What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[jnw]

I bought this home back in 2013 and been stuck with Cox cable all these years.  Been waiting forever for AT&T to isntall fiber in the neighborhood.  9 years later, a couple months back they started digging holes all over the neighborhood.   Got an email today saying it's available to me now. WOOT!

I immediately signed up and have appointment tomorrow!  It's only $55 per month and no increase in price after 12 months.  No data cap!  Can't beat that!  It's 300 mbps DOWN and 300 mbps UP as well I believe!  Can you believe that? 100mbps up.  Cox cable was only 180bmps down and 10 mpbs up and they are always greedy and want $83.99 for that per month with 1.2 TB data cap.  I have to call them every 6 months to renogiate price back down to about $59.99 and it's absolute HELL doing it each time.

So I can't for this itnernet!  Such a deal.  Oh and check this out!  Since I am a NEW customer with them I am getting a $200 sign up bonus .. a credit card / gift card or whatever.  I'll get that in like 45 days I think.  I dont' know all the details, jsut that I am gonna get a free $200 as well.

[Imma]

- Dried laundry outside
- Planted the first things in my garden! Will not have to buy seeds this year at all. Last year some seeds were hard to get so I received a part of my order after the season, plus I still have leftovers from previous years. Hopefully they'll still work. I'll just sow a few more seeds in every spot just in case.
- Got rid of a few things through a Buy Nothing group. Got a bar of chocolate in return from a friendly person
- Bought as-good-as-new used flat leather ankle boots for €12. Had been looking for new ankle boots for a while but the ones in the shops were either very ugly or very expensive. I have mid-calf boots that I wear with dresses, but don't fit with jeans. I only had a pair of sneakers and hiking shoes to wear with jeans. The sneakers aren't very warm and the hiking shoes aren't very elegant. So these ankle boots are a good alternative - and they look nice with a dress too! I'm sure I"ll wear them a lot. Sounds like I have a lot of shoes but not really, one pair of every kind! Less than ten pairs in total and that includes hiking shoes and snow boots. I wish I could wear the same pair of black leather sneakers every day like Mr Imma, but it's more complicated for women.

[Poundwise]

I immediately signed up and have appointment tomorrow!  It's only $55 per month and no increase in price after 12 months.  No data cap!  Can't beat that!  It's 300 mbps DOWN and 300 mbps UP as well I believe!  Can you believe that? 100mbps up.  Cox cable was only 180bmps down and 10 mpbs up and they are always greedy and want $83.99 for that per month with 1.2 TB data cap.  I have to call them every 6 months to renogiate price back down to about $59.99 and it's absolute HELL doing it each time.

You go, @JenniferW! It's great news when a local cable monopoly is broken.

@Imma, good luck for your garden!  I also have old seeds so I put them on a damp paper towel in a ziplock bag, and kept the bag in a warm place. I am going to plant the seeds which sprouted (tomatillos and peppers, that I stratified and saved two years ago) and throw out the ones that didn't (tomatoes, from unknown years ago).
Enjoy your boots!

[jnw]

I bought this home back in 2013 and been stuck with Cox cable all these years.  Been waiting forever for AT&T to isntall fiber in the neighborhood.  9 years later, a couple months back they started digging holes all over the neighborhood.   Got an email today saying it's available to me now. WOOT!

I immediately signed up and have appointment tomorrow!  It's only $55 per month and no increase in price after 12 months.  No data cap!  Can't beat that!  It's 300 mbps DOWN and 300 mbps UP as well I believe!  Can you believe that? 100mbps up.  Cox cable was only 180bmps down and 10 mpbs up and they are always greedy and want $83.99 for that per month with 1.2 TB data cap.  I have to call them every 6 months to renogiate price back down to about $59.99 and it's absolute HELL doing it each time.

So I can't for this itnernet!  Such a deal.  Oh and check this out!  Since I am a NEW customer with them I am getting a $200 sign up bonus .. a credit card / gift card or whatever.  I'll get that in like 45 days I think.  I dont' know all the details, jsut that I am gonna get a free $200 as well.

They installed it today.  11ms ping, 368.73 mbps down and 374.31 mbps up; WOW the UP is faster than down.  Cox was 182mbps down and only 10mbps up.  This is gonna rock when uploading videos to google drive!

$55 plus like $1 in taxes.. so just under $56.  Unlimited data.. no data cap.  No equipment fee.  No installation fee.  Free $200 visa prepaid credit card.

(Lol Cox likes to charge $82.99 for 182 down / 10mbps up.. 1.25tb data cap.. and does not include the $10 per month cable modem fee. LOL AT&T is gonna destroy them.  The AT&T rep that came out to talk to me says people in the area are switching to fiber from cox in droves.)

[Dollar Slice]

I got a refund for an annual membership I'd purchased in December. I had bought it in early December for a couple of reasons and basically every reason got canceled or rescinded over the next few months. Luckily they were understanding and granted the refund when I explained my reasons.

(Unfortunately this is well offset by the annual membership I purchased somewhere else in February 2020 where everything was canceled for the next year and a half, LOL. And that place turned out to be an extremely disappointing load of fuckwaddery when I inquired about it.)

[okisok]

@Dollar Slice I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm definitely going to use 'extremely disappointing load of fuckwaddery' in future!

Finished my taxes and got a refund instead of owing like I thought I would. Used a much cheaper (and less glitchy) website than TurboTax so it was quick, simple, and less stressful than usual.

Decided not to buy groceries today because bad weather is expected and everyone here will run straight to the store for bread and milk. I'll eat down the pantry some more until the weather clears.

[ZsaZsa]

Dried a load of clothes outdoors. Have been having some of the lowest electric bills in years since I have not been using the clothes dryer. Even during midwinter I hang them on clothes racks near the woodburner.
Took some steel and aluminum to the recycler...made $33.60!
Mr. Z got me a lovely aqua teakettle for Christmas. During meals I put it on the woodburner to heat, and use the free hot water to wash the dishes. More electric savings.
De-constructed some men's dress shirts from the thrift store, to make quilt pieces for granddaughter's quilt. Bonus- each one has about a dozen or more buttons to use for other projects.

[sonofsven]

The local food co-op sent me a coupon in the mail (I'm a member there already) for a free burrito so I used it today.

[Roadrunner53]

Bought some items on Costco that were on sale and saved $14.50.

[Dollar Slice]

@Dollar Slice I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm definitely going to use 'extremely disappointing load of fuckwaddery' in future!

Glad I could be of assistance ;-) And it looks like I've spoken too soon... In exchange for my (grits teeth) three hundred dollar membership fee that went completely to waste, they appear to have put me on some kind of mailing list for event discounts. Today I was notified that I could get a whole ten dollars off the 10pm late set tomorrow of, uh, a collaboration between... I'm having trouble even figuring out what this is. An electronics duo and a dead guy who was a famous reggae artist? And it's "a journey into immersive audio" and a "premiere listening event." I genuinely can't tell if it's a concert. What a shame I already have plans tomorrow, I'm definitely itching to give these people more of my money...

[trashtalk]

Foraged some free loquats from a tree in a government-owned verge.

[Poundwise]

My mother gets Meals on Wheels, and the meals come with little cartons of milk, which she doesn't drink.  I took two weeks of cartons out of her fridge and have been using them in my tea; kids say the milk tastes weird (it does, a little) and but they don't mind it when I use it for baking.

The lid on our pedal trash can fell off and I sifted through my hoard of metal screws till I found a couple that fit.  Faster than shopping for a new one, and probably saved a fair bit of money as this was a fancy brushed steel can. I had the additional satisfaction of ignoring my husband, who repeatedly told me to throw away the can and buy a new one in a "treat yo self" tone. I wasn't having any of his nonsense.  If I am going to treat myself I will do it properly and not fritter my money away on a new trashcan!

[Dollar Slice]

I had checked back in January (I think it was) to see if my insurance would reimburse me for some at-home COVID tests when they announced that program, but the purchase didn't qualify for some reason and I was pretty annoyed about it. I just decided on a whim to see if they might have updated the qualifications - due to governmental pressure or consumer complaints - and indeed they changed them for purchases after a certain date. My purchase was that exact week :-) So I think I should be able to get $40 reimbursed. Not guaranteeing anything since it's a health insurance company, but it was only a one page form and a quick trip through my e-mail archives to find the receipt and print it out.

I had the additional satisfaction of ignoring my husband, who repeatedly told me to throw away the can and buy a new one in a "treat yo self" tone.

LOL. The satisfaction of fixing something is way better than "treating" yourself to a new garbage can!

[jnw]

Ordered low flow shower head (1.5gpm) as well a shower head shut off valve.

[Dicey]

I found some dribs and drabs from previous batches of lasagne in the freezer. I combined them and made stuffed shells for dinner, all with stuff I had on hand. Hooray for mystery containers in the freezer being put to good use!

[Catbert]

I found some dribs and drabs from previous batches of lasagne in the freezer. I combined them and made stuffed shells for dinner, all with stuff I had on hand. Hooray for mystery containers in the freezer being put to good use!

Fingers crossed that none of the mystery containers turn out to be chili or a red curry.  And if they are, that you figure it out before they're combined.

[Dicey]

I found some dribs and drabs from previous batches of lasagne in the freezer. I combined them and made stuffed shells for dinner, all with stuff I had on hand. Hooray for mystery containers in the freezer being put to good use!

Fingers crossed that none of the mystery containers turn out to be chili or a red curry.  And if they are, that you figure it out before they're combined.

When I make lasagne, manicotti or stuffed shells,  it's a juggling act to make the pasta, filling and sauce come out even. I've taken to freezing any leftover filling. Since it's white with green flecks in it, it's easy to distinguish, thankfully. It turned out fine, with enough leftovers to move to a smaller Pyrex covered dish and frozen  (re-frozen?) for a future meal.

[Trifle]

We are doing a whole-house, gut renovation.  One bathroom down, two to go. Yesterday I thrifted a really nice vanity cabinet, granite countertop, backsplash, sink, and faucets on Craigslist.  A steal at $300.  The only catch was we had to de-install it at the person's house.  We're experienced Craigslist buyers and sellers, but that was a first for us.  We debated whether we wanted to do something like that in a stranger's house, but decided to go for it.  We showed up with all the necessary tools, and 45 minutes later we were loaded up and on our way.  DH worked carefully, and there was no damage to either the goods or the owner's bathroom walls.  Whew. 

[Dicey]

We are doing a whole-house, gut renovation.  One bathroom down, two to go. Yesterday I thrifted a really nice vanity cabinet, granite countertop, backsplash, sink, and faucets on Craigslist.  A steal at $300.  The only catch was we had to de-install it at the person's house.  We're experienced Craigslist buyers and sellers, but that was a first for us.  We debated whether we wanted to do something like that in a stranger's house, but decided to go for it.  We showed up with all the necessary tools, and 45 minutes later we were loaded up and on our way.  DH worked carefully, and there was no damage to either the goods or the owner's bathroom walls.  Whew.

We hope to do something like this with our rentals when DH retires. I'm looking to score some interior window shutters and cabinetry. There are 5000 homes in the community, so the odds of finding the correct sizes are decent. I was thinking of offering "Delicae Demo" services via the community website. This post gives me hope that this idea might work. Thanks, Trifele!

[Trifle]

We are doing a whole-house, gut renovation.  One bathroom down, two to go. Yesterday I thrifted a really nice vanity cabinet, granite countertop, backsplash, sink, and faucets on Craigslist.  A steal at $300.  The only catch was we had to de-install it at the person's house.  We're experienced Craigslist buyers and sellers, but that was a first for us.  We debated whether we wanted to do something like that in a stranger's house, but decided to go for it.  We showed up with all the necessary tools, and 45 minutes later we were loaded up and on our way.  DH worked carefully, and there was no damage to either the goods or the owner's bathroom walls.  Whew.

We hope to do something like this with our rentals when DH retires. I'm looking to score some interior window shutters and cabinetry. There are 5000 homes in the community, so the odds of finding the correct sizes are decent. I was thinking of offering "Delicae Demo" services via the community website. This post gives me hope that this idea might work. Thanks, Trifele!

Good luck!  I asked the seller beforehand about her tolerance of potential holes, dings, scratches, etc. to her walls.  That was my biggest worry -- that she'd be upset about something like that.  We were open about the fact that people install countertops and backsplashes different ways, and depending on the amount of prying we had to do, there might be actual holes in her drywall.  Turns out that she is doing a complete reno soon so she was cool with whatever, which was the major reason we were willing to do it.  She shared after the fact that HER biggest worry was that we would damage the stuff taking it out, and then wouldn't want to buy it!  She didn't breathe easy until we had the backsplash/countertop completely free, and carried out safely to our truck.  So it took some trust on both sides. 

[Dicey]

We are doing a whole-house, gut renovation.  One bathroom down, two to go. Yesterday I thrifted a really nice vanity cabinet, granite countertop, backsplash, sink, and faucets on Craigslist.  A steal at $300.  The only catch was we had to de-install it at the person's house.  We're experienced Craigslist buyers and sellers, but that was a first for us.  We debated whether we wanted to do something like that in a stranger's house, but decided to go for it.  We showed up with all the necessary tools, and 45 minutes later we were loaded up and on our way.  DH worked carefully, and there was no damage to either the goods or the owner's bathroom walls.  Whew.

We hope to do something like this with our rentals when DH retires. I'm looking to score some interior window shutters and cabinetry. There are 5000 homes in the community, so the odds of finding the correct sizes are decent. I was thinking of offering "Delicae Demo" services via the community website. This post gives me hope that this idea might work. Thanks, Trifele!

Good luck!  I asked the seller beforehand about her tolerance of potential holes, dings, scratches, etc. to her walls.  That was my biggest worry -- that she'd be upset about something like that.  We were open about the fact that people install countertops and backsplashes different ways, and depending on the amount of prying we had to do, there might be actual holes in her drywall.  Turns out that she is doing a complete reno soon so she was cool with whatever, which was the major reason we were willing to do it.  She shared after the fact that HER biggest worry was that we would damage the stuff taking it out, and then wouldn't want to buy it!  She didn't breathe easy until we had the backsplash/countertop completely free, and carried out safely to our truck.  So it took some trust on both sides.

That's exactly what I was thinking. These homes are 20-25 years old. Flippers are buying them and doing full gut renos, so they don't care, they just want stuff gone. DH has mad demo and finishing skills...and a truck.

[Trifle]

We are doing a whole-house, gut renovation.  One bathroom down, two to go. Yesterday I thrifted a really nice vanity cabinet, granite countertop, backsplash, sink, and faucets on Craigslist.  A steal at $300.  The only catch was we had to de-install it at the person's house.  We're experienced Craigslist buyers and sellers, but that was a first for us.  We debated whether we wanted to do something like that in a stranger's house, but decided to go for it.  We showed up with all the necessary tools, and 45 minutes later we were loaded up and on our way.  DH worked carefully, and there was no damage to either the goods or the owner's bathroom walls.  Whew.

We hope to do something like this with our rentals when DH retires. I'm looking to score some interior window shutters and cabinetry. There are 5000 homes in the community, so the odds of finding the correct sizes are decent. I was thinking of offering "Delicae Demo" services via the community website. This post gives me hope that this idea might work. Thanks, Trifele!

Good luck!  I asked the seller beforehand about her tolerance of potential holes, dings, scratches, etc. to her walls.  That was my biggest worry -- that she'd be upset about something like that.  We were open about the fact that people install countertops and backsplashes different ways, and depending on the amount of prying we had to do, there might be actual holes in her drywall.  Turns out that she is doing a complete reno soon so she was cool with whatever, which was the major reason we were willing to do it.  She shared after the fact that HER biggest worry was that we would damage the stuff taking it out, and then wouldn't want to buy it!  She didn't breathe easy until we had the backsplash/countertop completely free, and carried out safely to our truck.  So it took some trust on both sides.

That's exactly what I was thinking. These homes are 20-25 years old. Flippers are buying them and doing full gut renos, so they don't care, they just want stuff gone. DH has mad demo and finishing skills...and a truck.

👍

[Arbitrage]

Did my yard spring cleaning myself.  First year in a new house, new climate, but recognizing that there is a distinct 'growing season' here (unlike our previous place in SoCal) and I'd better get the garden beds ready or we'll be completely overgrown with weeds.  So, I spent a bunch of time weeding, pulling out old dead stuff, and spreading mulch.  Got the wife to help on the last major day of effort.  We're pretty terrible gardeners, so we'll see how it all goes, but it all looks much better and more under control now.

Prior to getting my butt into gear on this, wife was definitely advocating paying someone to do it all for us.  There might still be some paid work in our future, since we don't really know what to do with all of the plants, but what we did so far was at least a big bite out of that. 

[trashtalk]

Returned an unused second can of Rustoleum spray paint for a $6 refund. (I was able to repaint the slightly-rusty-but-intact metal table that I trash-picked with just one can.)

[snic]

Fixed a broken dishwasher door (door slams open instead of being held magically at any angle you leave it) with a $7 used part from eBay.

[Arbitrage]

Convinced DW to switch a majority of our kitchen-cleanup duties away from paper towels and onto washable rags.  Should save us $30-40 per year, with the added benefit of not creating quite so much pointless trash. 

[FragglesRock666]

I feel like "treat yoself" and "buy a trash can" are basically antithetical. 

I've been a bit spendypants lately, so trying to rein myself back in...

I get CSAs from local farmers, the upside is local produce is super fresh and delicious, and generally less expensive than it normally would be.  The down side is that sometimes you get stuff you don't care for or otherwise have problems with.  One of those things is apples.  I love local apples, but I have a mild food intolerance to them, and raw they can upset my stomach.  My kid decided she was OVER apples, because that's basically all she gets when she's at her dad's.  So we've had a ton of local apples just kind of sitting in the fridge for quite a while.
This weekend, I went through the drawer and cleaned out the not fit for humans (those went in the compost), then sliced up all the rest and cooked them with onions and pork chops.  It was pretty good!  Though I would've liked them to have been caramelized more than they were.  But, at least I kept the waste down to a minimum vs ending up throwing out the whole lot of them. 

[Dollar Slice]

I feel like "treat yoself" and "buy a trash can" are basically antithetical. 

Yeah, but have you ever seen that $250 brushed stainless steel can that has a "silver ion coating" that resists germs and fingerprints and has voice activation so it opens and closes when you tell it to? YOLO!

[cool7hand]

Our favorite grass fed butter was on sale: buy one and get one free. We stocked up!

[jnw]

Our favorite grass fed butter was on sale: buy one and get one free. We stocked up!

I really the Irish butter from Aldi in the green foil packages.  I think it's $3.49 which is a little pricey.

[jnw]

Convinced DW to switch a majority of our kitchen-cleanup duties away from paper towels and onto washable rags.  Should save us $30-40 per year, with the added benefit of not creating quite so much pointless trash.

We use microfiber washcloths, flour sack cotton towels and those 3M yellow/green scrubby sponges for everythign in our kitchen.  We  use the same flour sack towels for table napkins when we need them.  Also we use mason jars for glasses :P  We haven't bought paper towels nor napkins in ages.

[middo]

Convinced DW to switch a majority of our kitchen-cleanup duties away from paper towels and onto washable rags.  Should save us $30-40 per year, with the added benefit of not creating quite so much pointless trash.

We use microfiber washcloths, flour sack cotton towels and those 3M yellow/green scrubby sponges for everythign in our kitchen.  We  use the same flour sack towels for table napkins when we need them.  Also we use mason jars for glasses :P  We haven't bought paper towels nor napkins in ages.

We keep one roll of paper towel.  It is for when the dog or cat decides to vomit on the floor.  It doesn't happen often, but often enough to keep a roll in the house

[Trifle]

We use natural brown paper towels (torn in half) for napkins, and then put them in our compost.  For cleaning we use washable rags and cloths. 

[sonofsven]

To my shame ;), I use a lot of paper towels when processing seafood. I've used kitchen towels and they retain that special fishy smell for a longggg time.
I'm convinced there is no other way, but for general use I have a lot of kitchen towels that I use.

[Dicey]

DH's firm buys bales of washcloths from hotels that have removed them from service. They use them for jobsite cleanups when water isn't readily accessible and they are meant for one-time use. If chemicals or grease are involved, they are disposed of properly. If they're just dirty, DH saves them and brings them home. I wash them with bleach and they live on as cleaning rags. This makes them re-re-recycled.

I keep a roll of half sheet perforated paper towels from Costco under the sink and another in the laundry, just in case. Oh and one in the RV. I'm still only halfway through the bundle that's been on a shelf in the garage since before the pandemic began. Some times nothing but a paper towel will do, but it's not very often. Used paper towels generally go in the compost.

We use sturdy cotton cloth napkins, sourced primarily from estate sales. The beauty of buying them that way is they've already been washed multiple times and held up well. No shrinkage surprises after the first washing. No polyester, because they're not very absorbent and grease stains cling forever.
 
We have some randomly acquired microfiber cloths, but I don't like them. Too much random crap the dog tracks in sticks to them and won't wash out. The edges roll up and they won't lay flat, which just bugs me. They're colored, colored, synthetic and can't be bleached. Nope.

Once upon a time, I bought four kitchen towels that are folded in quarters lengthwise and have foldover snaps at the top. They attach to a hanging bar that fits over the cabinet door below the sink. The hanging bar came with the house and the towels were discovered on clearance at a fancypants kitchen store which I was only in because we were playing hometown tourists with visiting relatives. I wash them every other day or so. They dry easily and are readily available right where I need them. When these die, a long time from now, I'll DIY another set of them, because they are very convenient and would be easy to make.

For the RV, I cut up an old, long, linen wraparound skirt that was a travel go-to for many years. I loved it, but it became too stained to wear. I deconstructed it to make two large napkins and two dish towels. I used the waistband to make hanging loops for quick drying. I then bleached it until the stains finally came out, which, of course, removed the dye, too, but that's fine for camping. I loved that traveling skirt and I love that it still travels with me.

On the rare occasion that I need new towels, I buy them on sale at Costco. I avoid deeply saturated colors as they tend to show their age faster. The first thing I do is sew over the seams on all four sides. This makes them last for-evah. Old towels become dog washing, car washing, or big spill towels. Eventually they are donated to ARF, which happens to be the same ARF that the Prepper Princess supports, squee! Speaking of PP, was it you, @JenniferW, who recommended her? Bonus Kid will be moving out soon, so we're using her vids to teach him about running a household frugally.

[FrugalAussie]

I'm about to FIRE, Friday next week is my last day.  I've been with my current employer about 16 months, part time about 200 days in total.  Everyday I brought my lunch from home, mostly leftovers or a mixed salad.  I don't think I spent, on average, more than 10 minutes packing my (and often my husband's) lunch. I purchased my lunch on ONE occasion. Thankfully, it was a disappointment so I never repeated that mistake. I probably saved about $1000 and ate a lot more nutritious food.  Some of my colleagues buy a toasted cheese sandwich/croissant for $6, which is all that's available nearby. While I purchased more take away coffee that I would have liked, it never became a daily purchase.  We pay $5 for a coffee, so it can become a costly habit.

[Imma]

We had some stale bread that I didn't want to go to waste, but really wasn't tasting well anymore. So we had cheese toasties for breakfast. Added benefit is that 4 slices of wholewheat bread and cheese each really do filll you up so we will probably skip lunch today!

[cool7hand]

We had a part on our boat fixed under warranty.

[Rosy]

SPRING GARDENING
1. Moved two good size, about 8-ft plus palms, the kind that cost around $250 on up, from other parts of the garden to complete my now three-year-old tropical garden installation.
I bought these palms years ago for like ten bucks - I'm totally thrilled with the outcome, it looks stunning.
Both of them had outgrown their space and were lost in the naturalization that has taken place over the past seven years in other sections of the garden.

A bit of work is all that was required - otherwise basically free. Even though palms often grow very slowly, I might try growing some from seeds.
I have a fancy triple palm that is throwing seeds everywhere, I think I may give it a shot and see what happens.

My wishlist includes a red lipstick palm, so pretty. Maybe I can score one through a local garden group, I wonder if there are plants to be had on a buy-nothing group.

2. Got a free Dill plant from seeds I had saved and threw in the garden early this spring - I'm not an overly diligent gardener and knew I wouldn't have time to look after a bunch of seedlings and one plant will usually do it for us, sometimes I get lucky and get ten plants, I find space and use for all.
12 inches tall and looking good - beginning to fill in.

3. As I declutter I'm finding plenty of material for garden projects as well as garden art, everything else is leaving the premises for donations.

4. We are currently harvesting
cabbage and peas and tomatoes as well as plenty of herbs for cooking bay leaf, rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage(s), garlic chives, chocolate mint, parsley(s) and plants for tea.
The tea plants alone are saving us a fair amount of money and once established are perennials in our climate. Like the Jasmine-Arabian tea bush, lemon verbena or pineapple mint (fruity) just to name a few. The Moroccan Mint is rapidly becoming a huge new favorite.

[Imma]

I always love reading about your garden @Rosy ! How lovely to live in a place where you can harvest fresh tomatoes in March!
I've only just started my garden and it will be some weeks until we can harvest the first things.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Made my son a birthday cake
-Used ham (freezer) & chicken broth (freezer) to make soup
-Used applesauce (freezer) I made in the fall to make applesauce muffins

[FrugalAussie]

The tea plants alone are saving us a fair amount of money and once established are perennials in our climate. Like the Jasmine-Arabian tea bush, lemon verbena or pineapple mint (fruity) just to name a few. The Moroccan Mint is rapidly becoming a huge new favorite.

Thanks for the tea ideas.  We harvest Lemon Grass (the leaves), Lemon Myrtle (a native here in Australia), Mint and Lemon Verbena. I've just been given some cuttings for a variety of Hibiscus that can be used for tea so am hopeful we can add that to the selection.

We get and give plants in our 'Buy Nothing Group'. I have some plants sitting by my front door awaiting collection at the moment. My 'Buy Nothing' friend is moving house, her old place is going to be bulldozed so she's been gifting plants, including large specimens in pots, for the last few weeks. I think about half my plants have come from her place over the years.

Yesterday, at Aldi, Quinoa was available for $7.99 a kg, almost half the usual price.  Purchase some for the pantry. 

[Arbitrage]

Fixed our clothes dryer, for the cost of a $25 part off of Amazon and a couple of hours cursing in the laundry room.  Also painted our replacement pantry doors with my wife, and finished the weeding/mulching out back. 

I've pretty much accepted the fact that every household fix will have several annoying, unforeseen complications that I'll have to pivot and figure out.  In this case, it was one screw that was basically spot-welded in place and needed to be cut off, and two hidden, nearly inaccessible screws that were not in the youtube repair video and required 20 minutes of painful contortions to remove.  Also, finding out that the custom-sized doors we ordered were slightly curved/warped and having to reinstall the hinges myself to get them to work properly.  Also, finding more gifts left by the previous homeowners in the form of damaged door brackets that were nailed in place. 

[okisok]

I got inspired to make a dish from pantry ingredients instead of ordering pizza. I really really wanted a Domino's thin crust pepperoni but made pasta with pepperoni after reading another thread here. Even with a coupon, I would've spent at least $20.

I've been really good about taking breakfast and lunch to work. (I don't get hungry until the workday is starting, so that cancels out breakfast at home.) Like another poster mentioned, I'm usually disappointed by ordering out. I *know* my leftovers will be delicious if I've already had them for dinner :) If I bought both meals out every day, that would be $100 a week!

I've been using up crafting materials to make gifts. I get the fun of using them, my stash is shrinking, and it only costs the price of the materials to finish, not the whole price of a store-bought gift.

Booked my dog's appointment after receiving an email from the vet for a discount on this particular procedure. (I didn't put off her care, it just worked out that it was about time to have the work done and it coincided with a discount.) It should save about $100.

[Rosy]

The tea plants alone are saving us a fair amount of money and once established are perennials in our climate. Like the Jasmine-Arabian tea bush, lemon verbena or pineapple mint (fruity) just to name a few. The Moroccan Mint is rapidly becoming a huge new favorite.

Thanks for the tea ideas.  We harvest Lemon Grass (the leaves), Lemon Myrtle (a native here in Australia), Mint and Lemon Verbena. I've just been given some cuttings for a variety of Hibiscus that can be used for tea so am hopeful we can add that to the selection.

We get and give plants in our 'Buy Nothing Group'. I have some plants sitting by my front door awaiting collection at the moment. My 'Buy Nothing' friend is moving house, her old place is going to be bulldozed so she's been gifting plants, including large specimens in pots, for the last few weeks. I think about half my plants have come from her place over the years.

Yesterday, at Aldi, Quinoa was available for $7.99 a kg, almost half the usual price.  Purchase some for the pantry.

There is a guy in Australia with a youtube channel called "Self Sufficient Me". I've found I can grow whatever he grows here in our small area of coastal Florida. We can't grow what North Florida (not cold enough) or South Florida (not quite tropical enough) can grow. Although I do try to stretch what I can grow in my zone and occasionally it works, mostly not.
Anyway, I've learned a lot from him over the years and he is fun and inspiring to watch too.

I have not been successful with the Hibiscus Tea - totally my fault, both times. There is a Florida native variety, a rather pretty bush and tasty too. But all good things come in threes so I am up for trying one more time.

Thanks for mentioning the Lemon Myrtle, I'll have to look into that one. Since I posted, I checked on a general neighborhood group for plants, there are quite a few people selling plants at a reasonable price and in good size 3-gallon pots, I'm good with that as long as I can find what I really want that way. Free would be better, of course, so I'll make an effort to pursue what groups are active in my area.

I'm a plant-a-holic, but as I am winding down my garden activities instead of adding new sections to the garden - I really must be very selective and intentional and not be swayed by 'oh, look, shiny" - isn't this the coolest plant ever. It may be, but it will have to be cool in someone else's garden.
If I could I'd live in the middle of my garden, being surrounded by greenery, forest, flowers is paradise to me (actually, in some ways I already do:).
I like the ocean, it is invigorating but also intimidating - but give me a meadow and a brook and a witchy little hut and I'm in heaven.

The variegated Pineapple Mint is a very pretty plant - if you didn't know you'd think it was a landscape plant. If you plant it along a walkway and brush by the leaves, it releases a delightful, lightly tropical fruity scent. One of mine has decided to leave its pot and is beginning to plant itself in the potager.
That would be cool since I forgot to take cuttings the last time and was not able to find a replacement. I'm definitely making it my mission to take cuttings this time and try at least three different spots in the garden in the ground, to see if it can survive 'in the wild".
Containers are great and sometimes necessary but I limit mine primarily to the potager area with only a few pots scattered or hiding here and there.

Here is a shot of the variegated pineapple mint in a pot in the 'potager' area of my garden.


It is very windy today so the pic is a bit fuzzy and my angle is a tad wobbly too, but you can see the variegation and that as the plant grows a bit taller the leaves become slightly larger and the variegation becomes even more distinct.
A good looking plant in any herb garden. 
   

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I turned my heat down from 68 to 64 when I left the house. I've gotten out of the habit of having a daytime setting because someone was always home, but now that my husband is back at the office, sometimes the house is empty.

[Dr Kidstache]

I swapped out 2 overhead light fixtures myself. I'm learning DIY skills!

[okisok]

I've managed to get my comfort zone down to 61 degrees in the house. As long as I'm wearing a cardigan and slippers I'm comfy.

I have four clothing items that are in great shape except for a small hole. I spent my downtime at work watching tutorials on different mending techniques. At the very least I'll attempt a new thing. Once I get the technique down, I'm going to try to save a cashmere cardigan with a large hole.

[Poundwise]

Our cordless phone handsets were sounding scratchy and static-y.  I slid open the battery compartments, replaced the rechargeable AAAs with newer ones that I already owned, and now they work perfectly again! I'm pleased because I have owned the rechargeable batteries for a while but seldom used them, so this kind of counts as decluttering also.

I also ordered a new belt for our vacuum.  My spouse had wanted to throw the phones and vacuum away and buy new ones (it's how his family deals with broken items) but once again, I fixed them.

[FrugalAussie]

We attended the inaugural meeting of our local gardening group today (free).  We came home with three free small pots with herbs in them, including a Basil plant to overwinter inside on a sunny window sill (it's Autumn in Australia now) and some seeds. We took some home grown Lemon Grass tea leaves and made everyone a sample of tea to try.  It was popular.