stopped myself from buying junk food at the gas station
*ate a recycled soup for dinner.

Cressida

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2848 on: March 20, 2015, 06:46:20 PM »
I found $10 in the long grass when I took the dog out to potty. It was a nice surprise.

Wow, I am off to check the catbox.

+1 :)

11ducks

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #2849 on: March 20, 2015, 09:40:16 PM »
Went to a free robotics event at a local university. They offered free lunch, and few hours of great entertainment. On the way out, they had a box of coffee and tea sachets (best before feb2015) for free to take, which was an unexpected score!