Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money? (Read 8337481 times)

firelight · « **Reply #3000 on:** April 03, 2015, 09:03:59 AM »

Also resisted the urge to not eat out yesterday and came home to eat dinner. Savings $20.

2ndTimer · « **Reply #3001 on:** April 03, 2015, 10:11:04 AM »

Quote from: Joshin on April 01, 2015, 10:55:59 PM

Thanks for the well wishes, everyone -- I have three days of success under my belt as a nonsmoker now!

As for other accomplishments:
* Made the boys and DH a pumpkin spice bundt cake to snack on -- use frozen pumpkin puree from Halloween.

* Made a batch of cinnamon-infused toothpicks using pantry items. Also decorated an old tic-tac container to make a holder. Chewing on a toothpick is my no-carb way of dealing with cigarette cravings.

* Made a congrats card for a friend that just started a new job.

* Used the power of my computer and creative scissor work to create pop-up Minecraft party invitations for younger son, which impressed him enough that he forgot all about the ones he saw at the store.

I assume all these excellent things were done in the bits of time you used to spend having a cigarette. Bravo!

10dollarsatatime · « **Reply #3002 on:** April 03, 2015, 10:13:14 AM »

*Making up a mediteranean lentil salad to eat at the airport today while waiting for my flight. I know me... I would want to splurge on a bagel and chai from Starbucks...

* Driving to the closest light rail station where I can park my car for free to take the rail to the airport. $5.00 round trip ticket and a 20 mile drive as opposed to $30 parking and a 50 mile drive. The commuter train doesn't run on Sundays, or I wouldn't even be driving...

ShaneD · « **Reply #3003 on:** April 03, 2015, 11:12:22 AM »

* Did the math for various options needed for a new-home-location reconnaissance trip later this month, and booked the slightly more expensive but centrally located B&B instead of the cheap-o hotel on the outskirts + car rental + breakfast, saving about $50. Potential bonus: hoping to chat extensively with the B&B owners for practical, living-like-a-local knowledge.

* Made $27.66 on first bag of online clothing consignment.

* Upsold a bit of client work.

* Sardines for lunch. (Stinky but economical.)

Better Late Than Never · « **Reply #3004 on:** April 03, 2015, 02:03:06 PM »

Cleaned the condenser coils on the refrigerator. Improves the efficiency and extends the life of the fridge.

Recently sold a gift card I won't use to one of those online gift card sites. Received a check in the mail today for $18.88.

lunahsol · « **Reply #3005 on:** April 03, 2015, 03:08:53 PM »

* received/paid electric bill - $15ish less than the previous month :)
* listed first book for sale

2ndTimer · « **Reply #3006 on:** April 03, 2015, 03:33:30 PM »

Stopped at the Goodwill bin store on my way home from errands. Picked up 10 wildly assorted cassette tapes for $2.00. For anyone who still has the old cassette player around, this is golden moment to sample new kinds of music.

Cookie78 · « **Reply #3007 on:** April 03, 2015, 07:44:19 PM »

Visiting a friend tonight who is going to cut my hair. She's never done it before, but last time I picked a random person who'd never done it before to cut my hair it worked out well. I'm not fussy. I just want it shorter.

Picked up some free bricks for a landscaping project.

Picked up a free gorgeous table cloth to use at a market next week to sell some home made stuff.

choppingwood · « **Reply #3008 on:** April 03, 2015, 09:14:15 PM »

Downloaded the Kindle app onto my PC. I had no idea until a couple of weeks ago that you didn't need a Kindle to use a Kindle book.

Today I signed up for www.Bookbub.com, which a librarian friend had sent me a link for. This gives access (at least in Canada) to free or very cheap books that publishers are trying to build up a readership for. Downloaded three well-reviewed mysteries by new or newish writers from Amazon. No book purchases for me the rest of the month. I don't borrow from the library because I am really bad about returning physical books I borrow from the library.

This all makes up for going to sign up for a non-resident's card at the library where my current contract is, on the understanding that I could use their amazing e-book and e-movie services. Paid the fee and then found out they are changing the license to city residents' only. They refunded the fee, but I was very sad.

1967mama · « **Reply #3009 on:** April 04, 2015, 12:24:50 AM »

1) Hand washed 3 loads of dishes.

2) Made hot cross bun bread in the bread machine .. turned out great.

3) Ate leftover soup and bread for lunch.

4) Hung a load of laundry to dry.

5) Burned some candles to keep the lights low this evening. Also, left the blinds open to let the light from the full moon shine in.

11ducks · « **Reply #3010 on:** April 04, 2015, 04:26:17 AM »

Updated my budget to reflect current savings (moved my zero NW date up to Oct hopefully!)

Had clearance hot cross buns for lunch (0.33c for 2), and ramen noodles for tea (.25c$) - completely devoid of nutrients granted, but it was a mega lazy day.

Meal planned for the next few days- in week 4 of only doing necessary mini shops with the goal of clearing out the freezer/cupboard- it's amazing how much is still left!!

Joshin · « **Reply #3011 on:** April 04, 2015, 12:19:14 PM »

* DH and the kids get the credit for this one. My birthday was yesterday, and they each made me an awesome gift without spending any money -- I love my family!

*I cashed in my free birthday drink from Starbucks. Ordered a venti split into two cups so I could share it with younger boy as a treat on our way to his astronomy meeting.

*DH and I are celebrating tonight by going out for my favorite cheap Chinese food. Then, oh excitement, we're going to go and compare prices between Costco and where I usually shop. Yep, I'm a cheap date.

* The Hubs decided to join me and he quit smoking yesterday - yay!

1967mama · « **Reply #3012 on:** April 04, 2015, 12:52:22 PM »

@Joshin! Both of you quitting smoking is AMAZING! You will reap the long term health AND financial benefits! Way to go!

Edit: typo

southern granny · « **Reply #3013 on:** April 04, 2015, 12:56:00 PM »

I had some three day old, homemade biscuits that were a little bit too dry. I sliced them in half, buttered them and toasted them in a skillet. Pretty good. Also, Kroger had a great deal on butter, so I stocked up. Should last me several months.

Cookie78 · « **Reply #3014 on:** April 04, 2015, 01:02:08 PM »

Bought a bowflex revolution 3-4 years ago at an auction for $500. Used it to help me lose 65 pounds, but haven't used it in about 2 years. Just sold it via kijiji for $1600!

+1 for profit
+1 for fitness
+1 for decluttering

swick · « **Reply #3015 on:** April 04, 2015, 01:21:27 PM »

Quote from: Cookie78 on April 04, 2015, 01:02:08 PM

Bought a bowflex revolution 3-4 years ago at an auction for $500. Used it to help me lose 65 pounds, but haven't used it in about 2 years. Just sold it via kijiji for $1600!

+1 for profit
+1 for fitness
+1 for decluttering

Badass!

went for a walk in the sunshine for our afternoon entertainment and found a loonie on the ground :)

Found out that the person we were buying a much newer and energy efficient used fridge for also had a basically brand new dryer, 50.00 bucks! We estimate our current dryer to be over 25 years old...came with the house.

Suggested having a potluck Easter dinner at our house instead of the suggested going out for supper. with hubby's family. Using up frozen green beans from the garden.

lizzzi · « **Reply #3016 on:** April 04, 2015, 01:51:09 PM »

I planned to spend $54 on some eye shadow I wanted. Then I researched another that I thought would look nice for $29.00. Then I checked my YNAB budget…had a cup of tea…thought about it awhile…went to the drugstore and found the color I wanted for $2.82. Came home and put it on my eyelids--looks fabulous. Makes my eyes look a lot bluer. Yay!

This is kind of a girlie post. Guys might not get it.

Shropskr · « **Reply #3017 on:** April 05, 2015, 12:42:15 AM »

Was brave. Used a friends pick up truck to take a load to the dump. A first for us. One its heavy. Old entertainment center(tried to freecycle it. No takers), full mattress, box springs, dead lamp, misc trash. We're moving. Woulda been $30 for them to pick up the mattress alone. We dumped the whole load cost $30. So win.

It's hard to ask other people to use their stuff though, even when they've offered. So yea me.

horsepoor · « **Reply #3018 on:** April 05, 2015, 10:00:41 AM »

Convinced DH that it would take longer to go out for breakfast than to just make it from scratch at home.

Filled out a mail-in rebate for my dog's Rx.

Made BBQ sauce from scratch with ingredients that were in the house instead of buying it at the store. Tastes better, too!

Cobbled together the cords and crap to make DH's iPod work in the car (old one and paraphernalia was stolen last week) to keep him from running to BestBuy and paying their inflated prices for those little items.

Held out on watering most of the outside plants and lo and behold, it rained, so now they're good for another week.

1967mama · « **Reply #3019 on:** April 05, 2015, 12:24:49 PM »

Cooking FREE turkey for Easter dinner.

Made my own Caesar dressing last night for chicken caesar salad and it was so good!

Kept the bones from the chicken and made stock.

Made a 3x batch of Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day -- the batter. Will keep in the fridge for 10 days (large family=lots of bread)

Furnace has been off day and night for almost a week now. Letting the sun shine in to warm it up in the day, and doing chain baking at dinner time to add heat.

firelight · « **Reply #3020 on:** April 05, 2015, 01:10:01 PM »

Made leftover soup yesterday and had it for dinner and breakfast today. Gave it an Italian twist and it tastes a lot like minestrone soup.

Bought a whole chicken from Costco and learnt how to cut it. We cook a lot of chicken at home and usually buy breasts or thighs. This time, I'm learning how to use all the parts of chicken. Already used breast meat. Today will use thigh meat for curry. Saving up bones and giblets for soup.

Cookie78 · « **Reply #3021 on:** April 05, 2015, 01:28:30 PM »

Not spending anything today. Just snuggling foster dog before she goes home with her adopters tomorrow, reading, and writing.
Yesterday I went grocery shopping. I'm down to only two large roasts left from hunting season last year. I wandered through the meat section to look at prices and couldn't bring myself to spend that much. Took a page out of the MMM forum and bought a bunch of dried beans instead. Threw them in my veggie soup. Soooo delicious.

1967mama · « **Reply #3022 on:** April 05, 2015, 03:00:13 PM »

@cutenila, Good for you for trying to use while chickens! I've been using them for many years now. For ease of use, I cook up a whole thawed chicken, breast side down, in the crockpot
On high. I put an onion in the cavity and typically sprinkle on some salt, pepper, rosemary and a few garlic cloves sliced on top. Cook all day. Then I let it cool on a plate and debone it. I chuck all the bones and skim and any icky bits back in the crockpot. Tomorrow those bones and juices will become stock! Yum! Add salt, basil, oregano, peppercorns, garlic, a few stalks
Of celery, a few carrots. Cook all day again. Strain and freeze or use. The meat that you pulled off keeps great in the fridge and can be used in so many dishes. Practically
Instant chicken!

jengod · « **Reply #3023 on:** April 05, 2015, 05:08:44 PM »

Quote from: lizzzi on April 04, 2015, 01:51:09 PM

I planned to spend $54 on some eye shadow I wanted. Then I researched another that I thought would look nice for $29.00. Then I checked my YNAB budget…had a cup of tea…thought about it awhile…went to the drugstore and found the color I wanted for $2.82. Came home and put it on my eyelids--looks fabulous. Makes my eyes look a lot bluer. Yay!

This is kind of a girlie post. Guys might not get it.

I get it! :)

* We had a junk-free Easter, using eggs from the backyard chickens and previously purchased food coloring.
* Picked up a plastic bin from the side of the road to use for a future worm compost bin, it came with a half-drunk bottle of Grand Marnier, 8 cans of beer, and many issues of Men's Health Magazine. Pretty sure it was someone's breakup bin, LOL. Going to use the Grand Marnier bottle (emptied and cleaned) to store homemade vanilla extract, and will recycle the beer cans for .40. (We don't drink much so I emptied them out in the garden.) Husband will enjoy the magazines.
* Listed several books at Paperback Swap and on Amazon
* Cooked at home: broccoli fried rice, 10-bean soup with home made chicken stock, coffee, and oh yeah, hard-boiled eggs. :)
* Juiced a bunch of trash-picked navel oranges.

lunahsol · « **Reply #3024 on:** April 05, 2015, 09:48:17 PM »

Paid cash for everything today (just gas and minimal groceries).
Also spent the day doing volunteer work; so no money spent for entertainment :)

horsepoor · « **Reply #3025 on:** April 05, 2015, 10:03:50 PM »

My horse trailer has been missing a window pane in the tack room since I bought it 4 years ago. Today I cut the clear vinyl out of the bag a horse blanket came in, took the interior frame off the window and installed the vinyl. No more rain getting into the trailer! Maybe a touch less drag from air going in through the missing pane, too.

Cooked chickpeas and used them to stretch the tuna salad I made for lunches this week. Froze the extras to make hummus later. Portioned out yogurt with home-canned fruits for breakfast and mixed up trail mix from nuts and dried fruit I had on hand.

midweststache · « **Reply #3026 on:** April 06, 2015, 09:28:45 AM »

+ Posted a great quality pair boots that don't fit to Craigslist. Fingers crossed for a buyer.
+ Carpooling with a friend to get plants for the season. I'm picking up some mint, which is hard for even me to kill, and some non-edibles for air quality/greenery in our apartment. I'm on the fence about attempting basil again (we never use rosemary and, unfortunately, BF is allergic to sage, which are other easy herbs to grow).
+ Using my carpooling time to drop off some items at a local thrift store. I continue to pare down my closet, and it's starting to show (and, most importantly, I don't feel any *loss* of the clothes I'm donating).
+ Crockpot mac n cheese leftovers for lunch. I'll also be dropping of three meals worth to a friend later today who has a big week of tests and little time to focus on anything else (including cooking).

2ndTimer · « **Reply #3027 on:** April 06, 2015, 11:15:11 AM »

Neighbor brought over some leftover ham last night. It was much better than the ham I make. I grilled her for five minutes on how to make ham so tasty. Apparently, it involves a brown paper bag. I plan to get a brown paper bag and a ham and drag her back over here to fill in the fine points.

MountainGal · « **Reply #3028 on:** April 06, 2015, 01:03:50 PM »

~Bought Easter candy and allergy eye drops using coupons

~Used up some OLD food coloring to make homemade Easter egg dye

~Received .61 back using Wal Mart's savings catcher

~Organized my home office gym into more of a gym since I'm basically paperless these days. Tossed a bagful of paper. No money saved, but the de-clutter feels great!

~Cleaned out the dishwasher filter and rinse arms for efficiency.

~Will bring filtered water from home, snacks and one meal with me on the road later on this week when traveling for business.

~Will fill up my vehicle using my grocer's value card for points off before leaving town. I'll also bring my frequent stayer card for future hotel reward points. :)

handsnhearts · « **Reply #3029 on:** April 06, 2015, 01:52:52 PM »

Yesterday,

- Repurposed last years homemade Easter basket and another basket I had at home for Easter.
- Used 3 presents I had already purchased for Christmas then decided to scale back. They were great for Easter!
- gave inlaws a present I already had for them
- went out to dinner (in laws paid!)
- made lunch and breakfast at home. Lunch was egg salad, and used up scallion and celery needing to be used.
- ate up avocados that needed to be eaten (guac)
- used up natural dye I had at home
- used a dress someone else had bought for Easter dress for DD. Set aside my ego and didn't buy the other dress for her.
- neighbor brought us special Easter lamb cake
- only bought 1 pair of shoes for DD. Almost bought 2 but resisted the $45 pair because they weren't exactly right. Will check eBay. Used store didn't have any good ones.

Today,
- ate lunch brought from home even though I only wanted to go out. Used up leftover egg salad and tacos/guac.

lunahsol · « **Reply #3030 on:** April 06, 2015, 04:29:04 PM »

Ramen for lunch.
Going to free workshop tonight (as substitute for a class I am not yet ready to pay for)
Maybe there will be refreshments at the workshop that can sub for dinner . . .

madamwitty · « **Reply #3031 on:** April 06, 2015, 05:22:04 PM »

Over the weekend: Made the trip to San Diego and back for a wedding in one day, so I didn't have to pay for overnight accommodations.

Today: Made pear sauce puree out of pears I found on sale for $0.33/lb (before they went over-ripe), and froze it for when baby starts solids in about a month.

1967mama · « **Reply #3032 on:** April 06, 2015, 05:23:17 PM »

- will be eating all the Easter dinner leftovers for tonight's evening meal
- hung 2 loads of laundry to dry
- reheated cold tea

handsnhearts · « **Reply #3033 on:** April 06, 2015, 06:06:05 PM »

Returned 4 things to Costco.
$84.35 for 15 minutes of my time!

jengod · « **Reply #3034 on:** April 06, 2015, 06:45:01 PM »

* Responded immediately about a mistaken "missed class" fee from ClassPass and got it refunded. Saved $20.
* Baked and frosted and decorated cupcakes for my son's school birthday. Mix and frosting were on clearance, sprinkles were expensive, but total cost was $4 versus $72 for 24@$3 from local chi-chi bakery. Could have done it for cheaper from scratch and with fresh fruit for a topping; will make that a goal for next time.
* Rec'd $24 from Amazon for books sold.
* Mailed a bunch of PaperBackSwap trades in saved/recycled packaging and envelopes.
* Over the weekend, used a saved/recycled birthday gift bag for a present for a girl in my son's class, tied with saved ribbon.
* Planted three sprouting red onions with the intention of saving the seeds when they flower. We'll see if that part actually happens!
* Saved shower water in a bucket and used on the garden (we are in the midst of a severe drought here in California).

ShaneD · « **Reply #3035 on:** April 06, 2015, 07:12:45 PM »

* Made $87.38 on 3 bags of online consignment clothes. Waiting for 3 more to be processed. (Man, how I wish I had known about this sooner!)
* Sold 1 book on Amazon.
* Scanned a few hundred pages of old documents, yearbooks, and card/mementos.

Spruit · « **Reply #3036 on:** April 07, 2015, 01:33:08 PM »

Saved on groceries (expenses and time) by getting them on my way to work instead of on the way back. This enabled me to shop at Aldi instead of the expensive store. Will make this a habit for not too heavy groceries.

Started handstripping the dog's wintercoat, to keep her looking sharp while avoiding grooming costs. Hung a load of laundry to dry, cancelled dog training, sold a vinyl record, and cooked some kale florets from a leftover kale plant that was about to bloom.

2ndTimer · « **Reply #3037 on:** April 07, 2015, 01:42:56 PM »

Snagged some vegetables and fruit that the produce man was about to throw out. Gave some to my neighbors and am currently cooking an entirely free vegetarian bubble and squeak for dinner.

cashstasherat23 · « **Reply #3038 on:** April 07, 2015, 02:55:07 PM »

A letter from TDBank stating that they are about to start charging me fees on my account was the impetuous for finally switching to Ally bank! I have been lazy about it, but will now be getting .99% interest instead of .01%.

nereo · « **Reply #3039 on:** April 07, 2015, 03:33:50 PM »

Quote from: cashstasherat23 on April 07, 2015, 02:55:07 PM

A letter from TDBank stating that they are about to start charging me fees on my account was the impetuous for finally switching to Ally bank! I have been lazy about it, but will now be getting .99% interest instead of .01%.

that's funny... today I realized that I had a $10.95 charge from TD bank for "account maintenance". I called them and was told it was because I was no longer a student. whaaa? Yes I am. An hour and some paperwork later and the charge (will be) removed. I'm not sure if that's saving money per-se, but I at least caught an erronous charge and avoided paying a stupid fee.

"costs are like fingernails - you have to cut them constantly" - Carlos Alberto Sicupira

JLee · « **Reply #3040 on:** April 07, 2015, 04:35:28 PM »

I priced out brakes for my truck - used a local offroad club's account and also got a 20% discount on top of that. Then...I priced parts out at RockAuto.

Total? ~$320 -> $260 -> $150.93.

:D

lunahsol · « **Reply #3041 on:** April 07, 2015, 08:01:39 PM »

*homemade lunch
*some bulk cooking tonight
*saved approx $100 by doing some research & paperwork myself rather than seeking professional help

nico demouse · « **Reply #3042 on:** April 08, 2015, 06:34:36 AM »

Our rear windshield wiper was torn off and the whole arm assembly needed to be replaced. Convinced hubby we should at least *try* to replace it ourselves. If we couldn't, we could always take the parts to the shop and pay the labor after we gave it a try.

He is usually not too excited about DIY, but he not only agreed but did the work himself. :) $150 in labor charges saved.

wintersun · « **Reply #3043 on:** April 08, 2015, 10:50:56 AM »

Unplugged water heater for a few days
Cool shower
Hung clothes out to dry
Made soup from leftovers
Made list of what is in fridge and used up the stuff that was going to go off
No spend day
Attended free exercise class
Decided to avoid grocery store for another week and use up what we have
Hand washed dishes

A few days ago:
Repurposed a book won in a raffle into a present with a repurposed gift bag
Received donations from friend of useful stuff we would have bought (food, drinks, dry goods, etc.)
Began learning about air miles so I can start flying for free
Began process of getting money back from insurance company

2ndTimer · « **Reply #3044 on:** April 08, 2015, 11:47:45 AM »

Cut my pain patch in half last night. Yes that's ok pharmaceutically. It worked just fine on the pain plus the smaller patch was easier to handle and fewer square inches were subjected to potential damage thus leaving more healthy space for the next time I need. Plus a lower dose=less tolerance development. Win, win, win, win.

cashstasherat23 · « **Reply #3045 on:** April 08, 2015, 11:50:19 AM »

Going to walk to CVS today instead of driving my car the mile or so it takes to get there. Will get in a little exercise and get my prescriptions!

Spruit · « **Reply #3046 on:** April 09, 2015, 01:33:56 AM »

Another 50 euros saved by cancelling a train pass I never use (I know bike to work, yay).
BF has helped me to hopefully get 40 euros back from the dog training center. Hate it when they sneakily bill you for a service that wasn't provided and you have to make a fuss to get your money back. I should really get better in complaining and voicing my indignance in a way they don't ignore me. I'm still too polite to be taken seriously, it appears :-(

Alchemilla · « **Reply #3047 on:** April 09, 2015, 05:11:02 AM »

Got my mobile contract down from £26 to £8.

Mr. McGibblets · « **Reply #3048 on:** April 09, 2015, 08:36:53 AM »

Upped my 401k contributions from the minimum co match to 22% of my income. Should get me to the end of the year to keep the co match

Started driving 55 MPH on the hwy instead of 75 (when there is no traffic). Here in DC, that's hard to do without causing an accident.

Learned about churning ccs and will soon have 175k points to add to my existing 125k point 'stache for my SO and my honeymoon later this year

Made a crockpot of jumbalaya (from Budget Bytes) for lunch for the rest of this week/weekend

Started looking around at cheaper apartments to rent that are closer to work so I can hopefully start biking!

ShaneD · « **Reply #3049 on:** April 09, 2015, 04:02:55 PM »

* Saved 2 small paper bags from Chinese food to re-use for storing mushrooms. (Pitched the gross duck sauce packets; kept the bags they were in.)
* Saved 3 extra large self-sealing plastic freezer bags from commercial products for re-use.
* More yearbook scanning. (So many yearbooks.)

News:

Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money? (Read 8337481 times)