What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[JanetJackson]

I sewed my workout pants ONE MORE TIME (probably the last time, but we'll see).

I made coffee at home instead of buying out (which I reaaalllllyyy wanted to do).

I enjoyed the breeze from the fan I took out of the dumpster and repaired instead of turning up my AC (I am not sure if this one counts because my energy bill is included in my rent anyways...)

I collected 9 of the small eggs that the farmers next door were just going to throw to the pigs after they collected the bigger eggs.  I gave the pigs one of my starting-to-rot peppers instead (so they still had a nice treat) and I plan to make a quiche later this weekend.

[Imma]

I collected 9 of the small eggs that the farmers next door were just going to throw to the pigs after they collected the bigger eggs.  I gave the pigs one of my starting-to-rot peppers instead (so they still had a nice treat) and I plan to make a quiche later this weekend.

Living next to farmers is a great way of saving money! On my to work I pass by some fields where onions, leeks etc are grown. After the harvesters have been in, there is so much produce still left on the field that no one is going to collect. Last year I was off from work during the harvest, hopefully I'll be able to pick up some this year.

[Trifele]

I collected 9 of the small eggs that the farmers next door were just going to throw to the pigs after they collected the bigger eggs.  I gave the pigs one of my starting-to-rot peppers instead (so they still had a nice treat) and I plan to make a quiche later this weekend.

Living next to farmers is a great way of saving money! On my to work I pass by some fields where onions, leeks etc are grown. After the harvesters have been in, there is so much produce still left on the field that no one is going to collect. Last year I was off from work during the harvest, hopefully I'll be able to pick up some this year.

This is great!  People have been gleaning for thousands of years, and it is a great way to reduce food waste.  http://www.endfoodwaste.org/go-gleaning-.html

Personally I map out abandoned urban and rural fruit trees, and visit them when their fruit is ripe.  One of the old apple trees we pick (I found the owner and asked permission) is such a great producer that we took scion wood last winter and bench grafted 10 baby trees from it.   

Here's a website that maps out urban trees:  https://fallingfruit.org/ 

[OtherJen]

We had houseguests all weekend: my husband’s sister, her husband, and their two young children. There are plenty of expensive things to do in our area, but we decided to skip those and take them to Belle Isle, a big state park on an island in Detroit, because we had already purchased annual state park admission passes. We brought a bag of food from home and went through the aquarium (free) and conservatory (also free) and had a little picnic. The kids had a ball and we didn’t need to spend any cash.

[Bracken_Joy]

-Ended up with some major savings on my BIL's wedding. The venue was located such that we were able to stay with my brother and his SO/SO's parents where they all live. So, free lodging there. They also provided dog care for our puppy. We were there for 3 days, and based on the area, we easily saved $400. However, this made us feel more comfortable giving BIL + new SIL a good size wedding gift, so I suppose it wasn't savings for us per se ;)
-Wore a dress from a previous wedding this summer to the wedding. Not money saving this time, but had to buy some new makeup for the wedding (family, so I was in photos). It made me realize HOW FRIGGIN MUCH money I save on a daily basis by not wearing any makeup the majority of the time. Stuff that my fussy, sensitive, allergy and acne prone skin likes costs an insane amount.
-Walked for groceries and on the way someone had a "help yourself" basket for apples. Grabbed some to make sauce (and ate a couple fresh). They're delicious.
-Usual savings: changed our own oil, cut my husband's hair, ate leftovers.

[okcisok]

Made doll clothes out of worn out clothes, scrap fabrics, and patterns printed free from Pinterest. It was decided to that they needed to be displayed like a dress store for the dolls to shop from, so made hangers from jumbo paper clips and needle-nosed pliers. Literally HOURS of fun, crafty, math and design fun!

Didn't spend any money at all on today's craft, but stopped by the store to grab a few things we need for the next session. Used my Shopkick points for $2 worth of free craft supplies out of the $5 I spent. It takes me awhile to accumulate the points since I don't shop much but the big box stores offer points just for walking in, so it slowly adds up. I also added my receipt to the Savings Catcher app for Wal-Mart. I've yet to earn anything by it yet, but a close friends swears by it, so why not take ten seconds to scan the receipt? Also filled out the survey from the back of the receipt to be entered in a drawing to win a gift card. Maybe I'll win $100 to stretch my grocery budget!!

So mostly frugal gambling today, sounds like ;)

Also patched a pair of jeans with Shoe Goo and iron-on patches. The tears are small, and in a spot right by the belt loops where I can't sew them up. I tried just the patches, and they came off in the first wash. We'll see if the Shoe Goo holds or is uncomfortable. I'd like them to last another season, if possible.

(If anyone wants to try the Shopkick app, I've got a referral code--SALE127807. You and I get a percentage of each other's points for a set amount of time...maybe a week?? Like I said, I don't use it a ton, but it adds up! I've even gotten points for driving through a store's parking lot on my way to somewhere else. :)

[Imma]

I collected 9 of the small eggs that the farmers next door were just going to throw to the pigs after they collected the bigger eggs.  I gave the pigs one of my starting-to-rot peppers instead (so they still had a nice treat) and I plan to make a quiche later this weekend.

Living next to farmers is a great way of saving money! On my to work I pass by some fields where onions, leeks etc are grown. After the harvesters have been in, there is so much produce still left on the field that no one is going to collect. Last year I was off from work during the harvest, hopefully I'll be able to pick up some this year.

This is great!  People have been gleaning for thousands of years, and it is a great way to reduce food waste.  http://www.endfoodwaste.org/go-gleaning-.html

Personally I map out abandoned urban and rural fruit trees, and visit them when their fruit is ripe.  One of the old apple trees we pick (I found the owner and asked permission) is such a great producer that we took scion wood last winter and bench grafted 10 baby trees from it.   

Here's a website that maps out urban trees:  https://fallingfruit.org/

Thanks! The map only lists sources of nettles in my city (if I want them, I only have to visit the neighbours to get those...) but I will keep my eyes open and see if I can add some more to the map.

I went to a gig and unexpectedly got offered a ride home instead of taking the train. I also got free food and free water. All in all spent €12 on the train there and a drink.

I placed a pretty large fabric order at a webshop in the US. In the US, fabric is a LOT cheaper than it is in my country, even after shipping and taxes. My order included 10 yards of flannel @ $3/yard. I will make pyjama pants for everyone for Christmas. I drew the pattern myself a few years ago and they're worn all winter. I love making gifts that people will actually use. I have a large stash of sewing supplies I got for free (from people clearing out their grandma's stuff) so I don't have to buy sewing thread or elastic very often.

[Trifele]

Yesterday I had my first paid-for side-gig! I earned $75 for 2 hours of work that is enjoyable, and will get $10 for my travel expenses (which didn't cost anything). The travel time and preparation is not paid for.
During the 2 hours I sat in the sun with another person, chatting with each other and people who passed us. A sweet deal on a day like that.

Congrats Linda!  That is sweet indeed! Were you teaching?

[chasingthegoodlife]

That’s a cool service Linda, I wish there was something like that here. I’d love to forage mushrooms but I am a natural worrier and I don’t think I would trust myself!

[Trifele]

I agree -- that is really cool, Linda. 

[Stachetastic]

School starts Wednesday for the kiddo, so all supplies have been purchased and labeled. One item listed was Ticonderoga pencils, pre-sharpened. Of course the unsharpened pencils were cheaper, so I bought those and sharpened them at work (before anyone else was in the office, I didn't want to disturb people by running the sharpener for 10 min straight).

Kiddo is reusing backpack (that was originally free) and lunch box from last year.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Price matched a flight, and earned $54 in credit for a future flight
-Used a coupon at Target for back to school supplies. Didn't quite have enough to use the coupon, so bought a couple of snacks for the kids to take to soccer practice. Cost me nothing out of pocket, & the kids were happy
-Found discounted Netflix gift cards & reduced the cost of our subscription by $3/month.
-Made dinner at home
-A friend took our kids for dinner & a pool party, so as a thank you, I made her homemade hummus that she was wanting to try
-Saw a good deal in an ad at our local grocery store. We're having a pool party, & the kids consider pizza bites the perfect pool party food. ;-) They are a rip off $9.99/bag normally, but were on sale for $5.99. For whatever reason, one flavor was marked down to $1.99/brand. Bought 4, which was all I could fit in the freezer. Watched my receipt, as they rang up incorrectly, & had to stand in line for the customer service agent to adjust the price to the $1.99. The price was a tagging error, but they honored it for me.

[MountainGal]

Back from our not inexpensive anniversary weekend.   I tried to save where possible by making brunch for us before we left Saturday morning, eating an appetizer for Saturday's dinner (and I am eating the leftovers as I type this for today's lunch-talk about a HUGE appetizer!), bringing alcohol and snacks from home for the hotel room, I asked and received a complimentary room upgrade to an executive suite since it was a special occasion, and we brought a bottled water into the concert.  DH paid for fuel on the way to, and I paid for it on the way home.  He saved .30 per gallon when I was buying using his grocery value card.  Very proud of him!

Put $2.45 into my penguin bank.

Been diligent at using the produce DH harvests from his garden before it goes bad.  Details on the MMM Eat All the Food in Your House thread.  :)

Bringing the usual coffee, breakfast, lunch and snacks to the office from home.

[centwise]

I'm looking after the neighbours' pet bird for a couple of weeks, so they said could harvest as much as I want from their vegetable garden as "payment". So I harvested basil, lettuce, other herbs, zucchini and green beans for free.
 
Took a load of beverage containers to the bottle depot and received $21 in deposit returns.

[Linea_Norway]

At the end of the winter, we got compensation from the previous owner of the house for having done the drainage wrong by himself, without informing us about it. We got approx 5.500 USD to have it repaired. We have now started doing it ourselves. We also tried to hire a digging machine, but the owner didn't respond with a price. So we are digging by hand.

[Hula Hoop]

We're on vacation visiting family in NYC and, rather than go to an expensive children's museum, we went to a free water playground with the kids.  Now the kids are having lots of fun helping my parents make dinner.

[middo]

Free morning tea at work today, which was big enough for lunch for me, so my lunch went back into the fridge until tomorrow.

[okcisok]

I'm within $3K of paying off my last debt, and I wanted one of those coloring sheet trackers to keep me motivated. I couldn't find any free printable ones that I liked, and I wasn't going to pay $1 for what amounts to a page with lines. I grabbed a coloring book we already owned and used an inkpen to adjust the picture to debt payoff increments. Now I have Snoopy ready to join Lucy in the pool as soon as that last payment is made ;)

Thawed out some freezer soup for dinner tomorrow. Have a small cake I got free at work (plus the two provided meals!), so I can have DBF over for a very cheap, but mostly homemade, dinner.

[Trifele]

I grabbed a coloring book we already owned and used an inkpen to adjust the picture to debt payoff increments. Now I have Snoopy ready to join Lucy in the pool as soon as that last payment is made ;)

^^^ Love this! 

[MountainGal]

I grabbed a coloring book we already owned and used an inkpen to adjust the picture to debt payoff increments. Now I have Snoopy ready to join Lucy in the pool as soon as that last payment is made ;)

^^^ Love this!

+1!!!!!  :D

[IsThisAGoodUsername]

I cooked my own breakfast this morning (instead of going out). I remembered this when I was sitting down at the office (that the breakfast was still in the microwave).

[okcisok]

I grabbed a coloring book we already owned and used an inkpen to adjust the picture to debt payoff increments. Now I have Snoopy ready to join Lucy in the pool as soon as that last payment is made ;)

^^^ Love this!

Thanks :)

[OtherJen]

I planned a few dishes around perishables that I didn’t want to waste, such as the beautiful tomatoes and herbs from my SIL’s garden and a cabbage and some bell peppers from our Hungry Harvest box. So now our fridge is stocked with prepared veggie-heavy dishes that can be easily assembled and heated and will keep over the weekend, which removes the temptation to stop for fast food on the way back from our road trip.

[Will]

I started my epic cross-country road trip today.  Brought snack-y things at Costco to eat on the way (dried apricots, apples, bananas, peanut butter and bread for sandwiches), fueled up at Costcos along the way when I could, and am staying at an Airbnb for my first time ever!

[chasingthegoodlife]

Checked my supermarkets app before shopping and got some personal care products I use regularly for half price.

Shopped for ingredients to combine with leftovers.

Paid with gift card from credit card churning.

[chasingthegoodlife]

Checked my supermarkets app before shopping and got some personal care products I use regularly for half price.

Shopped for ingredients to combine with leftovers.

Paid with gift card from credit card churning.

[Linea_Norway]

I ordered a new credit card that will give me 2% rewards on groceries in the shops where I usually buy my groceries.

Last year I had another credit card that let you choose a reward and every month I chose 3% on groceries. But this year they have removed that option. So I had to find some other solution.

[Imma]

Sold an old textbook. After shipping and the fee from the website I'm selling it through I'll probably only get about €10, but still, that's one more book out of my house and €10 in my pocket. I try to sell all my textbooks as soon as I'm done with them, but I kept this one for a few years because I thought I could use it as a reference while writing an article. Turns out I hardly ever used it. Next time I'm getting rid of books as soon as I can. All of these books are available at my local university library. If I need them I can get them there.

[Mon€yp€nny]

Will make a new batch of coarsely grated union- garlic-carrot-cellery for the freezer. No left overs, no waste, easy to make quick meals. That saves money on pizza, ready made meals, take out etc.

[Bracken_Joy]

-Husband wanted some new tank tops. Was finally out at stores nearby and let me go to a cheap store. Was able to find 2 good tanks in clearance for $3 apiece. Also, while I was there, I found a v neck t shirt for $1.30! It was a light blue/teal sort of color, so probably unpopular, but I asked Husband and he thinks he'll wear it. These are his daily wear clothes, so that's a great find.

[JanetJackson]

- Wanted hash browns for some reason at an almost uncontrollable level on my way in to work today.  Ignored it and went into the office and ate the Aldi protein bar I had packed.

- Wanted Starbucks… not just ANY coffee, STARBUCKS specifcally at about 9am this morning.... it's half a block away... I almost got it.. but didn't.  I accept that I feel tired, that's ok at the moment.  I might cave later.

- Wanted to leave work at noon.  My work was done, I felt unproductive and like I was wasting company time.  Instead I'm taking a ten minute break right now and working until the afternoon on odds-and-ends projects.  I'm paid hourly, so not going home early MAKES A DIFFERENCE. :)

[middo]

Made espresso coffees (Lattes) for myself and my wife before leaving for work, and drank them together on the commute.  Saves about $8 per day.  Two coffees would cost us $8.40, from our favourite coffee shop.  Since I bouth the machine in May, we haven't bought a single coffee.  Estimated savings and costs:

Cost:
Machine:    $159
Keep cups: $4
Coffee:       $140
Milk:          $32
Total:         $335

Expenses avoided:
Coffees:   120 x 2 x $8.40= $2016

Total saved:  $1681 in 4 months.

[Trifele]

I grabbed a coloring book we already owned and used an inkpen to adjust the picture to debt payoff increments. Now I have Snoopy ready to join Lucy in the pool as soon as that last payment is made ;)

^^^ Love this!

Thanks :)

I hope you don't mind @okcisok, but I borrowed your idea and printed off a free coloring book sheet (nice beach scene) to 'color down' my 100 days to FIRE.  So much fun!

[okcisok]

I grabbed a coloring book we already owned and used an inkpen to adjust the picture to debt payoff increments. Now I have Snoopy ready to join Lucy in the pool as soon as that last payment is made ;)

^^^ Love this!

Why, of course not! I'm flattered! That's what this forum is all about, helping each other to FIRE.

Thanks :)

I hope you don't mind @okcisok, but I borrowed your idea and printed off a free coloring book sheet (nice beach scene) to 'color down' my 100 days to FIRE.  So much fun!

[okcisok]

Fixed another pair of jeans with the sewing machine. I only have three pairs and I'd like them to last until I get my car paid off in the next six months. I'd like to throw every spare penny at the debt until it's gone.

Ate two meals at work. Bike to and from work, as usual (if I don't walk, that is).

Resisted buying new clothes for new job. Working through my wardrobe and seeing what others wear to make sure I'm within the vague dress code, instead of buying a bunch of new stuff. ALL of my clothes are new to my co-workers :)

[okcisok]

Sold an item on Etsy that I'd been gifted. Wrapped it in a reused bubble mailer and stamps I'd been given. Total profit!  Mailed another book as a gift that I'd wrapped in an old map, also using gifted stamps. No out of pocket at all, and I rode my bike. $12 profit on that errand :) (Media Mail is your friend, if mailing books or media in the US. As long as there's no personal correspondence and it fits the USPS definition of media, it saves some postage.)

Walked my dog to the library and used a fine voucher I'd gotten for participating in the summer reading program to zero out my fines. No drive day!

Ate breakfast at home.

Repaired a pair of sandals using Shoe Goo.

[daverobev]

Got paid to take a new iPhone 6.

Um.

Thanks, Walmart/Koodo/third party company.

[Imma]

Resisted buying new clothes for new job. Working through my wardrobe and seeing what others wear to make sure I'm within the vague dress code, instead of buying a bunch of new stuff. ALL of my clothes are new to my co-workers :)

Thanks for the idea! I will (hopefully) start in a new job on 1 October that has a more formal dresscode then the IT-company I work for now. My coworkers regularly turn up in hoodies with holes in them so I'm easily the most formally dressed person as long as I don't turn up wearing my PJ's. In my new role I'd be reporting directly to the CFO. I was already mentally preparing myself for having to buy new work clothes, but maybe I should carefully go through my wardrobe before I do that. I don't have a lot of clothes but maybe I'll find new combinations of clothes.

I went to the wholesale store today and bought a large 5 kg bag of penne. It's cheaper than smaller bags and there's less waste. I also bought a large jar of powdered soup. I know that's not the healthiest food in the world, but when I'm super busy and really tired I can just throw a few spoons of it in a pot of boiling water and toast two slices of bread and have reasonable dinner in 5 minutes - a lot cheaper than take-away or frozen pizza and faster too.

My s/o wanted to go to a free gig tonight, our friend is playing. He's doing a frugal month challenge and felt uncomfortable going and not buying any drinks. He has a habit of losing track of loose change and I secretly save it up for him when I find it. I surprised him with enough change for 2 drinks! He left his cards at home so he's definitely not spending more than that.

[Linea_Norway]

Both DH and I each won a free reusable bag by correctly naming some fish. And a chance in a (small) lottery.

[mountain mustache]

I harvested about 5 pounds of plums from a neighbors tree (with permission, of course!). They were super ripe, and falling off, and I had been staring at them for days. I finally got the nerve to ask, and now I have delicious plums to make jelly with, which will become gifts for friends over the next few months.

[Arbitrage]

In the past couple of days -
Rode my bike to the grocery store to pick up a few things. 

Rode my bike to Home Depot to pick up a couple of minor DIY repair items.

Made homemade yogurt in the Instant Pot for the first time - it came out great, and doing this on a recurring basis should save me at least $10/month going forward.

Rode my bike to the library today.  In fact, I haven't driven my car in almost 3 weeks (I have driven the family car for a couple of trips).  A bit worried that it might not start!

[Linea_Norway]

I harvested about 5 pounds of plums from a neighbors tree (with permission, of course!). They were super ripe, and falling off, and I had been staring at them for days. I finally got the nerve to ask, and now I have delicious plums to make jelly with, which will become gifts for friends over the next few months.

Jummie. You can also easily make jam from plums.

[okcisok]

Resisted buying new clothes for new job. Working through my wardrobe and seeing what others wear to make sure I'm within the vague dress code, instead of buying a bunch of new stuff. ALL of my clothes are new to my co-workers :)

Thanks for the idea! I will (hopefully) start in a new job on 1 October that has a more formal dresscode then the IT-company I work for now. My coworkers regularly turn up in hoodies with holes in them so I'm easily the most formally dressed person as long as I don't turn up wearing my PJ's. In my new role I'd be reporting directly to the CFO. I was already mentally preparing myself for having to buy new work clothes, but maybe I should carefully go through my wardrobe before I do that. I don't have a lot of clothes but maybe I'll find new combinations of clothes.

I'd highly recommend this route. Two jobs ago, I was in a similar situation. I'd worn a company uniform for 8 years, and had few clothes outside of jeans/tshirts and uniform components. My new job was in a newly built location and would require business professional. As this was pre-MMM and I was dating a spendypants, I went right out and got a store credit card and charged up $1000 worth of what I thought I'd need.

Long story short, the opening got pushed back two months, so i wore a company provided polo and khaki pants every day for those two months while my new wardrobe gathered dust and interest payments. Then it turns out that several of the outfits weren't right for the job. Then they changed the dress code and I had to go buy more items.

This job change, I went straight business professional for the first few days. Then I spoke to my coworkers and superiors in a casual way about how closely we adhere to the printed dress code. Turns out, very little. Mondays are jeans & tshirts since we don't see clients those days! As long as I can come up with 4 outfits that are presentable, I'm good. Then I can switch those components and accessories around for the next 4 workdays, without spending except to replace. Honestly, who can tell one pair of black dress pants from another?

[Dicey]

I wanted to post something on this thread, but I didn't spend any money. Does this count?

[4alpacas]

I wanted to post something on this thread, but I didn't spend any money. Does this count?

Absolutely!  You don't have to spend money to save money!

I also won't spend any money today because I did the usual--packed my lunch, made tea at the office, and will run/shower at work.

[JanetJackson]

Just one today:
Today I used the superglue at work to clue my "work Crocs" for a second time. 
I've worn these every single day for three, maybe four years now.
They're the Croc Alice shoe... and now that Crocs is going out of business, I don't know what I'll do for shoes when these wear down.  They look almost brand new though, I just wipe them down occasionally and have had to glue the sole twice.  Not bad for $19.99 (What I paid when I bought them).

I never thought I'd wear Crocs for ANY occasion, let alone at work, but they look dressy, are rugged, and recover from dog walks before/after work very well.

[Shinplaster]

Just one today:
Today I used the superglue at work to clue my "work Crocs" for a second time. 
I've worn these every single day for three, maybe four years now.
They're the Croc Alice shoe... and now that Crocs is going out of business, I don't know what I'll do for shoes when these wear down.  They look almost brand new though, I just wipe them down occasionally and have had to glue the sole twice.  Not bad for $19.99 (What I paid when I bought them).

I never thought I'd wear Crocs for ANY occasion, let alone at work, but they look dressy, are rugged, and recover from dog walks before/after work very well.

I thought Crocs was just closing its corporate owned factories?  They will still be in business, just subcontracting the manufacturing.   

[JanetJackson]

Oh, I dunno… Guess I need to google that. :)

Just one today:
Today I used the superglue at work to clue my "work Crocs" for a second time. 
I've worn these every single day for three, maybe four years now.
They're the Croc Alice shoe... and now that Crocs is going out of business, I don't know what I'll do for shoes when these wear down.  They look almost brand new though, I just wipe them down occasionally and have had to glue the sole twice.  Not bad for $19.99 (What I paid when I bought them).

I never thought I'd wear Crocs for ANY occasion, let alone at work, but they look dressy, are rugged, and recover from dog walks before/after work very well.

I thought Crocs was just closing its corporate owned factories?  They will still be in business, just subcontracting the manufacturing.

[Sun Hat]

Having lost sufficient weight to render all of my pants very baggy, but with about another size to go to my goal, I resisted the urge to splurge and got myself some new-to-me pants at the thrift store. Three pairs in perfect condition for $23!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Free breakfast & lunch at work
-Drove electric car to work
-Paid licensing fee via credit card vs check for some extra miles (pay off our credit card every month)
-Will make dinner from leftovers