Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8020988 times)

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10300 on: December 28, 2017, 01:49:57 PM »
Over the holidays learned how to hem pants! $10 saved every time I buy pants now!

My mum saves me an absolute fortune on hemming.

Over Christmas she hemmed a pair of jeans, shortened the straps on a running top, and patched a hole in my pillow case. (She did suggest I just buy new pillow cases.)

alewpanda

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10301 on: December 28, 2017, 08:47:57 PM »
-- Found 11 cents on the ground while walking the dogs

-- Packed lunches for DH and I

-- Snacked on additional calories at work...leftover donuts and candy....um....it was free and sugary?

-- Went to a friends house to hang out this afternoon instead of going out for coffee together. 

-- Made chicken and rice for dinner

-- Set up some of next month's payments for bills received in the mail and went over next months budget numbers.  Looking good so far ;)

-- Patching a pocket in husband's dress pants and a seam in his pjs....he's rough on clothes...

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10302 on: December 28, 2017, 09:54:08 PM »
Marcela: once you get the hang of it, you won't believe how fast and easy the IP makes things that usually require long cooking times. Things that have been great for me are rice, quinoa, various dried beans (so far I've done navy, black, pinto and garbanzo), soup stock from bones and frozen meat with sauce that magically turns into a meal!

Daisy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10303 on: December 28, 2017, 09:58:12 PM »
I passed on an awesome deal for an instant pot at about half price. Would I have used it? Sure. But I didn’t NEED it. It’s a fancypants gadget. I’m wishy-washy on having passed it up but in the end it’s still $60 that I didn’t spend.
I think I found your instant pot deal and bought it. Hopefully this will help us curb our eating out in the new year as we have been getting worse and worse about cooking on nights we both get home late.

Please share where you found this deal!

PMG

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10304 on: December 28, 2017, 11:15:49 PM »
I passed on an awesome deal for an instant pot at about half price. Would I have used it? Sure. But I didn’t NEED it. It’s a fancypants gadget. I’m wishy-washy on having passed it up but in the end it’s still $60 that I didn’t spend.

yay for not spending money on something you don't really need!!

I bought it last year, similar deal. It's ...nice... but not life changing.

Maybe if I ate more meat?

I used it a lot to bulk cook dried legumes. I used it when I spent a few months in a suite without a kitchen. I haven't missed it at all since moving abroad.  It's actually really nice and simple just to cook on the stove top and not have to juggle that bulky and somewhat fragile thing around.


clarkai

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10305 on: December 28, 2017, 11:40:48 PM »
Used left over grains to bulk up a crockpot lentil stew.

nessness

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10306 on: December 29, 2017, 03:54:31 AM »
I've been wanting to get my daughter a wooden train set, but didn't want to spend $30+ on one. I found one in like-new condition on Craigslist for $15 and haggled down to $13.

I was planning to go to Costco this weekend but the place where I picked up the train set was near Costco so I forced myself to go this evening to save gas.

Spruit

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10307 on: December 29, 2017, 03:55:46 AM »
Almost forgot my winter harvest: got a laundry basket full of Brussel sprouts, broccoli and cabbage from the allotment. Made a curry with part of the broccoli yesterday, roasted sprouts coming up this evening.

Took home a gifted used plastic greenhouse, which means tomatoes for next year. I was going to stop growing them after last years blight fiasco (allthough to be fair, I say that every season and get soft in the knees when spring comes around again).

Finally get to hung a load of laundry out again as the sun was actually shining. It's always so moist and grey here from Nov-Feb, this was pretty unique.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2017, 03:57:25 AM by Spruit »

slappy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10308 on: December 29, 2017, 06:50:20 AM »
Marcela: once you get the hang of it, you won't believe how fast and easy the IP makes things that usually require long cooking times. Things that have been great for me are rice, quinoa, various dried beans (so far I've done navy, black, pinto and garbanzo), soup stock from bones and frozen meat with sauce that magically turns into a meal!

I bought an instant pot last year and I have yet to turn frozen meat magically into a meal. :( I mostly use it for steel cut oats and rice.

BabyShark

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10309 on: December 29, 2017, 06:57:38 AM »
Drove right by Sonic even though I was desperately craving a breakfast burrito and indulged in the free, less tasty breakfast at work

Teachstache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10310 on: December 29, 2017, 07:25:35 AM »
I passed on an awesome deal for an instant pot at about half price. Would I have used it? Sure. But I didn’t NEED it. It’s a fancypants gadget. I’m wishy-washy on having passed it up but in the end it’s still $60 that I didn’t spend.
I think I found your instant pot deal and bought it. Hopefully this will help us curb our eating out in the new year as we have been getting worse and worse about cooking on nights we both get home late.

Please share where you found this deal!
Amazon has a couple of the 6 qt instant potduo (not plus) for $63 as warehouse deals. The one I ordered had " large cosmetic imperfections". I figured it would be worth a try and the cosmetic damage wouldn't really bug me.

Had been wanting one of these for 6 months. Found an Instant pot duo plus 6 qt 9 function for $69.99 on Amazon warehouse deals yesterday. Tried to talk spouse out of buying it, saying that we needed to think about it more. He replied that $69 was low compared to hearing me debate it's merits out loud for 6 more months. So, we compromised and we bought it as a birthday gift to me. Hope it's as good as the reviews. We use our crockpots at least 3 times per week, so hopefully we'll get extra use out of the yogurt, egg & sterilizing features.

I do realize the irony of posting this purchase of $74.99 including tax to a "how did you save $$ today" thread. It was an expense...so I should move this to the Instant pot threads, I'm just unsure of how to do that. Sorry!

2nd edit: using our STARZ 7 day free trial to binge watch American Gods & Outlander during this extremely cold week off work for spouse and myself. Plan to cancel it tonight & not renew, that is, until American Gods season 2 & Outlander season 4 are all available.

3rd edit: had a top to bottom crack in my windshield for 4 years. Quoted a new windshield 4 years ago at $250 at the cheapest. Found a $10 Groupon on sale for an auto glass place & replaced my windshield in my 2006 Camry (with only 76k miles!) for $150, including Groupon cost.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2017, 07:38:20 AM by Teachstache »

lexde

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10311 on: December 29, 2017, 09:13:47 AM »
I’m (embarrassed to admit that I am) doing the slim fast plan for a while until I get my weight back down and establish good exercise habits again. This is actually saving me quite a bit of money, surprisingly.

Breakfasts and Lunches are a shake ($.71 per serving).
Snack is a fiber drink to keep me full. $.25 per serving).
Sometimes I’ll pack veggies, but I used to do intermittent fasting so I’m used to not really heating until dinner anyway.

It’s all liquid until dinner, but $1.67 for two meals per day is doing wonders for my grocery budget. Sure beats the $4-5 per lunch (if I go out and save half) I was spending and the $8-12 my coworkers are paying.

My coworkers are giving me a very hard time, but I don’t care. They are eating 1,200-calorie, $11.00 Caesar salads thinking they’re being healthy while sharply criticizing my lunch habit. (I drink the breakfast shake and fiber drink in my office where no one will bug me!) I get plenty of calories and nutrients at dinner, so I’m certainly not starving myself. Just saving time and money and calories.

Estimated monthly savings: $51.60 over packed or split meals for lunch. Not much, but still better than nothing. (I didn’t eat breakfast to begin with, which is why it’s not a huge number.)

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10312 on: December 29, 2017, 12:36:16 PM »
Almost forgot my winter harvest: got a laundry basket full of Brussel sprouts, broccoli and cabbage from the allotment. Made a curry with part of the broccoli yesterday, roasted sprouts coming up this evening.

Took home a gifted used plastic greenhouse, which means tomatoes for next year. I was going to stop growing them after last years blight fiasco (allthough to be fair, I say that every season and get soft in the knees when spring comes around again).

Finally get to hung a load of laundry out again as the sun was actually shining. It's always so moist and grey here from Nov-Feb, this was pretty unique.

Then you certainly don't live in my part of NL (south) ... weather was awful in here today. As long as it's dry, you can actually dry laundry outside when it's freezing. I learned that trick from my grandma who had winter babies in the 1950s and not enough coal to get the house dry enough to be able to dry cloth diapers. I haven't been able to dry my laundry outside in months, I'm going to be so happy when I can do that again. Autumn and winter are always grey and wet in here, but it seems we've had very little sun the past couple of months even for this country.

Jenny Wren

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10313 on: December 29, 2017, 03:26:07 PM »
I've discovered it's really easy to save money when it's been snowing since Christmas day. We've lounged around, played games, worked, cooked at home, and did all the normal frugal stuff!

Today I had to venture out to a dental appointment. Cracked filling, so I didn't want to put it off. Decided to do the big grocery shop for January I had been planning afterward, since there's supposed to be a million more feet of snow falling this weekend...

First -- my Google spreadsheet grocery list/planner is awesome!!! I put a lot of work into it, and it has paid off. I was able to get a month's supply of stuff at the discount grocery store I hate going to but that has awesome bulk bins without the usual hassle of messing with a handwritten list. Grab, tap to highlight so I know I got it, grab the next thing. I was in and out pretty quickly.

Second -- I spent only $154 on the majority of what we eat in a month. We'll top up produce, milk, and bread at the co-op each week, but that should be no more than $30-$50 a week. My goal for January is to bring our grocery bill under $400, and I think it is doable. I've been avoiding the discount store because I hate it so much, but I can buck up and deal with it once a month.

Poundwise

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10314 on: December 29, 2017, 03:33:14 PM »
Prepaid our mortgage three days earlier than I usually do. The January payment is for the past month of December, so the interest is for 2017 and rightfully can be deducted this year.  Since I probably won't itemize in 2018, this could save us a couple of hundred bucks.

Played board games with our houseguests instead of taking them to Manhattan.  They didn't mind... it was 7 degrees outside and they've been there a zillion times anyway.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10315 on: December 29, 2017, 03:39:43 PM »
Froze some Christmas leftovers that we won't make it through in a reasonable timeframe. (Cooked chicken, and cooked smoked turkey). Even if it diminishes the texture, they'll still work well in soups.

Jenny Wren

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10316 on: December 29, 2017, 03:54:33 PM »
Prepaid our mortgage three days earlier than I usually do. The January payment is for the past month of December, so the interest is for 2017 and rightfully can be deducted this year.  Since I probably won't itemize in 2018, this could save us a couple of hundred bucks.


Thank you! I didn't realize this and just checked on my mortgage. Payment sent in early to make life easier!

Thinkum

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10317 on: December 29, 2017, 04:42:07 PM »
Made a Poke Salad at home rather than buy takeaway.

frooglepoodle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10318 on: December 29, 2017, 04:43:11 PM »
Found the exact same day planner I'd been looking at on Amazon, for $8 less at Target (the opposite of how it usually goes!)

DH wanted to watch Dr. Strange. We checked it out of the library instead of renting it through iTunes.

Working through eating up the holiday leftovers.

Spent an hour making phone calls to deal with a $1600 medical bill I've been fighting with the insurance for over a year, that we should not need to pay. Another hour or so once I have all the promised paperwork in hand, and it should be taken care of.

NV Teacher

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10319 on: December 29, 2017, 08:32:09 PM »
I’ve been staying with my elderly mother during the holiday break.  She loves to get out of the house and go for a drive so I’ve been taking her around different parts of the valley to look at Christmas lights every other night.  She loves ice cream and there is a place that makes great shakes but even the small is a lot for her to eat.  So today I brought an empty cup and an extra spoon and we split a shake during our drive. 

Anon in Alaska

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10320 on: December 30, 2017, 05:54:41 AM »
It's 12 degrees [-11 C] outside, and 58 [14 C] inside, but I haven't turned on the heat.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10321 on: December 30, 2017, 06:20:37 AM »
I went to the shop this morning to buy an electric shaver, something I've wanted for a long time but postponed until I had used up all the disposable razors I still had & was able to find the one I wanted on discount. I found it at 25% off.

After that I went grocery shopping and I hadn't had breakfast yet, because I wanted to be in the electronics store right as it opened when it was still quiet. Staff in the grocery store were handing out all kinds of food to try. By the time I was outside I wasn't hungry anymore.

Had yoghurt with fruit and jam for lunch. All of them needed to be used up.

Asked the friend we're visiting on NYE if she minded if I brought all the spreads we have left over from Christmas. Turns out she already bought French bread but didn't prepare any spreads yet, so this is helpful for both of us.

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10322 on: December 30, 2017, 11:16:12 AM »
*Came home from a morning and afternoon event and made dinner for the family even though I was tuckered out.

*Rewore an old dress to a wedding

*Trying to think of something to make for a New Year's Eve party we are invited to

*Trying to use up tea bags before buying new ones - or at least waiting till I can use my tea shop gc from Christmas to buy my fave loose leaf tea

*Cooking some quinoa in IP to keep the container in the fridge going

ETA more things I've done today
« Last Edit: December 30, 2017, 01:17:02 PM by 1967mama »

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10323 on: December 30, 2017, 11:58:14 AM »
Yesterday: went for a run with @marty998, cut my hair, and did most of my NYE food shopping at Aldi.

All day I wanted to eat creamy, cheesy potato or pasta, so I made a four-cheese macaroni from scratch for dinner. (The best tip I’ve heard for this is to freeze any odds and ends of cheese leftover from other things.)

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10324 on: December 30, 2017, 01:18:02 PM »
Yesterday: went for a run with @marty998, cut my hair, and did most of my NYE food shopping at Aldi.

All day I wanted to eat creamy, cheesy potato or pasta, so I made a four-cheese macaroni from scratch for dinner. (The best tip I’ve heard for this is to freeze any odds and ends of cheese leftover from other things.)

Hmmmm....good idea on the cheesy pasta!

marty998

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10325 on: December 30, 2017, 05:04:51 PM »
Yesterday: went for a run with @marty998,

We both had to drive to the start line, so that was a little unmustachian... but otherwise it was free :)

horsepoor

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10326 on: December 30, 2017, 05:55:01 PM »
I bought masa and corn husks yesterday.  Cooked turkey quarters in the Instant Pot, making a stock at the same time.  Used the stock to mix up the masa, along with saved up tallow and duck fat.  Now to assemble ~100 tamales to freeze for easy dinners during busy times of the year.  Using up random items from the fridge as tamale fillings, along with the turkey and last year's homemade salsas.  All in, probably less than $20 for more than 20 dinners for two.

Made salad dressing out of homemade tahini and chili paste

Heating the house with firewood since last night.

Trimmed horses' feet myself, as always.

Keeping on doing groundwork with my horse in the snow instead of trailering up to the indoor arena (gas and arena use fee saved)

Yesterday I picked up the freezer lambs, and saved a friend some gas by also picking hers up, since she lives ~1 mile from me, but the butcher is almost 20 miles away.  Cost per # of the lambs is a fraction of the cost for lamb or grass fed beef at Whole Foods, etc.

mm1970

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10327 on: December 30, 2017, 05:55:57 PM »
Did the grocery shopping and managed to keep it under the 2017 budget.

Avoided going out for pizza.  I really want pizza.  But I'm going to cook instead.

Made muffins yesterday from things we already had (I have some leftover buttermilk) and had my spouse make pancakes today too.

Needed to get the kids outside (we live in So Cal, they've been indoors a lot because we like to hang at home AND there's a lot of ash outside).  Took them to the beach (free), let them dig/ build/ search in the tidepools.

Have had the heat off (it gets down in the 40s at night), but that's just because the heater is sort of broken because of the ash.  We have a new filter on order, that should help fix it.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10328 on: December 30, 2017, 06:10:29 PM »
Yesterday: went for a run with @marty998,

We both had to drive to the start line, so that was a little unmustachian... but otherwise it was free :)

You forget I don’t pay for fuel. :D

abhe8

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10329 on: December 30, 2017, 06:20:24 PM »
I stayed home all day long! No driving and no shopping. I cooked a ton, we are some and froze some. I packed up three items to return from Christmas. I filed for the last$500 from my FSA for the year. Tonight I am going to outside and log all my donation receipts from this year, getting ready for tax time.

My MIL is encouraging me to join her in the Friday wood s Uber frugal Jan, which will be really good for me.

Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk


alewpanda

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10330 on: December 30, 2017, 06:47:18 PM »
-- Returned a shirt to goodwill that didn't fit my husband.  Refunded the 3.50

-- Ran the space heater in the living area most of the day instead of heating the whole apartment to a warmer temp.

-- Was tempted to order pizza for dinner.  Instead I ponied up and made steak salad with Parmesan potatoes.. Yum!


nessness

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10331 on: December 30, 2017, 08:02:35 PM »
I walked to the grocery store, a little over a mile each way, with my baby and 3-year-old in the stroller. In addition to saving gas, I got some fresh air, exercise, and quality time with the kids, so a definite win! I'm now face-punching myself for not having done this previously.

Daisy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10332 on: December 30, 2017, 09:46:44 PM »
I walked to the grocery store, a little over a mile each way, with my baby and 3-year-old in the stroller. In addition to saving gas, I got some fresh air, exercise, and quality time with the kids, so a definite win! I'm now face-punching myself for not having done this previously.

I did the same thing today. My neighbor saw me at the grocery store and I said that I had walked there. She knows I try to walk everywhere. She said she admired how I try to walk so much. I told her the weather was great for it and she agreed. Unfortunately I don't think her health allows her to walk as much.

I had a huge health scare last year and just having the health to be able to walk and bike and do all the physical things I used to do is a real blessing!

Wings5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10333 on: December 31, 2017, 12:02:37 AM »
Military discount for movie tickets on a date night!

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10334 on: December 31, 2017, 12:24:50 AM »
I walked to the grocery store, a little over a mile each way, with my baby and 3-year-old in the stroller. In addition to saving gas, I got some fresh air, exercise, and quality time with the kids, so a definite win! I'm now face-punching myself for not having done this previously.

I did the same thing today. My neighbor saw me at the grocery store and I said that I had walked there. She knows I try to walk everywhere. She said she admired how I try to walk so much. I told her the weather was great for it and she agreed.

I also walked to the grocery store! I injured my back and we're having a cold snap, so it's tempting to be indulgent and get things delivered, but walking is good for my back so I'm trying to take small walks when I can. My willpower was wavering to the point that I was browsing Grubhub online and thinking about what I'd like to order for dinner...

Teachstache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10335 on: December 31, 2017, 07:06:17 AM »
I stayed home all day long! No driving and no shopping. I cooked a ton, we are some and froze some. I packed up three items to return from Christmas. I filed for the last$500 from my FSA for the year. Tonight I am going to outside and log all my donation receipts from this year, getting ready for tax time.

My MIL is encouraging me to join her in the Friday wood s Uber frugal Jan, which will be really good for me.

Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk

We're doing Uber frugal January, too, especially since we had a total of $589 in gift/car fixing/biannual alcohol purchases/unreimbursed health costs in December. We did preemptively zero out $150 per month in our budget for January through April 2018 to pay for the expenditures from December, but it will be good to try to keep our grocery expenses down during the cold winter & early spring months.

Jenny Wren

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10336 on: December 31, 2017, 07:22:47 AM »
Yesterday I:

* Made a loaf of artisan bread to use for our NYE fondue dinner. I was tempted to buy a $1.99 french loaf at the grocery, but c'mon, there's nothing easier than making bread when the mixer does the kneading.

* Made a week's supply of breakfast burritos for the freezer.

* Strapped on my ice cleats and went on a two hour stroll around the neighborhood when afternoon boredom set in, but pointedly avoiding walking in the direction of stores/coffee shops. I only walked 4 miles, but with the state of the sidewalks and roads it was a hard won 4 miles.

* Stayed home. I made a cheese and cracker tray from items on hand for dinner, we mixed weak white Russians with the homemade kahlua, and played darts. It's been more than a week since we were last tempted into a restaurant or bar!

Today is a lazy day at home. I'll make the fondue tonight, and then throw black eyed peas in the crockpot to cook overnight for tomorrow's hoppin' johns. No alcohol for new year's here, so that expense saved. Just hanging out with the kids, dipping food in cheese, and playing board games until I inevitably end up going to bed at 10 pm!

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10337 on: December 31, 2017, 07:35:12 AM »
-Been saving money by hiding in the house with DH. After people left on Christmas, we've just been hanging out at home, eating leftovers, and gaming. Monday it's back to real life, but it's been nice to decompress and save money.

-Picked up an extra shift per week, indefinitely. This will obviously make money, but it also will likely save money- more shifts per week force me to meal plan more, since I don't get any breaks/lunches, so I have to have every scrap and morsel of food with me, no alternatives. But it isn't so much work now that I'm likely to increase other spending to make myself feel better. (Too many shifts per week and my alcohol and restaurant and snack food spending goes up on non work days).

tinylittlemonkey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10338 on: December 31, 2017, 08:15:56 AM »
Friday: Target has the buy so many, get a gift card deal. I bought laundry detergent, dish soap, and toilet paper and used a previously earned $5 gift card and coupons. I earned a $10 gift card. Then I made a second purchase of kitty litter with the $10 gift card and earned another $5 card. I saved over $15 and walked out of there with a $5 card.

Saturday: I went shopping with a friend and spent $3 on two things I actually needed and then we went to lunch. I got water and no add on sides with my burger. Then the waiter gave us both a $10 gift certificate for our next visit. Lol

Sunday/Today: I’m going to go grocery shopping today. Going to focus on cheap and healthy eating this next month. I’ll hit up a club store (with my free membership!) and Walmart or Aldi for the rest. For entertainment tonight I have a redbox rent one, get one deal.

Trifle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10339 on: December 31, 2017, 09:17:11 AM »
Weather is cold.  Staying home all weekend, playing game after game of cribbage with the kids.  The competition gets fierce -- trash talking and all.  :)   Making a lasagna with ingredients on hand for dinner, and will mix a cai pirinha here at home to celebrate New Years.   

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10340 on: December 31, 2017, 09:46:00 AM »
-Have been holed up in our house on the coast, relaxing & playing family games.
-Went for a nice walk with the family before they headed back home
-Made dinner for our big family celebration, where we typically would order pizza delivery.
-Plan to spend NYE grilling steak, drinking a nice bottle of wine we brought with us (alcohol is way cheaper in California) & spending some time with the kids, weather permitting.
-Will clean the house before we head out, saving the exorbitant $120 cleaning fee.

Mele

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10341 on: December 31, 2017, 12:04:24 PM »
Stayed home to watch church service via livestream, so that saved 54 miles of driving.  Walked a few errands for some morning exercise, picked up some flattened cans, which I'll add to the metal recycling pile. 

Used the extra hr not spent driving to photograph 30+ things for eBay selling.  It's overcast in our valley, so I needed to take advantage of the window of great natural light since I don't know when else this week it'll be nice.  (This means I have stuff to list when I rise before dawn and am ready to work hard and tackle the world.)

Going to two New Years Even get-togethers today, and we're bringing corn bread and a dessert.  Much, much cheaper than a night out on the town.  Happy to have mustachy friends who think soup night is a great idea for ringing in the New Year!

Teachstache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10342 on: December 31, 2017, 12:35:56 PM »
My almost 3 year old face planted onto the corner of our stone fireplace this morning. Had a nasty cut above his eye that wouldn't stop bleeding for an hour, so we took him into urgent care. Had a nervous looking PA tell us that we'd either need to straight jacket hold him down while she stitched it up (after proclaiming that kids "make her nervous"), or we'd have to take him to the ER, where they'd likely sedate him to put in stitches. Remembered that my mom's neighbor is a trauma surgeon, and felt very uncomfortable with both options presented to us (nervous PA being around our kid, our kid being sedated). Called my mom, let her know the situation, she called her neighbor who said he'd be happy to look at it & advise the best course of action. He came over, said that steri strips would probably work just fine. He washed it, was pretty matter of fact with our kid, and bandaged him right up. Kid handled it with fairly minimal crying. Had some M and Ms, played with his grandma, and came home very tired.

Mom's neighbor saved us an ER visit, possible sedation, and at the very least, saved us a botched stitching job by a PA who looked as if she didn't care for kids.

Note: this was never about saving money, but it turned out that we got lucky in that regard. I was most concerned about kid being seriously traumatized by an inexperienced and uncomfortable medical professional, as well as possibly having to be sedated. His pediatrician wasn't open today, and wouldn't be tomorrow, either.

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10343 on: December 31, 2017, 04:32:57 PM »
*Went for a walk in the sunshine with hubs

*Taking a cheese and crackers tray to a family-style NYE get together.

*Did a big shop at Superstore and used points to get $30 off my groceries. Starting Jan1, I'm going to try to save the points until next Christmas.

*Making a bean soup for a light dinner before evening out

ETA Made cheesy noodles mentioned up thread - scorched the bean soup and saved JUST enough for my husband and I.
« Last Edit: January 02, 2018, 01:46:33 AM by 1967mama »

MBot

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10344 on: December 31, 2017, 06:41:11 PM »
I'm going off on mat leave, and I dont want to pay for one of my ultrasound continuing education provider's memberships (that I typically get my credits from) next year while I'm off. There's 30 credits due every 3 years to my ultrasound credentialing organizations.

So today I finished stockpiling credits for the triennium... did the last of the credits I'll need until 2019! I can submit them anytime, but I don't need to maintain the one education organizations membership next year. Saves $100 USD!

marion10

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10345 on: December 31, 2017, 08:07:46 PM »
Stayed in- mainly because hubby has a very bad cold. Made a buttermilk pie from what I had on hand- very tasty. Opened a box of thank you cards ( that I had bought at a stationary warehouse sale) to find out that only the top one had Thank you printed on the outside of the notes! I could have used them but felt they were a little blah. Took some pretty Gift tags and glued them to the plain front - voila- attractive holiday cards. Thank you notes done and mailed out with discount postage.

11ducks

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10346 on: January 01, 2018, 01:42:35 AM »


- resisted the (strong) urge to hire bond cleaners for the house we just moved from- put in a solid 7 hours and the place looks great- means we will get our bond $$ back
-Started off my über frugal January with a no spend day, aiming for 20 this month!
-Cut DS hair

Spiffsome

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10347 on: January 01, 2018, 03:11:54 AM »
I planted button squash in the garden about 6 weeks ago. The plants are now happily producing (giant) button squash. I cooked one for dinner in the microwave with bits of home-cured bacon and cheese on top. (I almost chose the home-made feta for a trifecta, but decided the parmesan was a better choice). Dessert is a (large) glass of home-brewed lemon and orange wine.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10348 on: January 01, 2018, 07:40:23 AM »
- We spent NYE with friends, eating up Christmas leftovers. I'll have leftovers today for dinner too, I don't feel like doing much today.
- Friend lost weight and gifted me a skirt and cardigan she doesn't fit anymore.
- Since I'm spending the day in my PJs watching Netflix under a fleece blanket and cleaning my house, I haven't turned up the heating.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10349 on: January 01, 2018, 08:47:48 AM »
-Passed on going to a new wine bar (it allows for kids) & stuck with the plan of staying home & celebrating instead. We haven't eaten out, other than our first meal upon arrival, on an 8 day vacation, so feeling pretty great about that.
-Spent $0 yesterday.