What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[FamilyGuy]

Used K-cups (someone put that in office kitchen for free) instead of buying coffee in the cafe.

[Sugaree]

I (finally) remembered to bring all the frozen lunches I made to work for lunch.  They're more expensive than PB&J or the cheapo frozen meals, but still cheaper than hitting the cafeteria or skipping lunch and then eating everything in sight while cooking dinner. 

I also fixed a rip in my jeans with my dollar store sewing kit.  Hopefully they'll last until I can find a suitable replacement at the thrift store. 


ETA:  And I found a promo code to save 25% on the heater core for DH's car.  And he gets to put it in so that will save about $500 in labor charges. 

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@MountainGal - how do you reheat nachos? Love them, but unclear how I could love them as a leftover. Do share tips!

Standard stuff for us:
-Leftovers for dinner
-Sorted our benefits for 2019
-Earned a $1K bonus for a really terrible, thankless project at work. Feel super happy it's over, and that my manager recognized my contribution
-Youngest son wants to join the middle school volleyball team. It's a reasonable time commitment, and about $100. Before he tries it, I offered to sign him up for a $25 clinic. If he doesn't like it, great, no fuss/no muss. If he does, he'll be better prepared for the season.

[MountainGal]

@MaybeBabyMustache , I warm them up in the microwave.  True, the tortilla chips are a little soggy by the next day, but yay no food waste!

[Imma]

- Bought a load of seasonal veggies for dinner today and tomorrow.
- Used odds and ends of several vegetables and cheese to make an omelette for lunch. Served it with toasted, stale bread
- Will make overnight oats for tomorrow's breakfast
- Am home alone over the weekend and plan to spend all of my time writing two papers, not going out to buy anything. At most I might watch Netflix under a blanket to relax at night.
- We're having an unusually warm autumn, so we still have not turned on the heating and don't expect to do so next week either.
- This means I can also still dry laundry outdoors! 

[OtherJen]

I drove my parents to the county clerk to get notarized copies of their birth certificates. This saved them about $100, compared to the cost of ordering the same number of copies online.

While downtown, we managed to snag street parking for $2.50 rather than $10 for a parking garage. I also drove my tiny Prius rather than their big SUV.

Parents bought lunch as a thanks for driving, so yay, free lunch at a favorite restaurant (and leftovers for dinner)!

[jengod]

* One of my Amazon listings sold, so $35 is headed straight to an investment account.

* Made dinner at home: challah and roast chicken.

* Harvested tangerines and thyme from the yard.

* Line-dried a couple of loads, saving about $0.50 in electricity costs.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Met my husband for a free lunch at work,& lunch was fabulous
-Made a great pilaf, using celery that had been the fridge for a while. Bulked up the pilaf by adding extra carrots, and doubling the recipe for leftovers
-Used $14 of Rite Aid credit to buy an OTC medicine

[Sugaree]

I'll be leaving shortly to go pick up a couple of free trees to plant in the yard.  I'm hoping to bring home a couple of Pawpaw trees (that's a fruit native to the southeastern US) and a couple of Magnolia trees. 

[Linea_Norway]

I harpuned 2 fish and DH one fish. Together free protein ingredients for two meals.

[Imma]

I bought some vegetables that were very cheap because they need to be eaten very quickly. I will stir fry them today and freeze them with rice so we have some quick healthy meals in the freezer.

I'm also doing some mending today and I still haven't turned on the heating. It's quite warm for October during the day, but the evenings get pretty chilly. I'd like to hold off until 1 November but I'm not sure if I can. Our normal target date is no heating before 1 October so we're doing better than ever anyway.

[pressure9pa]

Set my dryer to "winter mode", where I run the exhaust pipe up the wall and out a vent to put the heat and humidity into the house.  I dry about 40% of the clothes that go through the washer. 

[mountain mustache]

- having a "no spend" weekend, staying home and focusing on cleaning and resting
- also, doing an inventory of my chest freezer, to plan meals around all of the food I've been stocking up over the summer

[Sugaree]

Set my dryer to "winter mode", where I run the exhaust pipe up the wall and out a vent to put the heat and humidity into the house.  I dry about 40% of the clothes that go through the washer.

May I ask how you keep from blowing lint all over everything?

[pressure9pa]

Set my dryer to "winter mode", where I run the exhaust pipe up the wall and out a vent to put the heat and humidity into the house.  I dry about 40% of the clothes that go through the washer.

May I ask how you keep from blowing lint all over everything?

This isn't exactly the same model I have, but similar to this.  The screen is easily removed and picked clean like a regular washer's lint screen.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Deflect-o-Extra-Heat-Dryer-Heat-Diverter-EX12/100167911

Some versions also vent through water that you replace very so often. 

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I harpuned 2 fish and DH one fish. Together free protein ingredients for two meals.

Pretty sure you win!

-Made a menu plan & (mostly) shopped from the list. I've also acknowledged that our 11 & 12 year olds are eating way more, and given our schedules (I cook only on weekends, & we eat leftovers during the work week), we're running out earlier in the week. We've pretty much exhausted all freezer options, so today I bought a few convenience foods that can be pulled out to round out leftovers or other dinners: ravioli, potstickers, empanadas, baked chicken, etc.
-Drove our electric car all over for errands. Will charge for free on Monday
-Went through the kids closets & found a few things they've overgrown that I can sell

[OtherJen]

After finishing the “Castle Rock” TV series, I wanted to read some of Stephen King’s work (I’m a fan, but it’s been a few years). Our local library branch isn’t super well stocked, so I was pleasantly surprised to find three full shelves of his novels. I haven’t read Dolores Claiborne since high school (~25 years). I’m excited to reread it this week and didn’t have to pay a cent for the privilege.

The library branch also has several seasons of “Suits” on DVD. I’ll have to place a hold on Season 1. I’ve been wanting to watch that show for a while.

[Mrs.Piano]

- Cut down some pesky bushes with a tree saw rather than hiring someone to do so. My first time using a tree saw! Felt very Mustachian throughout.

- Made arrangements with a lady from our mosque to pick up large load of fabric and household goods she received in her mother’s downsizing. Will sort through this afternoon and share with another mosque member plus some refugee families. 

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Somehow, all food related.

-Prepped four batches of taco meat for the freezer. Bonus points for running out of taco seasoning, & making more from various spices around the house
-Shredded a brick of romano cheese, for the freezer. We freeze in ziplock size portions & take out when we're running low.
-The kids made us a cake for our anniversary yesterday, and we ran out of powdered sugar. Made more in the blender.
-Froze leftovers from last night's dinner. Will make at least 4 dinner's worth. It was also delicious!
-Rather than going out for dinner for our anniversary, the kids opted to make us a cake (absolutely amazing - from scratch!) & we opened a bottle of nice champagne & made dinner together. It was one of my favorite anniversaries ever. Lots of laughing with the cake creation.

[Hirondelle]

Went for a walk with two friends instead of going out for a drink. Money saved + an hour of ourside air and 'exercise'.

[Rosy]

Reading online, sci-fi - amazon freebie book - fun read

Batch cooked soup - came out fabulous. Freshly chopped leeks, fresh carrots, potatoes and a can of creamed corn, added some fried bacon pieces for flavor.
Simmered a batch of sliced apples - to go with oatmeal in the morning, for dessert with ice cream and for apple pancakes. Mr. R. helped with my little apple cutting tool since I don't have enough strength to use it anymore - I hate that, but it was nice to hang out in the kitchen together.
Fixed country style ribs yesterday, to eat with fresh steamed corn on the cob and maybe some of those apples later today.
Mr. R. will have plenty of good stuff for lunches this week and less cooking this week for me.

Line dried yesterday and today.
Found a coupon for my eye drops online $3.

[OK]

* went through a cookbook on loan from the library and copied out a few recipes by hand rather than making copies
* line dried one laundry load
* told my daughter that I am not buying any new Halloween costumes, she can chose one from the outfits we still have from the last years

[jengod]

* Saved pretty fabric ribbons that came with some new pillows for guests. I'll use them for gift wrap at the holidays.

* Tangerine harvest

* Put some used cardboard moving boxes on the sideyard as the first layer of a lasagna mulch

* Accepted a gently used boys' bike from a mom friend--her son has grown out of it and my son will move up to it shortly.

[Lazyretirementgirl]

Bought a few bottles of black dye and dyed my work pants.  They are in decent condition just faded.  This will easily get me another year without buying new ones.  Only draw back is my hand now has a black cast to it from making sure the fabric was all under water.  Next time I’ll make sure I have an old paint stick on hand for that.
[/quote
 Could you explain exactly what you did? I have the same problem, but am daunted.

[Linea_Norway]

Walked to work and will walk back in the afternoon.

Tomorrow I will borrow the free hanger at work to take home and collect some large garbage stuff at home. The day after I will drive it to the free community garbage point, on my way to work. A few kms extra driving, but not enormous.
Nice to have access to a free hanger that doesn't need to be stored at your house.

[Sugaree]

I cancelled my Dollar Shave Club subscription.  We probably have 30 cartridges that have never been used and when we finally work through those, I'll just order some more from Amazon.

[JanetJackson]

Prepped my big dollar tree pitcher of cold brew Aldi espresso before work to fuel me this week.

I throw it into a mesh tube, slide a nut milk bag over the open end, pour water over it, let it brew for about 24-48 hrs and then I have a whole pitcher of very strong, not bitter, cheap coffee (I use espresso- café bustelo) for the week.

I finished my last pitcher yesterday, was too dang lazy to make a new one yesterday, but drank my last cup this morning... sooo... I had to take the 7 minutes or whatever (oh the humanity! Lol) to make a new pitcher this morning before work.

I really didn't want to do it, but hey... it's done!  And sitting in my fridge brewing for me to have tomorrow. 
YUM.

[Mrs.Piano]

I helped a friend clear out her mother’s house yesterday, and came away with some items we had been needing but were too Mustachian to buy. Specifically, we had been using indoor folding chairs on the front porch because we didn’t have any free/thrifted chairs. We got two platstic chairs from the lady. Further, I had been vaguely planning to make a clothespin bag to hang on the line, and also a cutlery roll to carry with us when eating out, and both of these things were included! Finally, I got some supplies for my textile hobby which saved me a few hundred bucks.

[Imma]

I need to buy a textbook that costs €36 new. I'm a  tax law student so it's often difficult to find used books, as there are new editions every year. But this particular book I've found second hand for €28 incl shipping, and it's completely new, still in plastic.

Not massive savings, but still, €8 less for exactly the same item is a good deal.

[Dollar Slice]

I'm taking a few months off to sort out some health issues after losing my job this summer, and I realized last week that my income will (barring any big surprises) be low enough to contribute to an IRA (and get the deduction) in addition to the 401k contributions I had earlier in the year. So today I moved $5500 from my taxable savings to the IRA. It's possible I'll end up getting the saver's credit as well with this additional contribution, but it's hard to say with the new tax system exactly where I'll end up there. Four figures worth of tax savings!

Also didn't spend any money yesterday or today, and did a bunch of batch cooking with on-sale chicken and a big pile of healthy vegetables. Now I have healthy food for the week and no temptation to eat out or order in.

[Hirondelle]

Resisted buying coffee when walking to work this morning.

[Imma]

Resisted buying coffee when walking to work this morning.

You've mentioned this before I think? Don't you have nice coffee at home to take with you, or don't you have time to make fresh coffee in morning?

[Hirondelle]

Resisted buying coffee when walking to work this morning.

You've mentioned this before I think? Don't you have nice coffee at home to take with you, or don't you have time to make fresh coffee in morning?

Yes, normally I do make my own but this morning I went to work earlier than normal so didn't have a lot of time and got tempted. This happens occasionally :). I'm also out of nice coffee actually so that doesn't help either (haven't been making any on most days tbh).

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Nice work @Dollar Slice ! That's a big tax savings

[Imma]

@Hirondelle I don't know how it works exactly, but I know a friend of mine gets up at 5.30 and has a coffee machine with a timer. He sets the timer at the same time as his alarm in the morning and by the time he's washed and dressed there's fresh coffee for breakfast and to go.

I only get coffee from AH a few times a year when I take very long train trips (to your city, for example). I try to make sure I don't have enough time in the morning to visit a shop at the station, because the smells from the shops are always tempting.

[Rosy]

I second the "set the time" recommendation for the coffee maker. But maybe you use K-cups or a manual pour-over method?

Small savings - I just got credited $5 for changing to online statement instead of mail. Yeah, well, I'm old school, but I think this was the last one.

[Sugaree]

I didn't realize how much I liked my programmable coffee maker until it got packed into a box of kitchen stuff that has gone missing.  I have a manual one now that I have hooked up to a smart switch.  I can have it on a timer for the weekdays or I can ask Alexa to start making it on the weekends.  More importantly, it is programmed to turn off after a couple of hours in case I forget.

[MountainGal]

I use a reusable cup in my free, hand me down Keurig and use coffee purchased at Sam's Club in it.  I love it compared to a "traditional" pot since it's just me who usually drinks it.

@Dollar Slice , I hope things work out for you health wise.

Lately:
~Used our $12.28 Savings Catcher this morning at Wal Mart.  I also used 2 paper coupons totaling $3.25

~Returned some past it's best by date (by 3 weeks!) lamb I just purchased last week to the grocery store for a $10+ refund.  Got a free Friday download candy bar while there.  Have been craving chocolate, and this saved me about $1.

~Continuing to use up leftovers to save on food waste.  My lunch just consisted of leftover beef sausage, the last homemade flax seed muffin, and a few slices of pepperoni.

~DH and I will propose to my family we don't do Christmas stocking stuffers this year.  He is still so over "stuff" after last year's move, and I have been focusing on ridding of "stuff" from our home, so why add more?

~According to my spreadsheet, I've saved nearly $1,000 by shopping sale items, and using paper and e-coupons so far this year.

[Prairie Stash]

@MaybeBabyMustache , I warm them up in the microwave.  True, the tortilla chips are a little soggy by the next day, but yay no food waste!

Toaster oven or regular oven for 5 minutes. Its also the way to crisp up stale chips. 5 minutes in the oven, back to being delicious. Ditto with fries, pretty much anything soggy in the microwave just needs a few minutes in the oven.

I purchased 10 taco kits (3 weeks back) at $0.49 apiece for the spice inside, regular price of the spice is $0.99. They were on clearance because the torillas get stale...unless you know how to refresh them.
https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/freshen-stale-tortilla-chips-recipes-article

[middo]

Convinced my wife we should both catch the train to work, since she is one stop further down the line than I am.  We really enjoyed chatting, reading, and she did a little work.  We brought our coffee's from home.  It felt a little like we weren't really going to work, but were on a picnic.

I will spoil her with a hot tea in the keep-cups on the way home tonight.

[Unique User]

DH had three food shows in the last couple weeks for work all with low turnout, probably due to hurricanes.  He never knows in advance what the turnout will be so didn't lower food amounts.  Most of the other vendors will throw food away, but he always brings it home so we have had tons of prepared food in the fridge and freezer lately - lots of salad fixings, sloppy joes, mini meatloaves, jerk pork, buffalo chicken, pimento cheese.  I'm on a mission to use it all up quickly so lots of dinners lately for under $1.  Today was chili made from sloppy joe mix, tomatoes, pinto beans and an onion served with salad.  Less than $1 for the onion; tomatoes and pinto beans were coupon freebies. I'm spending maybe $25-$30 a week on produce and other necessities, not sure how long I can keep it up, but I'll take it. 

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Thanks for the nacho tips. YUM!

We did the normal free lunches at work, leftovers for dinner thing. I also received a Costco recall for an item we had, and we got $50+ back. Wow!

When I was putting some oven mitts that don't fit me into our donation bin, I noticed my husband had added a hoodie that had shrunk. It was too small for him, but fits me perfectly. I'm thrilled. I've been looking for a good "around the house" hoodie as the temperatures drop. No need to buy one!

[jengod]

I have two (thrifted) crockpots going at once—one turning a roast chicken carcass into bone broth and one preparing overnight groats with chia seeds.

[Hirondelle]

@Hirondelle I don't know how it works exactly, but I know a friend of mine gets up at 5.30 and has a coffee machine with a timer. He sets the timer at the same time as his alarm in the morning and by the time he's washed and dressed there's fresh coffee for breakfast and to go.

I only get coffee from AH a few times a year when I take very long train trips (to your city, for example). I try to make sure I don't have enough time in the morning to visit a shop at the station, because the smells from the shops are always tempting.

You actually motivated me to get to my not-so-good coffee (it was a gift of a friend) and find a way to make it more bearable! I don't have/use a coffee machine but I usually drink Vietnamese iced coffee and make it the 'original' way.

I have the same weakness with with the station coffee, especially if I have to wait on a cold station for the next train. When I visit my parents (2.5h train ride, once a month) I usually allow myself to spend the 1 euro to buy a AH coffee. The coffees bought occasionally on the way to work are btw also AH ones (I walk to work and pass one on the way) so they're not that much of a budget-burden ;).

[Linea_Norway]

@Hirondelle I don't know how it works exactly, but I know a friend of mine gets up at 5.30 and has a coffee machine with a timer. He sets the timer at the same time as his alarm in the morning and by the time he's washed and dressed there's fresh coffee for breakfast and to go.

I only get coffee from AH a few times a year when I take very long train trips (to your city, for example). I try to make sure I don't have enough time in the morning to visit a shop at the station, because the smells from the shops are always tempting.

You actually motivated me to get to my not-so-good coffee (it was a gift of a friend) and find a way to make it more bearable! I don't have/use a coffee machine but I usually drink Vietnamese iced coffee and make it the 'original' way.

I have the same weakness with with the station coffee, especially if I have to wait on a cold station for the next train. When I visit my parents (2.5h train ride, once a month) I usually allow myself to spend the 1 euro to buy a AH coffee. The coffees bought occasionally on the way to work are btw also AH ones (I walk to work and pass one on the way) so they're not that much of a budget-burden ;).

On a train your can bring coffee in a thermo bottle.

[MissNancyPryor]

Recently I have stopped buying cream of mushroom soup as a sauce.  So many frugal home-cooked "Mom" recipes require that pantry staple for casseroles and such.  The price of this item has really gone up and it is easily $1.58 on the grocery shelf and closer to $1 per can at Costco. 

On a whim I decided to make my own with a simple white sauce and reconstituted mushrooms.  When I buy Costco mushrooms I usually can't finish the whole package fresh and end up slicing them and dehydrating them so there is lots on hand, they don't suffer much flavor and texture when used in cooking (and compared to canned they are a delight).  I have Costco cheap half-and-half on hand for my morning coffee all the time anyway.

Simple recipe:
Place a big handful of dried mushrooms in a cup of hot tap water; they will reconstitute in about 3 minutes. While doing so, melt 1/3c butter in a sauce pan on medium heat.  Add 1/4c flour and stir to cook out the raw flour flavor, then add a splash of half-and-half and whisk till smooth.  Continue to add more half-and-half slowly till the mixture looks like a condensed soup, which will happen quickly as the sauce boils.  Pull from the heat and add the mushrooms, reserving the liquid for now.  As needed you can add the mushroom liquid to loosen the sauce further from this point.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  All of the ingredients can be adjusted easily by volume and depending on your preferences, it is hard to screw this up as long as you don't scorch it.  It takes less than 5 minutes.  This works perfectly as a substitute for good old cream-o-mush, plus it has the benefits in that I know exactly what is in it. 

The cost is just pennies with the butter being the most expensive item at about 40 cents. All in, the cost is maybe 50 cents for a volume of what would be 2 cans of the condensed soup, saving about $2.50 and providing a wholesome, non-processed food. 

I may buy a bunch of the actual soup again for the bunker if the price gets down to 59 cents a can on some loss-leader Thanksgiving sale but otherwise I don't see myself ever worrying about having it around for weekday meals.     

[Kitsune]

@MissNancyPryor - if you have dried mushrooms on hand that you're re-constituting, the broth from that makes the VERY BEST risotto base. SO flavorful.

[MissNancyPryor]

Yes, good call!  They are so handy for things like that and stroganoffs.  They keep forever in a mason jar. 

[I'm a red panda]

The pump on my conditioner and DH's lotion were no longer bringing up product. (DHs for awhile, he's been working to get it out manually to not waste it.) Instead of rinsing them and recycling the bottles I turned them over in Tupperware. I got a full half cup of conditioner and almost a quarter cup of lotion

[zygote]

I’ve been having trouble resisting an afternoon cup of coffee near work lately. There’s nothing like it when I am struggling through the post lunch slump. I brought tea to make at work, and it just wasn’t the same.

Well, this week I decided to try out instant coffee. BINGO. It’s not as good as the local coffee shop, but it’s good enough that laziness wins and I’m just glad I don’t have to leave the building!! Time and money saved.

It was an interesting lesson in willpower. Just telling myself no wasn’t working. I had to find the right alternative that will actually be sustainable for me.