Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8020847 times)

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13700 on: March 22, 2020, 05:53:33 AM »
We are on day 12 of self isolation, apart from a small trip to a now quiet grocery store every couple of days. Today I made a long walk, but did so from home. Most days we don't use a car. I can go grocery shopping on foot, if I don't buy so much.

LaineyAZ

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13701 on: March 22, 2020, 07:24:48 AM »
This is really small, literally, but I broke an inexpensive pair of glasses.  Normally I'd toss them but I decided to remove the tiny screws so I could save them in my glasses repair kit.  I figured that could be one of those niggling items that may be useful to have on hand vs. trying to scrounge in today's shopping environment.

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13702 on: March 22, 2020, 10:49:51 AM »
This is really small, literally, but I broke an inexpensive pair of glasses.  Normally I'd toss them but I decided to remove the tiny screws so I could save them in my glasses repair kit.  I figured that could be one of those niggling items that may be useful to have on hand vs. trying to scrounge in today's shopping environment.

Smart!  I am extremely reliant on my spectacles so having redundancies in place is key!

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13703 on: March 22, 2020, 09:56:31 PM »
Day Two of self-quarantine: Mended two clothes items, baked a batch of muffins to save two mushy bananas, downloaded library books on my Kindle, took the dog for a long walk, painted some watercolors, emptied out and washed my work bag by hand. Put some food items in the freezer that I haven't gotten to yet so they won't go bad, and organized the food cabinets a bit to make sure I'm rotating pantry goods properly.

Frugal Lizard

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13704 on: March 24, 2020, 09:29:06 AM »
Day Four of Isolation.  We are using up the items in the freezer.  Whole family is doing the menu planning!

LaineyAZ

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13705 on: March 24, 2020, 09:50:34 AM »
Needed a new pair of eyeglasses/readers.  Took advantage of Walgreens 20% off for seniors for regularly priced merchandise. 
Formerly Walgreens had offered the senior 20% off only on the first Tuesday of the month, now it's been changed to every Tuesday.

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13706 on: March 24, 2020, 10:36:46 AM »
1. I spent money to save money:) - ordered a bidet seat.
This will save money on toilet paper in the long run and help keep us clean during the toilet paper crisis.:)
Looks like I'm not the only one who had that idea - the price gougers are out there and there are delivery issues - out of stock, with many models.

2. Decided to add more variety to our veggie garden - more time and work, but it will be fresh and tasty.
Less exposure to other people - no worries about supply and delivery chains.
I had already added more fruit and a couple of perennial veggies for the first time this year, but I'm adding more peppers .....

3. Picked up a couple of pkg's of re-usable dish rags? not sure what to call them, for nasty spills for when/if we run out of paper towels.

MountainGal

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13707 on: March 25, 2020, 02:08:02 PM »
Recently:

Saved $.20 cents a gallon yesterday at the fuel pump by using my grocery value card
Saved $16 using paper coupons at Walmart
Continuing to eat leftovers and planning meals out of the freezer
Joined an online group for recipe ideas for the above
I made grain free cheddar biscuits last weekend.  Yum.
Made several batches of overnight oats to use up various containers of oatmeal
Used three gift cards while running errands a few weekends ago

BECABECA

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13708 on: March 25, 2020, 02:56:19 PM »
Since sheltering in place for the last week:
  • Repaired the dishwasher myself, only cost $30 for the part (luckily it got delivered just before COVID-19 started affecting supply chain).
  • Cooked at home for every meal last week (necessity makes this a lot easier!) Using up all sorts of random stuff from the pantry.
  • Sewed the ear cushion back onto DW’s fancy videoconferencing headphones. Good as new, and just in time for full time working from home.

ixtap

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13709 on: March 25, 2020, 03:00:35 PM »
I thought about ordering a Nintendo Switch, but evidently, there has been a run on those. So I am posting here and there and having a pretty lazy day.

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13710 on: March 25, 2020, 07:03:39 PM »
Today I finished a sewing project that will replace single-use items, so saving money in the long run. All made from scraps and strangely colored thread from my sewing basket (lime green--any other sewists have a bunch of half-spools of weirdly colored thread they might never use up??)
Went for a social distancing walk through a local park with a friend to see the tulips in bloom.

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13711 on: March 25, 2020, 07:51:29 PM »
Day two of mandatory home quarantine. So far, I’ve added elastic straps to several handmade cloth masks. Selected seeds for our balcony garden. Cleaned the kitchen so that ayi will not have to work as long once our quarantine period is completed.

This morning, I wanted to sit at a cafe and have coffee (except I can’t because of mandatory quarantine) so DD and I sat on our balcony’s little cafe table and had breakfast outdoors.

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13712 on: March 25, 2020, 08:37:05 PM »
Day NINE of self-quarantine, because I actually am sick, but no definitive CV symptoms, happily. Didn't go anywhere, didn't buy anything.

ZsaZsa

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13713 on: March 26, 2020, 10:28:01 AM »
Today I finished a sewing project that will replace single-use items, so saving money in the long run. All made from scraps and strangely colored thread from my sewing basket (lime green--any other sewists have a bunch of half-spools of weirdly colored thread they might never use up??)
Went for a social distancing walk through a local park with a friend to see the tulips in bloom.
[/quoteI
I was digging through my partially used spools for some thread to match the masks that I am making from scrap fabric, 13 year old granddaughter groans, "Grandma, its a VIRUS, it doesn't care if your colors match!"

LWYRUP

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13714 on: March 26, 2020, 07:47:36 PM »
Quarantine is cheap.  Ate at home.  Worked from home.  Working on taxes now.  Using free tax USA so hopefully won't pay TurboTax charges though the software seems to be struggling with the backdoor roth IRA.

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13715 on: March 27, 2020, 10:49:18 AM »
I did not drive my car at all yesterday or today!  I am eating up stuff from the fridge and pantry.  I’ve been trying to consume by dates on packaging.  I used the internet to find recipe ideas for a can of crescent rolls in the fridge that have been calling my name.  So tonight’s dinner is looking like ham and cheese inside a crescent roll with a side of baby carrots. 

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13716 on: March 27, 2020, 11:18:15 PM »
Spent hours on a puzzle a friend loaned me. And I mean HOURS! Time I wouldn't normally have, so a tiny silver lining in this quarantine.
Didn't order anything from Amazon, even though i was tempted. I still have plenty of necessities, and anything else would be a want. I haven't spent any money in exactly a week!
Got the box fan out of storage to avoid turning on the A/C for another day. It worked so well I got chilly and had to turn it off. I appreciate my pre-war house a lot on warm days, since it was designed before central A/C (although it has it now).
More mending. One more pair of jeans to fix, then my mending pile will be finished.
Switched the summer and winter clothes. Found a stain on a wool sweater and took care of it before boxing it up and probably setting the stain.

LWYRUP

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13717 on: March 28, 2020, 07:24:14 AM »
Quarantine is cheap.  Ate at home.  Worked from home.  Working on taxes now.  Using free tax USA so hopefully won't pay TurboTax charges though the software seems to be struggling with the backdoor roth IRA.

Figured it out and did state tax on state website.  So tax prep wa free this year (thanks for the advice MMM blog) and I'm going to get rebates for VTSAX in short order.
« Last Edit: March 28, 2020, 06:24:05 PM by LWYRUP »

Michael in ABQ

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13718 on: March 28, 2020, 10:52:55 AM »
I'm on a military base with free meals, free room, and the only places I could spend my money are all closed down. 

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13719 on: March 28, 2020, 01:34:01 PM »
I bit the bullet and finally ordered myself a groovy Wahl hair clipper, like the fancypants barbershop uses to cut my salt n pepper tresses.  Gonna watch some tutorials this afternoon and attempt my first self-headshave tonight, so that if I make a right mess of it, i will haveSunday to recover before  returning to work on Monday.  The clippers cost $23.49 and my last professional haircut cost $28 and was not short enough to suit me, so I feel like this was a smart investment even if I look a scabby mess at first.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13720 on: March 28, 2020, 05:46:15 PM »
-Took the quiet Saturday to list a few things on eBay. Made a sale & pocketed a bit of money.
-Repurposed ingredients to make all meals from ingredients we have on hand
-Went for a long walk in the woods. Miss the gym, but this works too. Wore a rain coat, because... the drought has ended. I'm thrilled for the environment, but the timing seems ironic

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13721 on: April 01, 2020, 11:52:16 AM »
I've been setting myself with a few "surviving the quarantine" tasks a day. Most are focused on mental wellbeing (journal, meditate, exercise), but I also set at least one house or yard project, and one financially related one. I'm trying to list one item per day on eBay, which works well with my current decluttering exercise.

I've also mailed three recent eBay sales using repurposed packaging (Amazon, etc)

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13722 on: April 03, 2020, 05:58:32 PM »
It's nice to know people are still participating in eBay sales. Just in case I actually get around to posting things...:)
Made more progress on the mending pile.
Finished up some homemade gifts for a summer birthday.
Used green onions I rooted from scraps to make some chili from gifted venison. Threw in some peppers going soft and the last third of a jar of salsa, to keep them from going to waste.
Made cornbread from an old 'just add water' mix and had it for breakfast with gifted pumpkin butter (so yum!). Ate some buttered with the chili for dinner.
Used some leftover marshmallows from a work event to make this peanut butter popcorn (https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/74363/peanut-butter-popcorn/) and it is DELICIOUS, especially if you sprinkle it with some coarse sea salt.
Talked myself out of making a craft store order, since I have so many craft supplies already.

ZsaZsa

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13723 on: April 04, 2020, 10:37:43 AM »
Mr. Z and I repaired a leaning section of concrete wall retaining block in front of our cellar. I dug, he levered everything into place, and we used some leftover concrete from a sidewalk project to finish it! I moved all of my big pots of hosta that we winter in the cellar out into the sun. We have used our potted hosta for years to fill in any ugly places in the landscaping.
Beautiful, and no yearly cost. God bless perennials!

midweststache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13724 on: April 04, 2020, 07:09:58 PM »
Totally unintentional small thing I did to save a LOT of money: I learned something about transferring money in investment accounts.

I left my old job for a new one in February. I immediately moved the money in a kinda crap employer-run 403(b) to my Vanguard IRA. Transfer took place sometime the last week of February--except I didn't realize I needed to manually "opt in" the transfer to my current holdings once the transfer went through. So all of March--like, the entirety of the market tank--I had my (very small) year and a half of retirement contributions from previous job sitting in a short term reserve, where it didn't lose any value (as it wasn't invested).

I didn't realize it until this week. At which point I threw it all into my tIRA (VTSAX) at ~60% of the cost it had been four weeks previously.


Also (because that wasn't intentional, just dumb luck):
- because we're WFH, we're using a lot less of shampoo/conditioner. I'm also not wearing any of my (very little) make-up, so that will last even longer.
- used up some old barley clearing our the pantry (it's been hard to find barley recipes that DH will eat, but needs must in pandemic time)!
- finished off a grapefruit that my son requested and then refused to eat (ah, toddler whims...)
- taught my eldest to make pudding from a box, rather than buying the pre-made stuff individual servings. He was so proud of his little bowl of vanilla pudding!
- resisted the urge to fill up with gas nearby, which, while cheaper than usual, is more expensive because of our location; we've got a solid 1/3 tank, so we're going to wait until the next grocery run in a week or so, when we'll be further out of the city and it'll save at least $0.20/gallon

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13725 on: April 04, 2020, 08:50:50 PM »
Needed to mail a package. Was also getting low-ish on jigsaw puzzles. Called friend, met her outside post office (she needed to go there too) and swapped some puzzles - yay for free puzzles! Then I stopped by my 95 year old friend's house and gave her four puzzles that my friend didn't take. Wore my N95 mask and gloves, of course.

While at Post Office, mailing postage prepaid package, I checked our box and discovered two rent checks, hooray!

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13726 on: April 05, 2020, 01:40:03 AM »
Instead of buying planters for our balcony garden, DH came up with the great idea of repurposing our empty 5L water bottles. We’ve been buying water in 5L bottles because our complex won’t deliver the reusable 5 gallon bottles to us while we are under quarantine.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13727 on: April 05, 2020, 09:55:19 AM »
-Planted starters for our garden
-Listed items on eBay
-Made all meals at home

ZsaZsa

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13728 on: April 05, 2020, 11:06:39 AM »
Picked up two tomato plants, cilantro and rosemary for some of my big planters. Too soon to put them out in the garden (rumors of more cold weather coming.) Mr. Z did get out the small tractor, and tilled the garden so its ready to plant whenever.

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13729 on: April 05, 2020, 03:44:48 PM »
Did a full kitchen inventory--fridge, freezer, cabinets. Now I know *exactly* what I have on hand and what I need to order. Took the grocery list and used Instacart to place my Aldi order with my Chase Rewards card. (It's 5% at grocery stores this quarter, woot!)

My grocery order was so much higher than usual, but I've consoled myself with all the other ways I'm saving money. Very little car usage, very little laundry, no going out for the sake of going out, no parties to buy gifts for, little wear and tear on my clothes, not wearing makeup, etc.

I planned out my tiny urban garden with the seeds I purchased earlier this year and some saved seeds from foods I like to eat. Sketched out where to plant what on some scrap paper. If I can get some more items from the hardware store in a contact-free way, I will. If not, I'll make do with what I have for the garden. A tiny bit more food security in these uncertain times.

shawn77777

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13730 on: April 06, 2020, 02:52:19 PM »
Got my VA disability rate raised so hopefully no more buying prescriptions ever again not to mention healthcare and more money monthly.  My kid took me to 4dx Star Wars I would have gladly paid and took him but I’m grateful.

@shawn77777 - CONGRATULATIONS! Not an easy feat. VA approved my (dear departed) hubby's VA disability to 100% the same month he passed away.
Hope you get to enjoy your increase for years to come.

I did nothing to save money today at all instead we enjoyed an outing to a local market, a walk on the pier and a fine dinner a Deux.
Happy New Year everyone - may 2020 exceed all our expectations:)!
Thank you sorry about your husband! 
Well my kid quit his job when the virus got serious which i was secretly happy about!  On the positive side we have got to hangout a ton and I have someone to help me eat when I make to much.  I have left the house once in the last week so spent very little after 2 horrible months of spending.  My local 10gym membership has been put on hold so i thought I was saving $10 a month but instead I have been getting charged almost $20 so I put in a disconnect request on that.  I cancelled Netflix, Hulu/Disney and WWE network I think I have burned out on tv.  Getting ready to call directv I have a bundle internet/cable deal that cheaper than our local cox internet for just cable but I'm gonna try to get it lowered.  Also about to call my insurance and see if I can reduce that any since I'm not driving at all  Since I retired my only thing left I still indulge on is going out to eat on occasion and nowhere to go since I am quarantine myself till this is over.  Returning my crap made Keurig to Amazon for a refund since it broke and a ceramic knife set that broke the first day which will lower my bill a tad.
« Last Edit: April 06, 2020, 03:56:13 PM by shawn77777 »

LWYRUP

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13731 on: April 06, 2020, 04:39:06 PM »
Quarantine is cheap.  Ate at home.  Worked from home.  Working on taxes now.  Using free tax USA so hopefully won't pay TurboTax charges though the software seems to be struggling with the backdoor roth IRA.

Figured it out and did state tax on state website.  So tax prep wa free this year (thanks for the advice MMM blog) and I'm going to get rebates for VTSAX in short order.

Got my federal tax rebate and used it for a Roth IRA contribution. 

Spent Sunday doing some home improvement projects and working in the garden. 

Today work from home, eat at home, spend $0. 

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13732 on: April 06, 2020, 07:14:37 PM »
I went nowhere other than the mailbox.  I received a call back about refinancing as a follow up to a call a few weeks ago.  Still not enticing enough as I’m at 3.3875 %and the best they could offer was 3.25.  10 years.  So I saved money by doing math. 

Michael in ABQ

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13733 on: April 07, 2020, 07:14:09 AM »
Used a gift card yesterday to buy a $15 item from Amazon. My first Amazon purchase for myself in about five months.

Right now my room and board is free and there's only once place I can spend my money and it requires a 30-75 minute wait. So I haven't spent any money in the last week, and hardly anything the week before that.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13734 on: April 07, 2020, 11:49:39 AM »
I walked to the hardware store to get a ton of things that were on my list - I've been doing lots of DIY since I've been working from home and I needed lots of small things so I saved them up to avoid going to the shop too often. I didn't really pay attention when I was paying because I was trying to figure out how I was going to carry home everything. At home I looked at the receipt and it looks like they didn't charge me for the most expensive item (€13).

I would have told them if I had noticed it in the store, but I'm not going back now.

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13735 on: April 07, 2020, 01:34:04 PM »
Last weekend we smelled a rat - literally.

It escaped from Wolfie the cat and turned out to be a fat ole incredibly wiley critter.
Took apart half the kitchen hunting it down and then it still escaped us. Ran straight for my feet - yikes!
We finally tracked it down behind the amplifier in the living room but it escaped again and was nowhere to be found.

Anyway - it had tried to chew its way out to freedom through the kitchen window screen.
So we left off the screen overnight and that finally did the trick - thank goodness.

I was ready for roof-rat stew - Wolfie had no interest whatsoever in joining the hunt.

1. That finally brings me to the savings topic - saved $12 by hauling our dishwasher to the curb (which is what the local store charges for removing).
I would have died in mortification if the installer had seen the mess created by this rat.
The DW was picked up within the hour, that's one good thing about living on a busy road - our cast-offs are always gone, sometimes within minutes.
Sure glad Mr. R. is handy around the house since this involved shutting off the water.
I'm still traumatized, I had no idea how much damage and yuckiness one single rat can cause. I used so much disinfectant I had to treat my hands to a good portion of salve.

We'll not be replacing the dishwasher opting for a freezer instead - if I can find one that fits - not having any luck.

2. I'm on day 21 of self-quarantine since I'm high risk.
Our savings are due to
no eating out - around $150 - we are spending some money on restaurant take-out but no more than we usually do.
no birthday parties - another $100 in eating out expenses, but the gifting will remain - no savings there.

I am concerned that Mr. R. will bring home the virus since he is still working and doing the shopping, so in preparation, I ordered an oxygen monitor and actually found a few masks (20) - but I am not certain they are really medical-grade until I see them.

3. Researched the homemade masks and found an article by the Washington Post.
An interview with Peter Tsai the materials developer for the N95 masks (and others, incl how-to's).
He recommended using shop towels, a non-woven material that is the closest material to what is used in the 3M N95 masks.
It will contain the droplets better than cotton materials - so that will be my material of choice.

Cost zero - since we picked up a six-pack of blue shop towels a couple of weeks ago because around here there are no paper towels to be had.
I watched a couple of youtube videos on how to make one out of shop towels, but I think I can improve upon that design.

4. Garden - may indulge myself and order a couple of hard to find rare perennials. Pleasure and food for years to come.
Always worth the expense to a garden lover like me. Given the expectation that we might be dealing with this virus for another year or longer it will be nice to be distracted by blooms, scents and enjoy fresh fruit, tea, cooking herbs and veggies.

I am so grateful to have a new neighbor who loves gardening as much as I do - so we are collaborating and exchanging garden gifts, seedlings-plants.
The joy of gardening is priceless.

All in all - we might be $150 ahead this month plus the unanticipated $12 savings:) - I'll consider that a win, since it did not require scrimping to the contrary I get to indulge in some new fun plant endeavors.
We did spend money on border stones for the garden, a project I had planned on for months already. We just finished all the main parts of the new garden section only a bit more to go until I stop all projects during the heat of the summer.
I guess I'll spend the summer perusing all my new garden books.

There are still plenty of house projects and decluttering and spring cleaning to do, not to mention taxes and re-organizing some areas - so no boredom, in fact, I'll be glad to escape to Netflix and Prime Video and falling into the abyss of the net and youtube and Pinterest garden porn. 

 
 



 
 

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13736 on: April 10, 2020, 09:22:23 AM »
I haven't been working the last three weeks, but write down a to do list every couple days, it really helps to keep me focused. 

* Deep cleaned the dishwasher, front loading washer and dryer and refrigerator hopefully prolonging their lives.  Washed all the winter bedding and packed it away.  Cleaned out several closets and reorganized. 

* Since I moved to a 75% travel role last October, we've spent a lot more on restaurants and take out then when I was 100% WFH.  I've been trying to come up with creative meals to keep the family happy.  I've made tzatziki and lemon-tahini dressing, Chipotle cheater corn salsa and pineapple salsa, homemade hibachi and yum yum sauce, red curry coconut chicken and veggies among others. 

*DH has a tendency to save samples after packaging or formulas have changed rather than dispose of them.  This normally drives me crazy as these huge industrial sizes are hard to deal with, but the stash of cleaning products from his previous job and food products from his current company have been nice to have.  I went through and did an inventory and was surprised by some of the items I found. 

*DH had saved three small rolling dollies from his previous job that were used to move larger size products.  When they changed the packaging shape they were no longer usable, but of course he saved them.  I spray painted them and put them under three 8 foot palms we potted for the deck to give us privacy.
 
* While looking through the freezer I found a big bag of tomato pieces (we toss tomato ends or whole ones that go mushy before we can use them into a bag until we have enough), three bags of baguette slices from a previous DH food show and two bags of turkey bones.  Turned the tomato pieces into a batch of tomato sauce and salsa, used the baguette slices to make bruschetta a couple times and made a big batch of turkey gumbo.  I'm on a mission to clean out the pantry and freezer of all lingering items.

*Cleaned out my inbox, consolidated all the different rewards that I hadn't been tracking and have on my list for today to open a Capital One savings account for their $500 bonus.  I'll close up a couple checking accounts I opened last year for the bonuses and transfer the cash to Capital One. 

Luckily I go back to work Monday, but it's only 20 hours a week so I'll still have plenty of time to focus on household items.  I won't go back to full time until June 1st and have no idea when I'll be back to traveling. 

shawn77777

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13737 on: April 10, 2020, 02:23:07 PM »
Well haven’t drove anywhere and just made homemade food.  I’m not sure what else to do right now.

Prairie Gal

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13738 on: April 10, 2020, 03:56:17 PM »
I made a batch of raisin bran muffins - from scratch. I can't even remember the last time I baked something. Next time I think I will make a double batch and give it to a family that is struggling because of job loss.

Trifle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13739 on: April 11, 2020, 06:23:47 AM »
I sold three extra dozen eggs yesterday (because of Easter), and also shared some with neighbors. 

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13740 on: April 11, 2020, 09:07:38 AM »
I just shaved my head for the second time since quarantine so my Wahl clippers have now paid for themselves.  I stayed home all day yesterday feeling ill with stomach distress, and I only spent money in the wee hours on an Amazon purchase of some new clothes.  When I do my essential weeks we’ve gone to business casual and so I needed some better blouses and a pair of new jeans to replace some of my thrift store purchases that are now worn out.  I’ve finished some craft projects that provided cheap entertainment as I chilled at home this week.  The yarn was a gift so even cheaper. 

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13741 on: April 11, 2020, 09:41:05 AM »
1. Clipped ten bucks worth of coupons, then found another $5 off coupon for the kitties preferred dinner.

2. Mr. R.'s employer allowed everyone to order some hand sanitizer at company expense.
I hadn't been able to find any at the store - so now we each have one bottle of hand sanitizer 500ml in our car.

3. Harvesting - baby leeks for Easter dinner along with lettuce from the garden - we have dill, parsley, basil, garlic and garlic chives galore, plus peppers and onions, nasturtium and lemon verbena to add some greenery to the table.

4. Did some consolidation of accounts/slush funds to add to the local credit unions holiday club account - it's only $20 in extra interest but hey:).
Besides it has simplified things which has been my goal recently.

5. Sticking to my goal of not spending more than $5 a month on kindle/amazon books - talked myself out of ordering a series of $30 books, but I am pre-ordering one book of a favorite author at a discounted $4:).

6. Spent considerable extra time online hunting down underwear at a "reasonable" price, wth pays $40 bucks for three pairs of underwear?
It wasn't easy, but I found what I wanted at a price I was willing to pay.
I miss going out to the discount store to find a good deal - online shopping sux!






MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13742 on: April 12, 2020, 03:33:11 PM »
-Traded oranges from our yard for yeast. Made hot cross buns for Easter
-Created an Easter egg hunt in our yard from candy I picked up a few weeks ago, and change from around the house. Kids were thrilled.
-Listed an item on eBay
-Walked to the nearest mail drop & mailed another eBay package

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13743 on: April 12, 2020, 04:09:12 PM »
Traded a citronella plant for an aloe plant. Friend would have paid for the citronella but her income has dropped drastically while mine hasn’t changed at all so it didn’t feel right. She had an extra baby aloe so I asked her for that instead.

Making my own hand sanitizer from aloe gel and rubbing alcohol for a total cost of $6 for at least 300 mL. Typically hand sanitizer here costs $4 for 100 mL.

Erma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13744 on: April 13, 2020, 06:57:32 AM »
  • Fixed a toddler book
  • Filtered the oil we used for cooking yesterday to reuse it

ZsaZsa

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13745 on: April 13, 2020, 07:44:30 AM »
Sprouted two quart jars full of lentil sprouts...to use on salads and wraps. Found out I don't care for cooked lentils, this will help use up what's in the cupboard. Love sprouts! Made 12 back-of-head-bands from scrap yarn and old buttons from the button box, took them to work for fellow nurses to use with their masks.
Did the spring clean up and clear off in the herb garden. Sage, oregano, chives and thyme are thriving once I removed their winter coat.

Step37

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13746 on: April 15, 2020, 11:14:06 AM »
We had half a jar of green olives languishing in the fridge, so I looked up a pasta recipe and designed dinner around it. Okay, this was yesterday, not today... but it turned out to be quite tasty and got that jar out of the fridge. Cheers to not wasting food. A cheap dinner, and enough left to be a side with tonight’s dinner.

ZsaZsa

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13747 on: April 15, 2020, 11:41:02 AM »
Taught one of the granddaughters (who is off to college this fall) how to make your own overnight oats. We had a grand and glorious mess with dates, pecans, brown sugar, chia seeds and leftover bits of blueberries and strawberries, all now jarred and ready to have the milk (powdered since we are on a stay home order) added at bedtime.

honeybbq

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13748 on: April 15, 2020, 12:31:00 PM »
I refied my mortgage (30 yr 3.625% to a 15 yr 2.75% no points).

Also I pulled out my bread maker and have learned to make home made bread. I haven't run the math to see if it's actually cheaper, but it saved me from running to the grocery store to buy a loaf of rye bread to eat with our ham leftovers from Easter.

Sugaree

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #13749 on: April 16, 2020, 05:49:15 AM »
I refied my mortgage (30 yr 3.625% to a 15 yr 2.75% no points).

Also I pulled out my bread maker and have learned to make home made bread. I haven't run the math to see if it's actually cheaper, but it saved me from running to the grocery store to buy a loaf of rye bread to eat with our ham leftovers from Easter.

I'm kind of jealous that you can find bread yeast.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!