What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[marcela]

-I had work travel this weekend and we had down time on Saturday, Instead of going out with my coworkers for lunch plus shopping/ manicures, I figured out how to make ramen in my hotel room using my keurig. Good thing too, because I looked at the menu where they went for lunch and the cheapest thing would have eaten up my whole meal allowance and then they went shopping at Anthropologie which is super out of my price range.
-I also resisted the urge to get an additional drink at the bar after our event and just finished my free soda while chatting with my coworkers. I wasn't a a hermit all weekend though! I did get wine when we first got to the hotel and went out to dinner on Friday night. Just barely made the whole trip within our meal allowances by packing my own breakfast and drinks.

-My husband found out on Monday that he made bonus production last month (his first practicing on his own at this new clinic) and we got cheap chinese food to celebrate instead of a fancy dinner. Bonus, I picked it up instead of paying extra for delivery and it was enough for lunch leftovers for 2 days!
- I have another work event this weekend which will feed me brunch and dinner on Saturday. Also gets us to put off grocery shopping a little longer.

[Linea_Norway]

I see a fruit bowl full of apples at my department at work. At least half of us has gone home early to start their weekend. I'll take most of the apples home when I leave. Maybe I'll make a new apples cake. Last week it tasted quite good.

[Bracken_Joy]

-Ate leftovers. Been trying to be extra better about this. We end up with bits and pieces of leftover work lunches, and I struggle to eat those!

-Going on 2 weeks of no drinking. Considering this was a good $80-100/month budget item, it's not small savings at all!

-Very proud of my husband. Our utilities company let us know we need to set up backflow testing. They'll take care of it automatically for $40. But they also said we can use another certified company, and then submit the paperwork to them. This seemed like a ton of hassle and I didn't want to deal with it. Well, husband *actually said* "a millionaire is made $10 at a time, right?" and went and researched other companies! =o He found one that will do it for $35 and submit the paperwork FOR us, so it's just as convenient as the utility company doing it. Then, without even asking, they gave us $10 off our first year as a new customer discount. So it's only $25 this year. Really impressed that the usually spendier one of us is quoting MMM and pushing us to save! $5 a year is pretty small, but hey... a millionaire is made $10 at a time ;)

[marcela]

Made soup last night with a small portion of left over beef from earlier in the week and sausage and rice and quinoa from last night. It was yummy and made so much that I'll probably have it again for dinner tonight. This was a bigger thing because I got home at 7 and cranky and almost picked up a takeaway pizza. Instead I have delicious soup waiting for me when I get home!

[mm1970]

Last night:

Worked the baseball store "shift".  Everyone who has a kid in baseball has to work one shift selling snacks.  (Per kid).  To make sure people do it, they require you to write a $150 check at the beginning of the season before you get your uniform. 

If you sign up and show up?  They shred your check.

If you don't?  They cash it.


Today:
Well, our plumbing backed up.  We scheduled a plumber to come out.  In the mean time, husband cleared the clog.  But we often have other clogs further inside the plumbing that our snake can't reach.  We decided to have them come anyway, figuring that I could work from home.  But I forgot in the middle of the snack shift that I left my computer at work.

- saved money by not driving 20 miles round trip to get the computer, figuring I had enough hours this week to come in late anyway.
- saved even MORE money when the plumbing company called to say that one guy didn't show this morning, and could we shift it an hour?  Instead, we cancelled.
- while waiting for said plumber, did some fruit/veg prep for tonight's dinner, so we aren't tempted to get takeout.

[rbuck]

Removed accordion doors that prior owner installed. Sawed them down to fit into garbage bin versus hauling to dump and paying to throw it away.

[Hirondelle]

Avoided going to the supermarket on Friday evening. This is usually my most vulnerable moment of the week to indulge in unnecessary
unhealthy comfort food buying and comsumption. Not going has:
1. Saved me money.
2. Saved me health/weight gain.
3. Wasted less resources on the planet as all those foods are not essential/discretionary.

[Kwill]

Today I received the wrong cookbook from an Amazon seller. I wrote to the company right away with a photo of the cover and package. I've already been informed that Amazon is processing a refund for the  £2.80. It didn't sound like the seller expects me to mail the book back, and he also didn't offer to send the right one. So I guess it's a free cookbook? It's similar to the one I wanted, so I haven't decided yet whether or not to put in another order.

Yesterday I was on a work trip and remembered to save all my receipts, which will help later.

[lexde]

• Skipped breakfast, ate lunch at the convention, ate dinner at home.
• No-spend day today.
• Walking my dog to the dog park (~1 mike away) for entertainment instead of spending money going out.
• Working extra hours this weekend from home to make up for hours I lost this week with the move. Going to try to hit a +250 bonus this month despite running into some fairly big obstacles.

BONUS:
• The parking attendant at the convention was super put-off that I did not have cash on me to pay for parking. It was $5 yesterday, and $8 today, and I pointed that out. She told me that the person yesterday was wrong, it was $8, and asked that I pay in cash. "I don't have cash. I don't use cash." So instead of taking my card for payment (like they did yesterday) she just let me through. I'm 90% sure she was just going to pocket the cash, but hey, it saved me somewhere from $5-8.

[alewpanda]

-- Made a salad for brunch (?) for my stay-at-home day.  It consisted of a lot of bits and cheeses and veggies leftover from other meals, including shrimp.  Yum!

-- Am scrounging for meals the next 4 days.  DH is out of town and I don't mind odd meals to help use up stuff when its just me at home.  I can subsist off of random items at random times of the day.  DH is convinced he cannot...lol.

-- Needed a slip for under skirts.  Found one at goodwill for 1.75.  Its a little longer than I need, but I have plans to shorten it tonight.

-- Yesterday while I was at a local thrift store, I found what appears to be an excellent quality cast iron skillet  for 10.00.  DH has been wanting one, so i decided to pick it up.  Forgot the yellow stickers were 75% off that day, so guess who got a cast iron skillet for CHEAP??  This girl!

[jengod]

-- Yesterday while I was at a local thrift store, I found what appears to be an excellent quality cast iron skillet  for 10.00.  DH has been wanting one, so i decided to pick it up.  Forgot the yellow stickers were 75% off that day, so guess who got a cast iron skillet for CHEAP??  This girl!

1. Congrats. You never forget your first.
2. https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron awaits you and DH

[Bracken_Joy]

-This was totally inadvertent, but someone else ended up paying for everyone's dinners last night, so we weren't on the hook for our super spendy italian meal celebrating SIL. We had agreed to go before we knew the place... so very glad, it saved us at least $60, and that was with no drinks/apps/desserts!

-Opted for a 'homemade' gift for SIL. Split off part of my spider plant, wrote a sweet note to go with it (putting down roots, etc), and it made her cry, so I'll take that as a good sign. Sometimes free gifts can be the best gifts!

-DH and I got to the city of the dinner early, and killed some time walking around a park. Then when it got dark/rainy, we read in a starbucks for a while. The drink we split was way cheaper than risking going shopping nearby I think. We hardly ever go shopping, and I really don't want to see anything we need at a good price, since I'm currently in "DO NOT SPEND IT" mode.

[Imma]

Went to a charity shop, found a summer dress and a brand new pair of jeans for €4 each and a book I've been wanting for years for €1,50. I'm really happy with the book, I couldn't find it at the library or used for years and I was kind of giving up on it. I almost bought it new last week (for €25!) so I'm very happy now I didn't.

[Trifele]

Went to a charity shop, found a summer dress and a brand new pair of jeans for €4 each and a book I've been wanting for years for €1,50. I'm really happy with the book, I couldn't find it at the library or used for years and I was kind of giving up on it. I almost bought it new last week (for €25!) so I'm very happy now I didn't.

Great find on the book Imma!  Congrats.  Now I'm curious what it is . . . ?

[Will]

I bought a Vitamix 5200 off of someone from Craigslist.

[jengod]

Went to a charity shop, found a summer dress and a brand new pair of jeans for €4 each and a book I've been wanting for years for €1,50. I'm really happy with the book, I couldn't find it at the library or used for years and I was kind of giving up on it. I almost bought it new last week (for €25!) so I'm very happy now I didn't.

Great find on the book Imma!  Congrats.  Now I'm curious what it is . . . ?

I want to know too! Out-of-print and hard-to-find books are fascinating!

Uh, savings: Dinner at home was roast whole chicken in a thrifted stainless-steel roasting pan. Throw some peeled potatoes and sweet potatoes in the bottom halfway through cooking and they roast and are dressed in the pan sauce. One-pan meal. Yum-delicious!

[Step37]

I opened the email from the windshield chip repair place that I bought an unlimited repair plan from (for one year) last spring. I paid $100 for it and ended up having five repairs, so it turned out to be a great value. They were reminding me of the upcoming automatic renewal (just $68 for the next year) and it gave options to manage the plan.

There was an option to downgrade to a cheaper plan, so I clicked that. This plan was not offered to me last spring, but it would have been $80 for the first year (same unlimited chip/crack repairs, but no unlimited “windshield rain/fog treatments” — certainly a gimmick anyway). Next thing I knew I had an email saying that $20 had been refunded to my card! That was a nice surprise, since I would never have expected money back at this point.

To make it even better, the renewal on the cheaper plan will only be $45.

TL/DR; have unlimited windshield chip repair for the coming year for net $25!

[Mezzie]

My colleague friends and I went to our students' baseball game and brought snacks: Cheaper than major league and arguably more fun since we know the players.

[Hirondelle]

My colleague friends and I went to our students' baseball game and brought snacks: Cheaper than major league and arguably more fun since we know the players.

That's so much fun! I've really enjoyed spending time at student's leagues over the professional ones. Especially when it comes to sports where I care less about the sport itself but with high entertainment value like ice hockey (e.g. I wouldn't go to an amateur swimming race as they'd be about my own speed and more boring to watch). Bonus points for bringing your own snacks/drinks!

[Imma]

Went to a charity shop, found a summer dress and a brand new pair of jeans for €4 each and a book I've been wanting for years for €1,50. I'm really happy with the book, I couldn't find it at the library or used for years and I was kind of giving up on it. I almost bought it new last week (for €25!) so I'm very happy now I didn't.

Great find on the book Imma!  Congrats.  Now I'm curious what it is . . . ?

I want to know too! Out-of-print and hard-to-find books are fascinating!

It's a Dutch history book, a PhD-thesis turned book. They are often printed in small editions and relatively expensive, because scientific books in the Dutch language are of course a niche market. This particular book was still available new, but I always try to find a book used before buying it new.

[Hula Hoop]

We're going to a friend's house with the kids to play kid friendly board games and we're making banana bread to take rather than buying food to bring.  Last time she hosted, I brought a whole bunch of "antipasti" plus beer which set me back Euro 20 or so.

[Bracken_Joy]

I opened the email from the windshield chip repair place that I bought an unlimited repair plan from (for one year) last spring. I paid $100 for it and ended up having five repairs, so it turned out to be a great value. They were reminding me of the upcoming automatic renewal (just $68 for the next year) and it gave options to manage the plan.

There was an option to downgrade to a cheaper plan, so I clicked that. This plan was not offered to me last spring, but it would have been $80 for the first year (same unlimited chip/crack repairs, but no unlimited “windshield rain/fog treatments” — certainly a gimmick anyway). Next thing I knew I had an email saying that $20 had been refunded to my card! That was a nice surprise, since I would never have expected money back at this point.

To make it even better, the renewal on the cheaper plan will only be $45.

TL/DR; have unlimited windshield chip repair for the coming year for net $25!

What on earth are you doing to necessitate so many windshield repairs? =o

[mm1970]

My phone died.  We had to ship it back to Texas to get a refurb.  It's going to take 2 weeks.

So, I printed my "emergency codes" to get into work emails as 2nd factor authentication, and we are attempting to temporarily put my SIM card into my kid's phone.

[Step37]

I opened the email from the windshield chip repair place that I bought an unlimited repair plan from (for one year) last spring. I paid $100 for it and ended up having five repairs, so it turned out to be a great value. They were reminding me of the upcoming automatic renewal (just $68 for the next year) and it gave options to manage the plan.

There was an option to downgrade to a cheaper plan, so I clicked that. This plan was not offered to me last spring, but it would have been $80 for the first year (same unlimited chip/crack repairs, but no unlimited “windshield rain/fog treatments” — certainly a gimmick anyway). Next thing I knew I had an email saying that $20 had been refunded to my card! That was a nice surprise, since I would never have expected money back at this point.

To make it even better, the renewal on the cheaper plan will only be $45.

TL/DR; have unlimited windshield chip repair for the coming year for net $25!

What on earth are you doing to necessitate so many windshield repairs? =o

Last year was worse than normal, but one or two per season is usual. 70% of my four-day-a-week commute is on a busy highway. Lots of big trucks and (particuarly in spring) plenty of sand/gravel left from the roads being sanded through winter.

[Bracken_Joy]

I opened the email from the windshield chip repair place that I bought an unlimited repair plan from (for one year) last spring. I paid $100 for it and ended up having five repairs, so it turned out to be a great value. They were reminding me of the upcoming automatic renewal (just $68 for the next year) and it gave options to manage the plan.

There was an option to downgrade to a cheaper plan, so I clicked that. This plan was not offered to me last spring, but it would have been $80 for the first year (same unlimited chip/crack repairs, but no unlimited “windshield rain/fog treatments” — certainly a gimmick anyway). Next thing I knew I had an email saying that $20 had been refunded to my card! That was a nice surprise, since I would never have expected money back at this point.

To make it even better, the renewal on the cheaper plan will only be $45.

TL/DR; have unlimited windshield chip repair for the coming year for net $25!

What on earth are you doing to necessitate so many windshield repairs? =o

Last year was worse than normal, but one or two per season is usual. 70% of my four-day-a-week commute is on a busy highway. Lots of big trucks and (particuarly in spring) plenty of sand/gravel left from the roads being sanded through winter.

Ah, the sanding through winter is the difference. I couldn't figure it out because my husband and I also drive TONS for work. We put 500 miles a week average on our car, and *knock on wood* we've never needed a windshield repair.

[Linea_Norway]

We ate a seatrout that DH caught last night.

[Raenia]

Returned a pair of shoes that turned out to not be quite what I needed, for a full refund.  Also got an exchange for a pair my partner got that the stitching started falling apart after a few wears.  Avoided buying lunch while at the mall to do the returns.

[ElleFiji]

Instead of eating a delicious pizza,a poutine, cookies, and gallons of Pepsi and chips and dip, I stayed in my apartment and ate: grilled (faux) cheese, leftover tofu, leftover rice, and frozen cake. I probably saved about $30... And an angry hedonistic part of my brain is not fully mollified...but still doing okay.

And I really need to break the cycle of giving my inner bitch every food she craves

[jengod]

* found .50 on the ground

* used homemade lemon extract in a recipe

* walked to grocery shop using my thrifted granny cart

* picked up a reusable grocery bag someone had littered/lost

[Stachetastic]

Our Dyson has been losing suction lately, and yesterday it became much more noticeable. So we pulled up a youtube video, removed both filters, cleaned everything well. When it's all dry, we'll reassemble and see if we have any improvement. We haven't serviced the vacuum in the 10 years we've owned it, so here's hoping we can get another decade out of it.

[horsepoor]

Planted about 100 leek and onion seedlings this weekend

Cleared out a new garden area that will grow corn and black beans.

Moved veggie seedlings outside for free sunlight each day this weekend, allowing the grow lights to stay off for a few days.

Continued our slow-mo bathroom remodel.  We found a stone composite countertop with attached sink on clearance for $99.  Problem was that the space is 48" wide, and the top was 49" wide.  I was hoping just cutting out the sheetrock would allow it to fit, but no.  DH was ready to give up and return the counter, but I refused, and notched out the studs (just a non-bearing wall backing up to a closet) so we could shoe-horn that damn' countertop into place.  The vanity we put in was also on clearance about half price, so we are getting a fairly high-end look (by my standards) on the cheap.  The place that put in the acrylic shower wanted another $600 to install a vanity supplied by us.  Not sure how much more they would have charged to install the floor, baseboards, toilet, mirror and towel bars.

Found brightly colored mis-tinted floor and patio paint marked down at Lowe's that will be used to prolong the life of my horse jumps while making them look snazzy too.

Cleaned five horse blankets with our little pressure washer, rather than pay to have them cleaned.

Selling excess eggs to a co-worker this morning.

[Imma]

Our Dyson has been losing suction lately, and yesterday it became much more noticeable. So we pulled up a youtube video, removed both filters, cleaned everything well. When it's all dry, we'll reassemble and see if we have any improvement. We haven't serviced the vacuum in the 10 years we've owned it, so here's hoping we can get another decade out of it.

I have cleaned the filters every month since I've owned it. Sounds like my vacuum might last a lifetime! I certainly hope so. The Dyson is one of the few things I've ever bought new and I have never regretted it. It has cut the time I spent vacuuming at least in half, if not more.

[Trifele]

Took my lunch to work, like every day this year so far.  I had a late meeting, and they served us fruit and granola bars.  At the end there was still fruit left, so I got to take a few bananas home. 

[Easye418]

My son was "promoted" in daycare so he is now in the next room allowing us to do 2 day schedule saving $633 a month!

In the infant room, we were forced to pay 5 days to secure the slot.  I understand why, it just sucked going 2 days but paying for 5. 

Not anymore!

[Roadrunner53]

Went to the Assessor's office today and applied for tax relief for Seniors 65 and older. We qualified for the town part but not the State part. So, they said we were qualified for $960 in relief. We get a letter later in May to show we have qualified.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

My parents are in town, and we've eaten all meals at home. Friday: I made tacos, guacamole & margaritas. Saturday: my husband grilled kebabs & made rice. Sunday: we had chicken curry with rice. Monday: we ate the bits & pieces of leftovers. In the past, we've eaten out a lot more, and/or ordered delivery. We did splurge on cupcakes, as a thank you to my mom for cleaning the house & for the childcare my parents are providing for the week.

Also, talked my husband into giving me a ride to the airport early on Thursday, which will save about $30 vs Uber.

[MountainGal]

Mailing in a $5 rebate form using one of the envelopes I've had for over 13 years.

Using recycled paper to print online coupons.

Caught an error on a recent receipt:  Was charged twice for a $8.97 item.  Back to the store I go!

I make sure to keep the bedroom light off during my morning bathroom preening routine.  Saves 30 minutes of electricity at a time.

DH has begun researching on demand water systems.

[Roadrunner53]

Bought prescription dog food at the Vet office and the receptionist had a $7 coupon I could use!

[BuildingmyFIRE]

Still haven't bought lunch at work a single time this year (other than for a few work-related lunch events).   Today didn't have any real leftovers at home to pack, so mixed garbanzo beans I prepared in the instant pot with leftover corn, and tossed a bagel into my bag, and off to work.  4.5 month streak continues. 

[Stachetastic]

Coworker and I started walking at the YMCA during lunch breaks, and yesterday I remembered to pack my lunch. (I typically go home for lunch on days I don't telecommute). She went to Subway to grab lunch, and I stood in line with her and bought nothing. It wasn't too difficult, though, since I brought awesome leftovers. Now to get her into some better spending habits!

[Roadrunner53]

I complained to a company that sells salad kits because the salad dressing pouches had leaked. The kits cost $4.99 each. When the first leak happened about 6 weeks ago, I just let it go but when the second one happened, I decided to report it. I contacted them by email on their website and they were pretty prompt in getting back to me. They sent two coupons by mail each worth $4.99. I also suggested that they go to another type of salad dressing container since I had two that leaked.

[Bracken_Joy]

-Costco had the yogurt I buy for buy 1 get 1, so even though I didn't need to replace it quite yet, I grabbed 2. They last a long time (yay bacteria), so nothing will go to waste.

-Have finally successfully taught my husband how to correctly saran wrap guac so it doesn't go "off". He's good at so many things, but this one took a while.

-Scheduled redelivery of a missed package instead of driving to pick it up, saving gas.

-As always, combined groceries from costco with refilling the tank. Bonus, also picked up a prescription this time. No wasted trips!

[Digital Dogma]

Today I successfully negotiated with my wife to avoid purchasing luggage for our honeymoon. She is very excited for our trip, and understandably wanted to prepare with a new set of luggage. Avoiding this purchase was a double-win for me, because not only do we avoid spending a wasteful amount of money on something we'll use a few times per decade, but we also avoid storing it in our already small apartment for years! Instead of purchasing new luggage, we'll borrow some from family who've used their purpose-purchased luggage exactly once to go on their honeymoon. In the end we both agreed it doesn't matter who owns the luggage as long as we've got something to use and it makes it there in once piece.

It has been an exercise for me to prepare for the trip by purchasing necessities such as shorts (since I don't own any), or protective footwear, and avoiding luxuries that I don't need for such as flippers. I'm even planning on saving a few bucks on purchasing sunglasses by using a couple pair of tinted safety glasses from work.

I feel like I'm trying to walk a fine line between being prepared enough to save money, and over-packing things that are un-necessary. Packing light could tempt me to spend more than I wanted during the vacation on something I should've known would be necessary. I already know that it will be cheaper to buy things I need here, before we head to our destination where things will be easily 33-50% more expensive if not more. For the both of us, this is likely a once in a lifetime trip, so we want it to be pleasant enough for our positive memories to last a lifetime. The last thing I want is to cheap out on a necessity and pay 50% more later while wasting time.

[Dollar Slice]

Today I successfully negotiated with my wife to avoid purchasing luggage for our honeymoon.

I learned the hard way that it's good to have luggage broken in before you take it on a really big important trip. I bought a brand new (and enormous) suitcase when I was going to live in London for 9 months, and before I even got it inside the airport the wheel fell off because of a defect. So I had to lug this big heavy suitcase around without a working wheel, and it was a giant pain in the butt. That was the only trip I ever took that was big enough to use that suitcase, so it was even worse than a simple waste of money. It was like paying money to be given a special one-time burden.

[Digital Dogma]

Oh no, I'm picturing some poor guy hauling everything through the airport on his back like a pack mule! That's a hell of a defect.

[Dollar Slice]

Oh no, I'm picturing some poor guy hauling everything through the airport on his back like a pack mule! That's a hell of a defect.

Try a 5'6" woman :-) It was OK on the way there since I had help from someone who was dropping me at the airport, but when I arrived and I had to schlep my bag from the airport to the place I was staying via bus, with a huge suitcase along with my laptop bag, on zero sleep from my transatlantic redeye... uuugh. And I was staying in three different locations during the first week and had no opportunity to get it repaired.

[Erma]

I ate the free cheese from last weeks grocery shop. Didn't really like it and I would never buy it, but it filled my stomach.

[Trifele]

For the 77th straight workday this year, I brought my lunch from home.  It was a rush out the door this morning, so lunch is an avocado, two bananas, and a sweet potato.   

Also today, I am going to NOT go to my favorite butcher shop for bacon.  It's excellent meat (pastured local pigs) but expensive, and we can go another week without.  $ saved, and we'll substitute other non-meat proteins this coming week.  Double win. 

[frooglepoodle]

Went grocery shopping with cranky toddler in tow - never fun. But I managed to limit my snack/junk food purchases to a bag of white cheddar popcorn from the discount shelf for $.59 and a bag of chips that was free with coupon.

[lexde]

Things I Did Yesterday/Today:

Saved my jar of Stridex after using all of the pads, now using a microfiber cloth and have another ~10 applications’ worth of product before I need to purchase another box.

Saved bacon grease from cooking a package of bacon last night, instead of throwing it out (and using up paper towels to soak it up for the garbage) I saved it to mix in a tablespoon at a time into my dog’s kibble. Usually I have to put in 1/4-1/3 of a can of wet food to get her to eat her dry food, but she loves bacon fat more. I got 5 or 6T of bacon fat total, saving me 2 cans of wet food or about $3.16.

When I go to marketing meetings (at a country club, haha) I opt to use the cloth towels and napkins instead of the paper ones, but I take the paper ones home in my doggy-bag. They’re thicker than regular paper towels and super durable so I have a small stack of them in my kitchen to use instead of paper towels. I used one yesterday that saved me a few cents.

I continue to use and wash the same (free) insulated tumbler every day.

Biked ~1m with my dog this morning to wear her out before I went to work. This made her happy and also prevented the need to drive home for a mid-day walk and/or hire a Rover Walker to do so at $10-15.

Washed my socks and underwear in the sink and hung them to dry. It’s gentler than the washing machine (preserving the fabric for longer use) and prevents smaller items from being lost or stuck in the shared machine.