What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Flew in from London last night, and was crazy tired/jet lagged. Instead of ordering take out, went to the grocery store & picked up two frozen pizzas instead. Still pricier than making something at home, but . . . let's be honest. That wasn't going to happen.

[v8rx7guy]

Cut the cable TV.  Going to try Sling instrad and see if we like it.  Saving about $40 / mo

[RamonaQ]

What is the name of the company? Are they located in the northeast?

Whoops, sorry, just saw this.  The company I found is called Hungry Harvest.  Here's where they deliver: https://www.hungryharvest.net/where-we-deliver

I have no idea if it will be good or not, but for free I'll definitely try it!

Edited to add: I just looked at Imperfect Produce - they aren't in my area yet but said they might be soon, so maybe I'll have another one to compare with.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

What is the name of the company? Are they located in the northeast?

Whoops, sorry, just saw this.  The company I found is called Hungry Harvest.  Here's where they deliver: https://www.hungryharvest.net/where-we-deliver

I have no idea if it will be good or not, but for free I'll definitely try it!

Edited to add: I just looked at Imperfect Produce - they aren't in my area yet but said they might be soon, so maybe I'll have another one to compare with.

The Frugal Girl swears by Hungry Harvest. Anyone interested in signing up, maybe check and see if she has a coupon or something :-).

[RamonaQ]

What is the name of the company? Are they located in the northeast?

Whoops, sorry, just saw this.  The company I found is called Hungry Harvest.  Here's where they deliver: https://www.hungryharvest.net/where-we-deliver

I have no idea if it will be good or not, but for free I'll definitely try it!

Edited to add: I just looked at Imperfect Produce - they aren't in my area yet but said they might be soon, so maybe I'll have another one to compare with.

The Frugal Girl swears by Hungry Harvest. Anyone interested in signing up, maybe check and see if she has a coupon or something :-).

Oh, it does look like I can send $5 referral coupons for Hungry Harvest - please PM me if you'd like one!  Or wait until I've tried it and can report back. :-)

[Raenia]

What is the name of the company? Are they located in the northeast?

Whoops, sorry, just saw this.  The company I found is called Hungry Harvest.  Here's where they deliver: https://www.hungryharvest.net/where-we-deliver

I have no idea if it will be good or not, but for free I'll definitely try it!

Edited to add: I just looked at Imperfect Produce - they aren't in my area yet but said they might be soon, so maybe I'll have another one to compare with.

The Frugal Girl swears by Hungry Harvest. Anyone interested in signing up, maybe check and see if she has a coupon or something :-).

Oh, it does look like I can send $5 referral coupons for Hungry Harvest - please PM me if you'd like one!  Or wait until I've tried it and can report back. :-)

I'll be curious what your opinion is.  I checked it out online, and they do deliver to my area, but the prices and examples of what you might get in a box doesn't look to me like the 20% savings that they promise.  Maybe partly because they're sending more expensive fruits like mangoes and cantalopes that I never buy?  But the small box (Mini) looks like about enough produce to keep my household for 4 days or so, at a cost of more than I spend weekly at my local produce market.  Plus many of the images on the website of 'rejected' produce looks identical to what I'd see at my local grocery.  I don't see anything 'wrong' with it.

[Roadrunner53]

I would suggest you get one box to try it out. If it doesn't work out chalk it up to a lesson learned and then tell the rest of us what your experience was. I looked it up and my zipcode is not available yet. It really seems like a great idea but I am also wondering how do they keep veggies like lettuce from wilting in the hot summer months?

[nurseart]

I made a batch of pockets based loosely off of this recipe https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-spiced-lentil-sweet-potato-and-kale-whole-wheat-pockets-181100 to freeze. They are really tasty and we plan to keep them for oh whoops moments when lunch or dinners plans don't work out to avoid take out. I had all the ingredients I used on hand and made 9 pockets. Assuming takeout ends up being on average $8-10 per person I saved quite a bit of money not to mention they are healthier.

[Roadrunner53]

This question is for Lexde or other credit card experts...

Just got a renewal for the American Express Traditional Green Card. It has a $55 renewal fee and I don't use this card anymore because I use the Costco Visa for everything. I don't want to goof up my credit by dropping the card but don't want to pay the fee. Can you suggest what Amex card I can get to downgrade? I also have the Amex Optima card.

Thanks!

[nessness]

Dried some mint from my garden for tea.

Had a bunch of yogurt that was about to expire, so I made yogurt muffins with my 3-year-old, which will be her mother's day gift for her grandma and great grandma.

[Catbert]

This question is for Lexde or other credit card experts...

Just got a renewal for the American Express Traditional Green Card. It has a $55 renewal fee and I don't use this card anymore because I use the Costco Visa for everything. I don't want to goof up my credit by dropping the card but don't want to pay the fee. Can you suggest what Amex card I can get to downgrade? I also have the Amex Optima card.

Thanks!

Check out this article
https://wallethub.com/credit-cards/no-annual-fee-american-express/

[bucketsofrain]

Made a big batch of iced tea yesterday. As I was going to clean up, I realized I could probably re-steep the leaves and make a second batch. It tasted great, and now I have tea for twice as long.

[Tom Bri]

Ate salad greens, lettuce and arugula, that grew up from seeds scattered on the ground last fall. Just let the plants mature and go to seed then scattered the seeds where I wanted them this spring. Ready to eat at least a month before the regular garden.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

We did the basics. Drove the electric car for work, leftovers for dinner. No money spent.

[Botany Bae]

We don't go to the movies often, but we do like seeing the Marvel movies in the theater since we are big comic book nerds. So yesterday we went to the movies:

~ DW and I went to the $5 Tuesday showing at AMC. You can book ahead and they have the fancy reclining seat reservations, so you give up nothing but the choice of day when you opt to use this option. Just be careful! There are higher priced showings in the 3-D and premium sound theaters, so you have to make sure you choose the basic viewing and sound theater option.

~ Brought our own iced coffee from home. We didn't even sneak it in. This theater entrance is in the food court of a mall, so I guess they don't even bother to police what people are carrying in food-wise.

~Skipped the parking garage to park in free parking across the river from the theater. This also meant we had a lovely stroll through the park downtown before and after the show.

~Waited until we got home to eat dinner, instead of going our after our relatively early show. The kids had already demolished the leftover I left them in the fridge, so we made sandwiches.

Total cost was $10+tax - less than a single movie ticket on a non-Tuesday!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Sold a free $25 gift card on Raise (gift card resale site) & earned $20. Have listed another gift card, and if/when it sells, will clear about $10. But, it's for a place I will never go to, and I've had the gift card for 5 years. So, clearly better to get $10 than hold onto it for longer.
-Remembered to use a coupon & a reward for an item I was already buying
-Two items were on discount at Costco that we were already buying (super cheap pineapple!) & lettuce. I also made adjustments to the shopping list to find the less expensive per/pound tomatoes, avocados, etc. It takes a bit more time to shop this way, but it all adds up.

[Bracken_Joy]

Surgical recovery savings:
-Picked up colace when I was at costco for other meds. Way cheaper there than elsewhere.
-Bought gatorade powder from costco and mixing our own, instead of buying premade bottles of it. More eco friendly, too. (I'm supposed to be having lots of gatorade, minimal water, for the next few days)
-Using the heat pack I already own, and just having husband reheat it, rather than buying a nice fancy electric one.
-Picked up a scale ages ago through Buy Nothing. Good I did, even though we didn't really need it, because now I'm required to have one for daily weights.
-Saving money by virtue of being utterly couch bound, haha.

[nessness]

I had some mustachianism forced on me today - I'd planned to take the kids to the children's museum then stop at the grocery store on the way home. But my husband accidentally took one of the car seats to work with him, so instead we walked to the park and grocery store. I'm not sure if I saved money, since I had to go to a pricier grocery store, but at least I got my exercise in.

Also:
Brought my reusable grocery bags
Snacked on some carrots from the garden
Going to try making a side dish from the carrot greens later

ETA: I sauteed the carrot greens in some mushroom and sage-infused olive oil and they were...edible. Barely. I don't think I'll make them again, unless someone has a tried-and-true recipe to share.

[lexde]

No-spend today. :-)

[Hirondelle]

Used a 10% discount voucher for my bus ride. Saved €3

[Imma]

- Staying in to finish an essay. Just made fancy coffee for myself, will have some homemade treats with it. Bunch of flowers on the table that my s/o got from work. Who needs to go to a coffee shop or the library to study if your home is this nice? :) I used to live in a pretty shitty place (too cold in winter, too hot in summer) with loud roommates years ago and I always studied in the library. Not buying any food there used to be a big struggle. These days going out is a bigger struggle than staying in.

- I got barely worn work clothes from a shopaholic friend, s/o got some freebies through work. Other than some underwear I don't need to buy anything until September (when I will probably need to replace my 10 year old boots and coat). Total cost for spring/summer so far: €4 thrift shop jeans, €4 thrift shop dress, €12 new shirt for work (marked down from €24).

- Made the decision to not go to the expensive supermarket closest to home anymore. The much cheaper ethnic shop is around the corner from the expensive supermarket and I pass by several other discount stores on my way home from work. My grocery budget is still pretty low, but out of convenience (open every night until 10, other places close at 8) I've been going to a more expensive shop than I should. 

[Carrie]

Today we trimmed massive holly bushes ourselves. Doing our own yard work saves big money over the course of the year plus exercise & gardening are good for us.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Sold a $5 item that I no longer need, now that my son isn't in Boy Scouts
-Bought Uber gift cards that come with a grocery store gift card. I have an upcoming work trip where I will be reimbursed for the expense. This particular grocery store has awesome gift card deals!
-Ate leftover guac on eggs for breakfast today, in the spirit of "use it up"
-Making naan pizza tonight

[Catbert]

ETA: I sauteed the carrot greens in some mushroom and sage-infused olive oil and they were...edible. Barely. I don't think I'll make them again, unless someone has a tried-and-true recipe to share.


I've always found carrot greens too bitter to eat alone.  Small amounts can be added to soups or when you're making broth.  If you grow radishes or get them fresh at the farmer's market, those greens are delicious to me when sauteed.

[nessness]

ETA: I sauteed the carrot greens in some mushroom and sage-infused olive oil and they were...edible. Barely. I don't think I'll make them again, unless someone has a tried-and-true recipe to share.


I've always found carrot greens too bitter to eat alone.  Small amounts can be added to soups or when you're making broth.  If you grow radishes or get them fresh at the farmer's market, those greens are delicious to me when sauteed.

Thanks, that's good to know. I'm not a big fan of radishes so I don't grow them, but if I ever end up with some radish greens I'll try them out. :)

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Noticed that my internet has gone up (one year promo pricing had expired). I called & renegotiated for a lower rate, but it was still higher than initial offer. I get a $75 max reimbursement for work, and previous reimbursement wasn't for the full amount. Filled out an adjustment form, and will get back an extra $7.50/month. Truly small, but free money!

[Imma]

Today I'm editing the essay I wrote last weekend and I always feel like I "deserve" nice food while studying. I started off my day with a fancy, but homemade coffee. At 11 I had a short break during which I made oatmeal-banana-peanutbutter cupcakes. Had a salad at 2, using up ingredients from the fridge and also some soup. My s/o is going to make burgers and fries for dinner, also homemade.

Eating cheap and from scratch is something you just need to do, even if you don't feel like it. I try to make life easier by boiling a few eggs at the same time and making batches of 12 oatmeal cupcakes, so I can always grab a quick, healthy snack.

[Roadrunner53]

Making a big crockpot full of pea soup with ham chunks. It has onions, carrots and home made chicken broth made in January and has been frozen since then. I will have a ton of leftovers and pretty cheap considering I will have more than a gallon. Will have with garlic bread! NOM!

[Catbert]

ETA: I sauteed the carrot greens in some mushroom and sage-infused olive oil and they were...edible. Barely. I don't think I'll make them again, unless someone has a tried-and-true recipe to share.


I've always found carrot greens too bitter to eat alone.  Small amounts can be added to soups or when you're making broth.  If you grow radishes or get them fresh at the farmer's market, those greens are delicious to me when sauteed.

Thanks, that's good to know. I'm not a big fan of radishes so I don't grow them, but if I ever end up with some radish greens I'll try them out. :)

If you don't like radishes, you won't like the greens which taste, ah, kinda like radishes.

[Botany Bae]

Today I'm editing the essay I wrote last weekend and I always feel like I "deserve" nice food while studying. I started off my day with a fancy, but homemade coffee. At 11 I had a short break during which I made oatmeal-banana-peanutbutter cupcakes. Had a salad at 2, using up ingredients from the fridge and also some soup. My s/o is going to make burgers and fries for dinner, also homemade.

Eating cheap and from scratch is something you just need to do, even if you don't feel like it. I try to make life easier by boiling a few eggs at the same time and making batches of 12 oatmeal cupcakes, so I can always grab a quick, healthy snack.

This is so true, I've been having trouble fighting the urge to get takeout lately! I did similar today -- I really wanted to go sit in a cafe and drink fancy coffee while studying. Instead, I made myself an ice coffee and sat out on the patio with my laptop. Instead of procrastinating by people watching, I procrastinated by watching the bees and butterflies in the garden :)

[MountainGal]

ETA: I sauteed the carrot greens in some mushroom and sage-infused olive oil and they were...edible. Barely. I don't think I'll make them again, unless someone has a tried-and-true recipe to share.


I've always found carrot greens too bitter to eat alone.  Small amounts can be added to soups or when you're making broth.  If you grow radishes or get them fresh at the farmer's market, those greens are delicious to me when sauteed.

Not a recipe, but, a neighbor made pesto out of carrot tops and gave us a few jars.  Not too shabby.  :)

[MustacheBeginner]

I canceled my Wall Street Journal subscription which saves me $35/month or $420/year.
$35 a month invested into index funds @8% gives me $37.060 interest :-P while having $12.600 paid into it in total.

[Linea_Norway]

Finally, walked to work again. When I did so last week, I had to report in sick the next day, because I became so allergic to birch trees that had extreme pollen release that day and I felt really awful the next day. Now I have been taking DH's allergy tablets for a whole week and the pollen are moderate. So today walking went well (so far).

Showering at work and washed my hair with shampoo provided at work.

[RelaxedGal]

Finally, walked to work again. When I did so last week, I had to report in sick the next day, because I became so allergic to birch trees that had extreme pollen release that day and I felt really awful the next day. Now I have been taking DH's allergy tablets for a whole week and the pollen are moderate. So today walking went well (so far).

Showering at work and washed my hair with shampoo provided at work.

Good idea to shower at work - get that pollen off of you/out of your hair so you have a lesser reaction!  My husband has been biking to work and we are also in full tree allergy season (oak for him) but between Allegra allergy pills and showering at both ends of the commute (when he gets to work and again when he gets home) he is enjoying the exercise.

[Raenia]

Returned an item I bought online that didn't quite do what I wanted - I decided to stick with the option I already had instead, since it seems to work better even though it is not what I had in mind.

Shopped around my car and renters insurance policies, for a savings of almost $400/yr over what the old company wanted to charge me.  This company's customer service is worse, but the savings is worth it.

Walked to the library on Sunday to return several items before they went overdue, even though it was raining.  Will walk there again today or tomorrow, when the items I requested come in.

[Tyson]

Started doing the allergy shots after seeing an allergist.  They're $10 per shot, and it's 25 shots.  But once it's done it should save me a ton of $$ on allergy medicine.  And make life generally more pleasant.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Made some adjustments to our car insurance policy & saved $86/year.

[Tyson]

Cancelled HBO Now before my free trial month was up.  Caught up on Game of Thrones and Veep over during the free trial.

[Teachstache]

Went to my workplace talent show tonight. We took canned food as a donation. Enjoyed ourselves immensely & got free ice cream for our 3 year old, plus free duck eggs from a co-worker for spouse and me.

Signed up for 50% off teacher discount for both of us tonight. 2 gigs of data plus unlimited talk and text for $20 per month total. Yes, please!

Walked to the grocery store and scored 50 cent fresh pineapple tonight. We bought 8 for $4, plus got free exercise and carried them home in our backpacks.

[Loretta]

I finished reading an awesome library book, Tiffany Haddish’s autobiography, The Last Black Unicorn.  She is so funny and so filthy.  Inspiring story too.

[Poundwise]

Got a scratch-n-dent basic dryer at Best Buy, for over $200 off the sale price.  Used gift cards that I bought at discount. Drove it home myself to save on delivery (added bonus,  was forced to clean the back of our van). Will install ourselves. 

While changing the door side, I hammered out the ding and it looks good as new!

[Arbitrage]

I've been trying to chip away at our grocery budget - DW, who is frugal but not not mustachian, normally controls it.  Discovered today that the Instant Breakfast we mix up (with half-and-half) 2x a day for my underweight, finicky son can be purchased more cheaply online if purchased in bulk from Walmart rather than the local Target, or grocery store (ugh) when Target is out of stock or DW forgets to pick it up there.

Savings $1.50/week, $75/year.  Divide it by 4% and it's close to $2k, plus the additional couple hundreds of bucks saved until we FIRE. 

Yeah, it might not end up being quite that much (eventually we won't need to purchase it), but it's still fun as a thought experiment.  The work to slash the food budget continues. 

[jengod]

Started doing the allergy shots after seeing an allergist.  They're $10 per shot, and it's 25 shots.  But once it's done it should save me a ton of $$ on allergy medicine.  And make life generally more pleasant.

Allergy shots are priceless. They changed my life.

[Linea_Norway]

Started doing the allergy shots after seeing an allergist.  They're $10 per shot, and it's 25 shots.  But once it's done it should save me a ton of $$ on allergy medicine.  And make life generally more pleasant.

Allergy shots are priceless. They changed my life.

Interesting to hear.

DH has allergy for birch pollen and some other pollen, as well as for dogs. He is taking allergy pills and nose spray the whole spring and summer. But he thinks it is not worth the hassle to take the shots. From what we have discovered the shots need to be taken every 3 or 4 weeks or so, consequently for a year. And if you fail to take it, it could make your allergy worse. DH thinks he can tackle his allergy with his current meds.

But now I have also become allergic to birch pollen. So I can investigate for myself if I want another alternative. I will try to read up on the matter.

[brute]

Assembled, leveled and felted my pool table myself. Saved $460, and it's actually tighter and more level than the pros have done previously.

[Trifele]

Started doing the allergy shots after seeing an allergist.  They're $10 per shot, and it's 25 shots.  But once it's done it should save me a ton of $$ on allergy medicine.  And make life generally more pleasant.

Allergy shots are priceless. They changed my life.

Interesting to hear.

DH has allergy for birch pollen and some other pollen, as well as for dogs. He is taking allergy pills and nose spray the whole spring and summer. But he thinks it is not worth the hassle to take the shots. From what we have discovered the shots need to be taken every 3 or 4 weeks or so, consequently for a year. And if you fail to take it, it could make your allergy worse. DH thinks he can tackle his allergy with his current meds.

But now I have also become allergic to birch pollen. So I can investigate for myself if I want another alternative. I will try to read up on the matter.

@Linda_Norway -- I also have a birch pollen allergy.  Some people (I'm one of the "lucky" ones) with birch allergy go on to develop allergies to a specific group of foods.  (Google "pollen food syndrome", or "oral allergy syndrome"). Hopefully that does not happen to you and your DH!

[Tyson]

Started doing the allergy shots after seeing an allergist.  They're $10 per shot, and it's 25 shots.  But once it's done it should save me a ton of $$ on allergy medicine.  And make life generally more pleasant.

Allergy shots are priceless. They changed my life.

Interesting to hear.

DH has allergy for birch pollen and some other pollen, as well as for dogs. He is taking allergy pills and nose spray the whole spring and summer. But he thinks it is not worth the hassle to take the shots. From what we have discovered the shots need to be taken every 3 or 4 weeks or so, consequently for a year. And if you fail to take it, it could make your allergy worse. DH thinks he can tackle his allergy with his current meds.

But now I have also become allergic to birch pollen. So I can investigate for myself if I want another alternative. I will try to read up on the matter.

I just started the shots and it's once a week for 25 weeks.  Some people go twice a week in which case it's only 12.5 weeks.  They told me if I missed a week that's fine, just don't miss more than 2 in a row.  If you have things like vacations, they can work around that.

[MountainGal]

Count me in with the allergy crowd.  Pollen, pet dander and some foods.  Stopped receiving shots at age 12, however, when I had an adverse effect.

Last weekend:
Did several mountains of laundry, and ensured the washer and dishwasher had full loads only before running the machines.

DH installed the window AC unit per my request, but I've kept the windows open for a cross breeze whenever possible.

To avoid food waste, I'm utilizing leftovers.

As usual, received 3 months worth of 3 RX via mail to save money and avoid the hassle of standing in line at the pharmacy.

Found 2 greeting cards purchased who knows how long ago when clearing out my home office desk.  This will save me from buying duplicates for upcoming birthdays.

Similar to Arbitrage, I'm also looking at ways to shave $$ off our grocery/HBA bill.  My goal has been $300/month, and I've hit that only once so far this year.

[Car Jack]

Ok....my savings today revolve around gasoline.  I added 3 friends to my Shell Fuel Rewards circle, so I'll get 75 cents off a gallon for that.  This week, stop and shop has 2X gift card points for gas, so I bought a $500 master card with my new BBVA card that I need to hit $1500 in spending to get $100 bonus.  With other points I've already got and one more gift card to buy on the way home, I'll pick up 20 gallons of gas for 38 cents (not a gallon....total).  How do I pay for the gas, you ask?  Why, with a shell gift card that I bought at stop and shop using one of those master card gift cards.

[Roadrunner53]

I locked in on my home oil price for the next heating season a couple of weeks ago at $2.899 a gallon. I just checked the price again today to see what it is and it went up to $2.999 a gallon. So in a way I saved $70. We use around 700 gallons a year.


Any of you who heat with oil check out fixed prices before the go thru the roof!