What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Noticed that the airline we'll be flying for the holidays was having a cyber Monday sale. Called & got a price adjustment to our tickets, saving $550 (for four of us). We got that as a credit for future travel.

Badass!

@Dicey  - I was pretty thrilled. The Christmas flights were super pricey, and this brought them back to almost normal prices. We will definitely be flying this airline again (family wedding, trip to my parents), so the credits will be used.

[EchoStache]

Opened individual CMA accounts with Fidelity in both our names to get $150 bonus each.  Made $300 in about 5 minutes.

Also moved all my savings from SPAXX to SPRXX so went from ~3.3%----->~3.7%

[Michael in ABQ]

Opened individual CMA accounts with Fidelity in both our names to get $150 bonus each.  Made $300 in about 5 minutes.

Also moved all my savings from SPAXX to SPRXX so went from ~3.3%----->~3.7%

This reminded me that Fidelity sent me an email last week offering $50 for opening a youth account. I already have Roth IRAs for my three oldest kids and my two oldest are eligible for this teen account. Thanks for the heads up as I had to open a Fidelity account to be eligible. FIDELITY150 means now I get $150 for doing something I was going to do anyways :)

[Josiecat22222]

@UltraStache and @Michael in ABQ , what is a CMA and what is the deal with Fidelity?  I have accounts there and a teenager, so I'm all ears!!

[Trifle]

Opened individual CMA accounts with Fidelity in both our names to get $150 bonus each.  Made $300 in about 5 minutes.

Also moved all my savings from SPAXX to SPRXX so went from ~3.3%----->~3.7%

This reminded me that Fidelity sent me an email last week offering $50 for opening a youth account. I already have Roth IRAs for my three oldest kids and my two oldest are eligible for this teen account. Thanks for the heads up as I had to open a Fidelity account to be eligible. FIDELITY150 means now I get $150 for doing something I was going to do anyways :)

@Michael in ABQ -- I'm interested too.  Quick question -- does the youth account come with a checking account that my teen could use to deposit his paycheck?  I can't find the answer to that on Fidelity.  Thanks!

[Michael in ABQ]

@Trifele @Josiecat23503
The Fidelity Youth Account is a checking account. It includes a debit card as well. Our kids have youth accounts at our credit union, but they only offer savings accounts, no checking/debit card until they're 16. 

I had to upload a copy of my son's social security card and an ID. It said driver's license or student ID, but he doesn't have either of those. Fortunately, we just got our oldest kids military dependent IDs so now he has a government issued picture ID. I assume that will be sufficient if they're willing to accept a student ID.

The somewhat annoying part is that you had to provide a phone number and in order to finish setting up the account you have to download an app to activate it. Our kids don't have phones so hopefully it will work on my phone. My son is supposed to receive an email with a link after they finish verifying his documents.

I'm not sure if this offer code is targeted or not but here it is: https://www.fidelity.com/go/youth-account/youth-overview?ccsource=em_Promo_1002896_2_0_CV2

[Trifle]

Thanks @Michael in ABQ !

[Roadrunner53]

The usual tradition of cooking of the turkey carcass. Since I only had a turkey breast, I cooked up two small chickens and included their bones in the broth. Has been cooking all night in my 7-quart crockpot. Smells so good and will be liquid gold when done! Threw in some scrap veggies and couple tablespoons of mashed taters plus a little stuffing too. It had sausage in it so it will spice up the broth too. All of it would have gone to the garbage had I not made broth.

[cool7hand]

Went for a jog. Outside. In 10 plus year old sneakers.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@cool7hand - running shoes really do need to be replaced, depending on how often you run. As long as they still provide good support, have at it, but don't injure yourself!

Found out my fitness classes are likely 1/3 reimbursable at work, so submitting a couple of expenses for the year. If approved, will likely save me several hundred dollars.

[K_in_the_kitchen]

After postponing orders for months, I finally cancelled ButcherBox this morning.  It was much easier than the first time I cancelled and was able to be done automatically versus having to chat with a retention agent.  I'd been wavering about getting a December box when my oldest is home on break, but finally reminded myself that we have plenty of meat in the freezer even if it isn't all his favorite, and also that I've been disappointed in BB both by declining quality and consistently sending underweight packages, along with more than one order with either missing items or defrosted items.  The plan is to eat down the freezer and then just buy meat when we get our regular groceries, based on what is on sale.  We've cut back on meat eating anyway.

[okisok]

Carpooled to one work event, declined an invite to a second networking event.

A cold front has moved in, so I'm wearing a warm hat in the house with a lap blanket instead of cranking up the heat. I have a couple of loaves of bread in the oven to warm me inside and out! I'm trying a new recipe so I counted that as entertainment, too ;)

[Taran Wanderer]

Went to Verizon to stop service on an under-utilized kids’ watch phone. Turned into a 20-30 minute wait on the phone for the in-store rep. Finally got it done, but it didn’t feel like such a small thing after that!

[srrb]

Tried to grocery shop when the power was out. It was flickering at home due to a windy snowy storm so I thought I'd go get sandwich fixings in case the power went out for the day. Dinner plans required substantial cooking -- as this was going to be a bulk cook day. I walked into town and the power was all out on that side. Couldn't buy grout sealer either for my new kitchen tile work, which meant I couldn't push the stove back into place and use it. $0 spent! And cheese, crackers, and wine were enjoyed for dinner with my lights still on.

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

Went to Verizon to stop service on an under-utilized kids’ watch phone. Turned into a 20-30 minute wait on the phone for the in-store rep. Finally got it done, but it didn’t feel like such a small thing after that!

Dealing with Verizon is never a small thing. Those guys are the worst. Good job on getting it done!

[Sugaree]

Went to Verizon to stop service on an under-utilized kids’ watch phone. Turned into a 20-30 minute wait on the phone for the in-store rep. Finally got it done, but it didn’t feel like such a small thing after that!

We've got that same watch phone plan.  He uses it a lot, so not trying to cancel it, but I ordered it without ever having to talk to an actual person.  Can it not be cancelled the same way?

[chasingsnow]

Picked up a free table and chairs for hosting family xmas off marketplace instead of buying them new!!

[Sugaree]

Refilled the kid's school lunch account for the next semester, so that I only have to pay the $2.40 fee once.  I'd do it yearly if I could put more than $250 at a time on the account.  It used to be $1.95 per kid per transaction, so paying weekly or monthly with more than one kid could add up over the course of a school year. 

[baconschteam]

Cooked a head of cabbage (chopped). Like $.5 per pound and very nutritious (also delicious).

[baconschteam]

Wife and I have been living with her grandmother for the past year. It’s a bit  tough sometimes, but really good for everybody in the end.

[Trifle]

Cooked a head of cabbage (chopped). Like $.5 per pound and very nutritious (also delicious).

Agree @baconschteam -- The humble cabbage is very underrated.  I like to roast a half a head in the oven with potatoes or sweet potatoes.  Cheap and YUM.

[cool7hand]

Rode a bike for exercise

[Frugal Lizard]

Spent an hour in gusty wind salvaging what I could of the leeks I planted.  They did poorly so I hadn't made an effort to harvest them with all the other more obvious bounty. They had frozen at least once. But since I last looked at them, they had grown a lot. It took a couple of hours to get them cleaned up.  I cooked up all the good bits and frozen them in 2 cup blobs. Got 10 cups of cooked leeks. And I made 5 quarts of the most delicate but flavourful leek stock. I am pressure canning it now.

Fresh leeks are dear here. My kid loves leek and potato soup.  This will now be a really economical meal. Especially considering I have made two batches in October and had thought that was it for the harvest.

Organically grown leeks are 5 bucks for three at the market.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Potato & leek soup - Yum!

I picked up the Friday Freebie at the local grocery store. It's some sort of Ritz cracker I'd never buy, but we have two teen boys, so they will be a welcome addition to the pantry. Checked iBotta, and they had a $.75 offer for the same product, so I made $.75 off of the freebie.

[Dicey]

I put on a luncheon for 70 this week. I shared the leftovers with my helpers and took the rest home. I haven't had to cook since. I have two bagged salads left and the expiration date isn't until 12/13. Hooray for free food and no food waste!

[PMG]

Odd leek story. I was out to dinner with colleagues this week and the special of the day was leek and potato soup.  The waitress commented that she didn’t know what was in it so she’d check on it. We didn’t ask her to but ok. She came back and said the leek was in the celery family and that’s what the soup would taste like.  Ok….  She then asked me how I’d like my salmon cooked.  I must have looked baffled because she went on “rare, medium, well?”  I chose well and put my trust in the chef. She must be new to waitressing and must not cook or eat much variety of food. Or she was trying to see what kind of reactions she could get from customers. She was otherwise quite lovely.

As for saving money… I picked up a baby jumper play seat thingy off marketplace.  It turned out to be in worse shape than it looked in the photos. Gross. I took it apart the whole way and soaked and deep cleaned the entire thing. Put it together today and it looks almost new.  I did question if it was worth all the work to save a few dollars but it was too late to turn back! Glad it’s worked out.

[sonofsven]

I needed Filson wax, my local store was out, I didn't want to pay $10 shipping on a $10 can (on Amazon or from Filson) so on a recent trip to a larger city I stopped at a place that has Filson.
Turns out, they don't carry Filson any more (burly loggers are no longer the Filson demographic, alas). But when I told the lady working there I just was looking for wax she produced one can from her desk, that she'd had "forever", and was just waiting for someone to ask for it.
And, it was free!

[cool7hand]

Batched errands with a stop at the car dealer to address a recall

[K_in_the_kitchen]

I've been working my way through 30# of potatoes -- I bought 15# in mid-November and then got another 15# in anticipation of Thanksgiving and the fact that the house being cooler means potatoes don't sprout as quickly.  But our Thanksgiving meal was canceled due to Covid, and unfortunately, the second bag of potatoes are all green-tinged under the skin, so I've been having to peel them for eating.  In the past week I've made mashed potatoes with 10# (I do one 5# batch at a time) and after having them with meals I froze the rest in meal sized portions.  Today I weighed out what I had left, which was 9#.  I used 2# in an Indian spiced dish, set aside 2# for a Thai curry later in the week, and will make one more batch of mashed potatoes tomorrow.

Making the Indian spiced potatoes, I decided to use the 3/4 of a red onion I had in the refrigerator rather than cutting into a new white onion.  The red onion was intended for a Thanksgiving salad that didn't happen, and I'd cut into it a couple of times for pizza toppings.  The dish tasted the same, it just looked a little different.  I only needed 1/2 can of diced chiles, so I froze the rest for another meal.

I'm making speculaas cookies today, and while the recipe calls for cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger, I decided to just use cinnamon + pumpkin pie spice, since that's what I had and I didn't want to buy cloves, allspice, and ginger and then not need them again until next year.  Really, a whole lot of saving money when cooking and baking is not being too precious about it.  Baking the cookies will help warm up the house, which is good since today has been cold.

We also ended up with a second large bag of onions in November (I shopped for Thanksgiving that Monday and got notice of the Covid cancellation on Tuesday), so today I have 6# caramelizing in the slow cooker.  I'll freeze these as small portions and will also save the onion broth to make vegan gravy for Christmas, as we'll have a guest who eats plant-based.  All I had to do was use olive oil instead of butter to caramelize the onions, which I did anyway since my oldest has a dairy allergy and will be home for winter break soon.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Charged our electric car for free at work today

[PMG]

Somehow our baby only has three footie pjs in this size and only two are zippered. She’s got an assortment without feet and some random pants. This is not enough for us to survive the daycare week grind and have a spare at daycare and in the diaper bag. Tonight instead of ordering some for delivery I dug through the 12 month bin looking for some outfits that seem smaller and I pulled out 4 footed sleepers that seem like they won’t been too horribly big. We should be able to make it to Christmas break with those in rotation. Then she’ll have two weeks at home and we can do laundry more often. By the time new years hits I bet more of the 12 month clothes will fit. Hopefully I can avoid spending money there altogether.

[Trifle]

I'm not sure if this offer code is targeted or not but here it is: https://www.fidelity.com/go/youth-account/youth-overview?ccsource=em_Promo_1002896_2_0_CV2

Hey @Michael in ABQ -- wanted to let you know that we set up that Fidelity youth account using this link and all went smoothly.  Our teen got his $50 sign up bonus already, and I'm waiting on my $100 bonus for setting up a new checking account.   Thanks again!

[Freedomin5]

We baked a loaf of bread today. I also made the Gingerbread dough for the gingerbread house kits that we will be giving as Christmas gifts.

[Josiecat22222]

@Freedomin5, I've been craving gingerbread! If you have a favorite recipe, do you mind to send it?

[Treedream]

I paid for health insurance for the whole of 2023, instead of monthly = 2%savings versus very low interest atm. And I got a cashback
I also got a cashback for opening a new savings account which gives me higher interest rates than I am currently at.

[Michael in ABQ]

I'm not sure if this offer code is targeted or not but here it is: https://www.fidelity.com/go/youth-account/youth-overview?ccsource=em_Promo_1002896_2_0_CV2

Hey @Michael in ABQ -- wanted to let you know that we set up that Fidelity youth account using this link and all went smoothly.  Our teen got his $50 sign up bonus already, and I'm waiting on my $100 bonus for setting up a new checking account.   Thanks again!

Glad to hear. I need to get my other kid setup. I had to send in a copy of my oldest child's birth certificate as well (social security card and a depending Military ID apparently weren't enough).

[lentil]

There's a food rescue nonprofit near me that collects things that would otherwise end up in the dumpster and provides them free in a kind of food pantry. It's a cool idea, although sometimes you go and they just have seven hundred boxes of ice cream cones or something equally random. Since its mission is to reduce food waste, its open to everyone, and usually worth checking out if I'm out that way anyway.

Anyway, I remembered to stop by this morning and got a dozen tomatoes, some elderly scallions, lots of great-looking greens, apples, and a tub of yogurt. The yogurt is slightly past its sell-by date, and I haven't opened it yet to see what condition it's in, but I'm optimistic that it'll work for either eating or baking. Tomatoes are going into a freezer masala sauce, scallions & greens will be part of Friday's dinner, apples are perfectly tasty. It's a very small amount of savings, but I like reclaiming food when I can.

[Loretta]

A while back I received 2 Persil detergent coupons in the mail and so today at Walmart I purchased 2 big bottles of their free and clear formula.  I detest shopping in person but I'm on a road trip and needed to buy provisions to make it more frugal and I'm in a cheaper COLA so might as well stock up on detergent! 

I also saved money by sorting out some clothing and checking the forecast to make best use out of my limited suitcase contents.  I bought 4 shirts at a delightful Goodwill on my travels for $17.86. 

[Freedomin5]

@Freedomin5, I've been craving gingerbread! If you have a favorite recipe, do you mind to send it?

I've been using this recipe from AllRecipes for years now: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/219696/sugar-and-spice-cookies/. I usually also add ground ginger to the recipe to give it extra flavor.

Mainly, I like this recipe because it works very well as cut-out cookies. The cookies don't get too puffy, which is important when you're trying to make rectangular walls and roof pieces. Also, it uses simple ingredients that I have on hand (molasses is challenging to find in China).

[okisok]

Aldi was out of canned chicken so I tried Sam's. I got the membership as a gift, so no cost there. They had canned chicken in a six pack for $7, while Aldi wants $2.99 per can! I got the two things on my list and got the heck outta there without looking at anything else.

Had to drive across town for an appointment and found gas for $0.15/gal less than my side of town and needed to fill up. 3/4 of a tank for $40! That hasn't happened in a while in my state. I tried to go into the Dollar Tree for a couple of wants but that store was temporarily closed so I saved $2.50. I decided to skip another errand out of laziness so I saved quite a bit (:

[oneday]

Resisted the siren call of the coffee shop and made my own chai at home. This saves almost $4/day or $1400/year!

[Loretta]

I spent $15.56 on sweaters and cheerful leggings at a Goodwill on my road trip.  I actually went into the dressing room and checked out the fit and colors with a critical eye, which I typically do not do at thrift stores.  Normally I make thrift store purchases based on touch and if things have all their working zips and buttons.  I recently went through a shitty work experience and I am keen to discard/donate all my work clothes and rebuild a new professional wardrobe. 

I successfully ate all the leftovers of an exceptionally spicy buffalo chicken quesadilla.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Similar to @oneday , I was at a very early Saturday soccer game (7 am field arrival), for my son's high school soccer game. It was cold, rainy & so windy my umbrella broke. I drove past a Starbucks on my way home, and really, really thought of pulling over for a latte. Skipped it, and came home instead.

[oneday]

@Loretta you are making me want some"cheerful leggings" for the dreary winter months! I just bought a pair of grey ones. So blah.

@MaybeBabyMustache go team home brew!

Have decided to attempt to finish fixing my laptop myself. Savings: unknown $ on parts markup and labor from repair shop, or $$ on new to me laptop. Life satisfaction: priceless!

[Dollar Slice]

Have decided to attempt to finish fixing my laptop myself. Savings: unknown $ on parts markup and labor from repair shop, or $$ on new to me laptop. Life satisfaction: priceless!

We're all rooting for you! :-)

I went to the farmer's market on the late side today, and the guy at the bakery stall had just a few things left. He offered me a 50% discount to take a second item since he was trying to finish up for the day - they had one nice loaf of bread left, a couple of bags of bagels as well as some sweets. So I got some discount bagels for the freezer.

[oneday]

Thanks, @Dollar Slice ! ☺️

[K_in_the_kitchen]

The regional chain had pork but for 99¢ per pound, so I have carnitas going in a slow cooker today. This weekend had two social gatherings that involved restaurants plus a celebratory meal for a loved one (December always has the most eating out), so I need to feed us cheaply at home this week.  I grabbed a chicken carcass out of the freezer and have broth going in the instant pot, which I will use in a sweet potato soup for lunch.  We'll be able to eat the pork in several more meals, and have the soup again at least twice during the week.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Took advantage of a free workout class, which I really enjoyed. Similar to previous poster, also had pulled pork in the slow cooker today. I didn't have quite a great per pound price, but we have at least four dinners for $12, which works for me. This dinner was a request from DS16. I made homemade coleslaw dressing, vs buying the premade kind, and saved a bit there.

[sonofsven]

Bucked and trailered out the first load of firewood (a little over half a cord) from the nearby state forest on my $20 firewood permit. I'll probably do four more loads, stocking up for the '24-'25 winter season.
I scouted on Saturday without the trailer, made a list and a map of the best spots, and went in early Sunday. I used chain and choker and truck to pull the logs to the side of the road for easier bucking and loading. Done by lunchtime.

[halftimer]

Normally I make thrift store purchases based on touch and if things have all their working zips and buttons. 

Interesting, I just realized I make my thrift purchases by touch and if there are working zips also. However, I actually like it if there are buttons missing or a small hole or 2 - I'm more likely to get a discount at the register and then I take it home and customize it. It's a hobby of mine to upcycle and save textiles that other people don't want and make them indistinguishable from the high-end stuff in my closet. My clothes are a strange mix of either $50-100+ per item (from brands and makers that I want to support) and less than $1 each (mostly silk, wool, cashmere, cotton, and linen pieces - rescued and remade) they all blend together in the closet but I like both types of sustainable wear.