What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[trashtalk]

We wanted to make homemade ice cream cones. Some of the materials online, including stainless steel cones on which to roll new cones, cost in excess of $50! We found a similarly shaped piece of hard foam at a craft store, covered it in aluminum foil, and made our own rolling cones for under $12!

I love this creativity!


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[cool7hand]

Finished writing a personalized card for a graduation party

[Freedomin5]

Made Hokkaido milk bread instead of buying it.

DD is making a "natural habitat" for her hamster, and she's found all the materials at the compound's dump or outside on the ground. DH found an aquarium that someone had thrown away. The soil came from a dead potted plant that someone else had tossed. And DD picked up sticks and empty plastic bottles to make tunnels and bridges.

[cool7hand]

Going fishing. It's free.

[Poundwise]

I have been setting up carpools everywhere I or my kids go.  This also satisfies my "optimizer" personality... saves time, saves the environment, makes friends, saves money!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I have been setting up carpools everywhere I or my kids go.  This also satisfies my "optimizer" personality... saves time, saves the environment, makes friends, saves money!

We couldn't have made it this far along with in parenting without carpooling! We have a four family soccer carpool, and offer rides to games, etc. It saves time & money for everyone. Even as teenagers, the boys enjoy the time together with friends.

-As for us, we internationally planned our day yesterday to be able to take our electric car on a 75 minute drive to soccer. (We also gave another player a ride).
-Used a gift card to get my 16 year old lunch between games
-Used a $20 grocer reward to offset much of the expense
-Returned a few things I didn't need

[Dicey]

Going fishing. It's free.

No fishing license needed? What do you fish with?

[cool7hand]

Going fishing. It's free.

No fishing license needed? What do you fish with?

A friend took me surf fishing. No license needed for saltwater in my jurisdiction, and we used his gear. I brought food, so I guess it wasn't totally free.

[okisok]

Got a free lunch at work and left my bag lunch in the fridge for tomorrow.

In the long run, I've saved money by waiting until I had a couple of weeks in at my new job to suss out the dress code. Turns out their definition is not what I understood. I'm so glad I picked up a couple of secondhand tops used those to stretch what I already owned. Add in a week of unseasonable weather that allowed me to pull some outfits from off-season storage, and it will be at least my first payday before I buy anything else. One more pair of dressy work shoes and I should be set for a while.

[cool7hand]

Going hiking. Bringing lunch.

[Roadrunner53]

Got a free lunch at work and left my bag lunch in the fridge for tomorrow.

In the long run, I've saved money by waiting until I had a couple of weeks in at my new job to suss out the dress code. Turns out their definition is not what I understood. I'm so glad I picked up a couple of secondhand tops used those to stretch what I already owned. Add in a week of unseasonable weather that allowed me to pull some outfits from off-season storage, and it will be at least my first payday before I buy anything else. One more pair of dressy work shoes and I should be set for a while.

okisok, you probably already know this, but you can get some good deals on ebay or Poshmark on barely used or new clothing items. I look all the time for certain brand names and find fun bargains now and then. I got a great top at Poshmark and paid slightly more than I would normally pay but it was in new condition and like 50% less than if I had bought it in a store. That was my first purchase at Poshmark and it went well. I have gotten some great stuff from ebay too. It is always hit and miss though.

[Freedomin5]

I am resisting temptation by not checking the group purchase groups -- if I don't see all the 'good deals', I won't be tempted to buy them!

[cool7hand]

The wife is learning how to cut my hair

[cool7hand]

Updated our monthly subscriptions on Amazon subscribe and save

[okisok]

Got a free lunch at work and left my bag lunch in the fridge for tomorrow.

In the long run, I've saved money by waiting until I had a couple of weeks in at my new job to suss out the dress code. Turns out their definition is not what I understood. I'm so glad I picked up a couple of secondhand tops used those to stretch what I already owned. Add in a week of unseasonable weather that allowed me to pull some outfits from off-season storage, and it will be at least my first payday before I buy anything else. One more pair of dressy work shoes and I should be set for a while.

Yep, I've definitely gone this route before. When I find something in a size/style I like in a store that I can try on, I hit the Secondhand Interwebs like you mentioned plus Thredup and Facebook Marketplace.
okisok, you probably already know this, but you can get some good deals on ebay or Poshmark on barely used or new clothing items. I look all the time for certain brand names and find fun bargains now and then. I got a great top at Poshmark and paid slightly more than I would normally pay but it was in new condition and like 50% less than if I had bought it in a store. That was my first purchase at Poshmark and it went well. I have gotten some great stuff from ebay too. It is always hit and miss though.

[Chaplin]

I got the battery in my phone replaced rather than replacing the entire device. It pays for itself in three months.

[cool7hand]

Borrowed some DVDs from the library for free

[Imma]

We are abroad and I used some extra time I had waiting for the train to figure out which card is cheaper to use. Turns out that for card payments it's cheaper to use a credit card but withdrawing cash is cheaper with a debit card. At the end of my trip this will have saved me at least €5.

[cool7hand]

Eating leftovers

[Dicey]

Got a free lunch at work and left my bag lunch in the fridge for tomorrow.

In the long run, I've saved money by waiting until I had a couple of weeks in at my new job to suss out the dress code. Turns out their definition is not what I understood. I'm so glad I picked up a couple of secondhand tops used those to stretch what I already owned. Add in a week of unseasonable weather that allowed me to pull some outfits from off-season storage, and it will be at least my first payday before I buy anything else. One more pair of dressy work shoes and I should be set for a while.

Yep, I've definitely gone this route before. When I find something in a size/style I like in a store that I can try on, I hit the Secondhand Interwebs like you mentioned plus Thredup and Facebook Marketplace.
okisok, you probably already know this, but you can get some good deals on ebay or Poshmark on barely used or new clothing items. I look all the time for certain brand names and find fun bargains now and then. I got a great top at Poshmark and paid slightly more than I would normally pay but it was in new condition and like 50% less than if I had bought it in a store. That was my first purchase at Poshmark and it went well. I have gotten some great stuff from ebay too. It is always hit and miss though.

I found a pair of Lucy shorts I really like for $6 at my favorite thrift. The company is defunct now, so I tried eBay and Poshmark. I found a couple in the $17-25 range, plus shipping. Can't do it.

[onward19]

Bought some white spray paint and redid all the intake vents covers. They were all varying degrees of off-white, scratched up, or worn out paint from previous owner paint jobs. Have you seen the prices for new vent covers recently?!
 Spray paint cost less than $10. We'll see how long they hold up. The one in the high traffic zone may need to be touched up more often, but the other intakes should be fine. And they look SO much better now!
 Next step is the output vent covers.They have at least 3 colors of paint!

[Loretta]

I got a charge reversed by asking nicely. 

I returned some stuff at the UPS store to AMZ. 

[familyFIguy]

Bought a new refrigerator from a best buy scratch and dent store.  Saved $950 on it due to 4 small dents on the front, another $115 for delivering it to my house in my minivan, and it will save me $150/yr on my electrical bill as our current fridge is 18 years old!

Win!

[Dollar Slice]

Here's a weird one... the specific type of tampons I prefer has been difficult to find for a while (plastic free, but not the fancy organic ultra-expensive kind) and I'm on my last box... so I'm hunting around online to see if I can find some for a reasonable price since my local drugstore hasn't had it in months. Striking out all over the place. Usual suspects all out of stock. Amazon has it for about 30 cents apiece - expensive. Finally I remembered the early-pandemic toilet paper shortage and remembered that office supply stores had toilet paper when no one else did. Maybe? So I checked and it turns out Staples sells plastic-free Tampax in bulk 500 packs for a very fair price (16.6 cents/per, free shipping). Which is going to last me for years. Bonus: estimated to arrive on my birthday, LOL. Do I know how to party, or what?

Really hoping they ship it in discreet packaging...

[Dicey]

if they don't, there should be some comfort in the world knowing you're still young enough to need them, and planning on being so for a loooong time. Great sleuthing, btw.

[Dollar Slice]

if they don't, there should be some comfort in the world knowing you're still young enough to need them, and planning on being so for a loooong time.

I suspect that the nice young man who accepts all the packages for my apartment building won't really see the nuances inherent in a woman twice his age ordering a suitcase-sized box of tampons... but... yeah. All that. ;-) 

[cool7hand]

Carefully planning some adventures to maximize the food we already have in the freezer

[okisok]

Scanned all my weekly receipts into the Fetch app. I got a very specific grocery list combining coupons with Ibotta and Fetch  apps yesterday. Now I have enough in my Target Circle earnings to combine a Circle coupon with my rewards to buy some fun items for free!
DP and I managed to install a replacement door, saving an $80 installation fee (and time off work to be available for the installation person).
DP fixed the oven, saving a fee or parts/labor charges.
Returned an unneeded part for the door installation and a faulty part to get a refund towards more home improvement projects.
Returned a refinishing project part that was the wrong size and got the right size. Now I can finish a project that's been languishing for months.
Cleaned out the garage and found almost $25 in loose change and small bills. Also found a gift card with enough left to get a cheap cold drink that was very welcome after cleaning out the hot, dusty garage.
Used some gift cards to get some fun items for nearly free.

[Freedomin5]

I'm not really saving money...just not spending as much as I would've been spending. There was a group buy for bubble tea ice cream bars, which I really really wanted to try because someone else was raving about them. I didn't want 10 ice cream bars though (no freezer space), so I posted that I was willing to share half, and one of my neighbors is splitting the cost with me.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I've been trying to come up with a few small treats for my teens, who are both studying for finals.
-Made rice krispie treats, with leftover cereal
-Bought everyone their preferred ice cream, with ibotta offers, combined with store sales price
-Took them to boba tea, and used a $5 reward

[Roadrunner53]

This made me REALLY happy! I had ordered this planter-cart. It only has two wheels on the front and a handle on the back to 'drive' it to a different spot. I have it on the deck and once I put my fabric planters filled with potting mix, it was horribly heavy to roll around on my deck. The legs are of an angle shape so not easy to find casters to hook to the legs. I did find casters, but they were $20+ each. I would have had to spend $40+, shipping, and tax to buy them. The cart itself was around $67 and I couldn't stomach paying that much for two casters! Mr. Roadrunner thought about it awhile and remembered he had two casters on these tubular posts. He was able to cut the legs off the cart a little so the casters could be screwed on and be level. It came out so perfect! Didn't cost a dime! The casters make moving the cart a breeze now!

[okisok]

Bought some white spray paint and redid all the intake vents covers. They were all varying degrees of off-white, scratched up, or worn out paint from previous owner paint jobs. Have you seen the prices for new vent covers recently?!
 Spray paint cost less than $10. We'll see how long they hold up. The one in the high traffic zone may need to be touched up more often, but the other intakes should be fine. And they look SO much better now!
 Next step is the output vent covers.They have at least 3 colors of paint!

I did exactly this in a rental a few years ago. I already had the white spray paint. It made such a difference! One way I really recommend getting a lot of bang for your buck in remodeling or updating. Especially for a rental--I was happy for it to look much nicer without spending much or doing a ton of work. It was really shocking how much a change it made in the overall appearance of the place.

[uneven_cyclist]

Something that has definitely made a dent in the past two months has been adding the Mint widget on my phone...it's keeping me really engaged with daily spending, monthly budget, etc.  We hit our monthly budget in April and came super close in May.  It is honestly more engagement than I might ideally want, but very helpful while building better habits.

[cool7hand]

Putting in a warranty claim on a home good that failed in under a year

[Dollar Slice]

Really hoping they ship it in discreet packaging...

They... did not. LOL.

[Freedomin5]

Arugula costs $4 a pack. So we decided to try to grow our own on our balcony.

[cool7hand]

Continuing to plan a fishing trip, including identifying potential spots that require less gas-consumption travel

[okisok]

Really hoping they ship it in discreet packaging...

They... did not. LOL.

Thanks for the update and the laugh!

[Dollar Slice]

Really hoping they ship it in discreet packaging...

They... did not. LOL.

Thanks for the update and the laugh!

What really made me laugh was opening the shipping box and discovering that it was just stuffed full to the brim with loose tampons. Even though I knew what I had ordered, I somehow was completely surprised to see this when I opened it. Haha. I thought they would be wrapped or in boxes or... something. I guess, considering I was looking for a plastic-free option, I'm grateful for the lack of excess packaging.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@Dollar Slice - you've definitely achieved the minimal plastic/packaging option! :-)

[hdatontodo]

Instead of paying a flooring person to come and remove gaps between interlocking tiles, I took up the floor and re-layed it. Dealing with the fridge and gas range with a shortish fuel hose were problematic. I had to trim some pieces. It came out looking much better.

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[Erma]

Yesterday I bought color for clothes in Germany (already cheaper than here) to recolor my old pants which did look very faded. So I don't need to buy new pants.
Today I went to the grocery store to redeem two coupons, one for a drink which I will give to a friend tomorrow who is always interested in strange beverages and one for a package of pasta.

[sonofsven]

The lumbar air bladder on my truck seat covers was leaking so I repaired it eith my bicycle tire patch kit.

[Freedomin5]

Replaced my flat bike tire myself instead of taking it to the bike guy. Saved $4.

[Josiecat23503]

Changed a GFCI outlet ourselves. Handyman wanted 200$ for a twenty minute job.  Feel very satisfied!!

[crimwell]

Bought some white spray paint and redid all the intake vents covers. They were all varying degrees of off-white, scratched up, or worn out paint from previous owner paint jobs. Have you seen the prices for new vent covers recently?!
 Spray paint cost less than $10. We'll see how long they hold up.

I did this a long time ago in our last house. Made a huge difference and the improved appearance lasted the whole 6 years we lived there.

You said the output vent covers are different colors, but you might be able to get away with making them all the same clean white you used for the intakes.
 

[okisok]

I've been paying attention to the notifications my energy company sends about peak hour rates plan and planning my usage accordingly. Usually peak is 2-7PM, but tomorrow is 2-11PM. I started the very full dishwasher and washing machine tonight and will hang dry the clothes.

I made dinner and tomorrow's lunch out of garden items, pantry ingredients, and substitutions. It came out delicious and I'm looking forward to eating the rest for lunch. My reusable water bottle is next to my lunch bag in the fridge with my keys so that I can't forget them.

Put the freezer bag full of veggie scraps into the crockpot for broth. I put the crockpot on the back porch and used an outdoor outlet to keep the heat and humidity out of the house.

I've cleaned out and reorganized the fridge, freezer, and pantry to reacquaint myself with what I have before I go grocery shopping. I was able to mark two things off my list.

Made laundry detergent with an old bar of soap, washing soda, and borax. I've still got enough ingredients for another batch if I can score another free bar of soap.

Paid a little extra to renew my driver's license for 8 years instead of four. Less hassle and cheaper overall. (Did it a few days ago but forgot until I saw the paperwork in my bag.)

Balanced my checkbook and finished plugging this month's numbers into the budget.

[Dollar Slice]

I didn't do any of the cooking I'd been planning to do in the past week (combination of a heat wave, my birthday, and coming down off a bad migraine) so this weekend I did some batch cooking and other prep and saved all of the meat, veg, and fruit in the fridge before it went bad. And now I've got healthy lunches and dinners sorted out for most of the week, plus some semi-healthy snacks.

It was that or going to the store for convenience food, so I flexed the no-waste frugality muscle...

[SquashingDebt]

Cut my partner's hair for the fourth or so time.  I'm getting pretty good at it!  Kept catching myself admiring how nice he looked with his new haircut :)

[Raenia]

While visiting my mom yesterday, we noticed that gas is 30 cents cheaper near her than by us, so we filled up even though we were on half a tank.  Probably only saved $1.50, but it was on the way so no reason not to.