Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8020760 times)

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4250 on: September 06, 2015, 10:09:46 PM »
*Hung my first load of laundry on the outside line since my surgery mid-summer. Hooray for free wind!

*Used 2 gift cards we received for hosting a staff party at our home for a nice dinner out. Mentioned that we were celebrating our anniversary; they kindly comped our dessert and gave me a white, long-stemmed rose!

*Cooked a chicken in one crockpot and a roast in another from our freezer stash of farm meats -- will make for good sandwiches and dinners this week

*Daughter baked us 5 loaves of bread, 2 carrot cakes, a banana bread and 1/2 a dozen banana muffins, all for the freezer this week

*My youngest 3 boys are playing a board game at the dining room table while my husband reads a book, and I catch up on my MMM forum reading

*Husband took boys on a bike ride today where you park your vehicle, unload your bikes, board a little ferry and then ride 10 km around an island. The only cars there are a few residents who live on farms. They had a lovely time and the cost was $0. Sent water bottles and apples, granola bars and nuts for snacks.

*I decided today that I'm going to make a list for our wall of "Things to Do With Our Family That Are Cheap or Free!" for when we are feeling uninspired.

« Last Edit: September 06, 2015, 10:11:20 PM by 1967mama »

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4251 on: September 06, 2015, 11:16:54 PM »
- Packed lunch, refilling my drink bottle at work.

- Pegged out washing this morning.

- Got a lift to work with my husband, saved $4 on the train and got to spend extra time with him before leaves tomorrow for two weeks in Europe for work. Bonus points: not our car, not our depreciation, not our fuel.

- Bought ingredients to make a big batch of cauliflower and bacon soup, which I will happily eat for lunch and dinner for the first week he is away.

- Last week I visited a friend to help her make a Father's Day present for her husband from their children. She found what she liked online for $60, I designed it free, she printed it at work and put it in a $10 frame. Saved $50.

Candace

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4252 on: September 07, 2015, 07:56:59 AM »
- Packed lunch, refilling my drink bottle at work.

- Pegged out washing this morning.

- Got a lift to work with my husband, saved $4 on the train and got to spend extra time with him before leaves tomorrow for two weeks in Europe for work. Bonus points: not our car, not our depreciation, not our fuel.

- Bought ingredients to make a big batch of cauliflower and bacon soup, which I will happily eat for lunch and dinner for the first week he is away.

- Last week I visited a friend to help her make a Father's Day present for her husband from their children. She found what she liked online for $60, I designed it free, she printed it at work and put it in a $10 frame. Saved $50.

Nice!

midweststache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4253 on: September 07, 2015, 10:10:53 AM »
Coffee maker was dirty, and I was in angry morning mode, so DH offered to take me out to breakfast. We hemmed and hawed about where for a while.

Then I decided "Screw putting on pants," made breakfast and home, and DH busted out the french press. Both coffee maker and french press accouterments are drying on the counter as we speak.

Money spent: $0.

Shinplaster

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4254 on: September 07, 2015, 10:45:20 AM »
Our son and daughter-in-law came to visit this weekend.  Made a huge chicken/orzo casserole yesterday, and gave them all the leftovers to take home today.  They figure it is enough for dinner tonight, plus lunches tomorrow.  Also shared fruit that was given to us, and home-baked bread from the freezer.   Didn't save us money, but saved them some, and they now have time to go the beach when they get home because they don't have to cook.  So, stars for "best mother-in-law ever".   : )

4alpacas

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4255 on: September 07, 2015, 11:23:16 AM »
I made a few things this weekend for the week (teriyaki chicken and enchiladas).
My friends and I are going on a bike ride this afternoon instead of doing something expensive. 
Made tea at home instead of stopping for an iced tea. 

kander

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4256 on: September 07, 2015, 11:44:42 AM »
My husband wanted to buy a device for mixing concrete. I reminded him about muscle over motor. Now he has mixed it by hand. He only used a trowel.

Now his body is aching (he says) and he hates my guts. But it's totally worth it ;) (He's such a complainy pants ;) )

FLA

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4257 on: September 07, 2015, 03:40:35 PM »
I resisted a way marked down purse that I really liked.  Only $25. Well, I have a purse problem so "only $25" does not cut it, no more purses unless they are free!

Rachelocity

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4258 on: September 07, 2015, 03:59:49 PM »
Returned a bottle of Amaretto to the liquor store today.  It was an unopened gift, and I'm a non-drinker, so $29.25 in my pocket!
And since I am going on vacation tomorrow, I made a nice breakfast for my son and I to take with (cucumber spears, PB & cherry jam sandwiches and HB eggs).  Salty, overprocessed muffins?  No thank you!  The cukes would not have been edible upon our return, so this was a no-brainer.

2ndTimer

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4259 on: September 07, 2015, 04:35:15 PM »
Spent a lazy Sunday looking at the heron rookery.  Came home for cheese sandwiches.  Currently washing the Hub's uniforms in home made laundry soap and drinking chai that I made buy buying Seattle Spice Extra Spicy Chai mix and adding my own cheap black tea.  Listening to a $0.50 Cd on the yard sale music system.  Damn, I'm cool!!

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4260 on: September 07, 2015, 05:29:03 PM »
We're staying with friends in a couple of weeks and to say 'thank you for having us' we like to take something small for their primary school children.

Last night I went through my husband's stash of thumbdrives (he is inundated with them through work) and found two suitably impressive ones.

The kids know that things like this come from my husband's work, and think that makes anything he gives them infinitely cooler.

Win-win for re-gifting and decluttering.

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4261 on: September 07, 2015, 05:29:18 PM »
I just love reading everyone's posts here .. you guys rock!

Today I:

-made sandwiches from leftover roast beef and homemade bread - they were delicious! Diced the beef tiny because it was a little chewy and everyone thought it tasted great!

-was given a jar of my favourite loose tea by my son's girlfriend - we promptly sat down together to drink a pot of it and had a lovely chat about their blossoming relationship. She comes from a family that has married and divorced 2 or 3 times, so I love sharing with her about the ups and downs of our 26 year marriage and she is a willing student.

-am making a huge triple batch of Pioneer Woman Chicken Spaghetti for a big crowd with a big spinach salad to go with it
-wanted to hang up a load of laundry when aforementioned girlfriend arrived unexpectedly -- dropped the plans for the laundry -- people before things!

-had husband restain our new picnic table to prolong its usable life

-husband has taken the kids to the beach for one last swim before the homeschool year starts tomorrow (not that we can't go again, but it feels like the end of the season)


genealogist

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4262 on: September 07, 2015, 06:12:55 PM »
- made my own sun-dried tomatoes using a bunch of romas from our garden. I followed directions for drying them in my hot car - on the dashboard (cookie sheets covered with cheese cloth) in a closed up car in a sunny spot. They weren't quite done at the end of the day, so I finished up in the oven this morning (2 hours @ 170 degrees) because we had a cooler, cloudy day. Ended up with enough for 4 pizzas.

- made 12 pizza pockets for the kids school lunches. I alternate foods in their lunches, so these will last 6 weeks. I'm guessing I spent about $3.75 total.

homehandymum

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4263 on: September 07, 2015, 10:33:22 PM »
Made baby food

Outings today: walk in the botanic gardens, and now my MIL (who is visiting for the week) is at the library with the older 2 kids

Dinner tonight: not sure. I have beef mince out of the freezer. It will either be "stuff on rice" (that's its technical term), or maybe meatloaf, roasty potatoes and veg.

C. K.

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4264 on: September 08, 2015, 01:22:41 AM »
My car pool on Sunday stopped at a store on the way home, which saved me a trip to the store the next day.

It's early morning and I'm considering going to a 24 supermarket to buy in bulk before work because in my rush to save money on Sunday, I didn't have my list and forgot many things, including items for lunch.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4265 on: September 08, 2015, 01:45:27 AM »
Battling a cold and a relentless cough at work today.

I went to buy lozenges and a hot chocolate (a rare, and in this case medicinal, treat).

Left work, got cash out, bought lozenges at supermarket, paid with my debit card, got back to my desk. Forgot to buy hot chocolate.

Oh well. Not going back out there. Accidentally saved $4.

MrsPfennig

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4266 on: September 08, 2015, 03:20:20 AM »
Switched energy supplier and got a 120 Euro bonus. Got 100 Euros back from our old energy supplier because we used so little energy. According to the bill our three people one dog household uses as much energy as a one person household.

It gets harder and harder to reduce bills. We already cancelled our expensive cell phone contracts but we still have to pay till early next year.

Squirrel away

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4267 on: September 08, 2015, 05:24:46 AM »
I made a big pot of bean soup to have for lunch for the rest of the week.

Melody

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4268 on: September 08, 2015, 08:16:51 AM »
I spent $0.00 for the 19th day in a row. :)
Badass!!! Do you work on a mine site or oil rig or in the military? Pretty sure this is the only way i could do this! Groceries or popping coins in the washing machine would out me for sure even if I managed to not spend money on fun stuff!!!

choppingwood

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4269 on: September 08, 2015, 08:26:45 AM »
I spent $0.00 for the 19th day in a row. :)

Wow! How are you doing this?

aetherie

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4270 on: September 08, 2015, 12:51:11 PM »
Found someone on Craigslist who's giving away a crap-ton of firewood from a tree that was cut down in his yard. Since I'm basically a squirrel preparing for winter, I jumped on it. We're meeting up tomorrow evening to fill his truck and my car. Free heat!

ShaneD

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4271 on: September 08, 2015, 07:44:15 PM »
- Bought ingredients to make a big batch of cauliflower and bacon soup, which I will happily eat for lunch and dinner for the first week he is away.

Oooh, that sounds tasty.

Made a bunch of purchases in the last 24 hours, but managed some strategic savings:

* Used $10 off coupon and took advantage of super sales at drug store. Total savings: $19.
* Got an extra 10% off a new on-sale couch by chatting nicely with the salesman. Total savings: $107 plus sale discount of $300ish (can't remember exactly).
* Took advantage of Labor Day sale prices on moving and office supplies at Staples.com, and because it took so long to choose some items, website offered extra dollars off 2 of the 3 items (total $19 (again oddly)). Was going to use a $30 off coupon in the transaction, but adding it into the shopping cart negated the $19 off. So removed the coupon (which brought back the $19 discount) and removed the 3rd (undiscounted) item from the shopping cart. Bought discounted items 1 and 2 at $19 off (plus free shipping); then bought undiscounted item #3 in a separate transaction using $30 coupon (also plus free shipping). Total savings: $49.

Also combined errands for 1 car trip, brought snacks in lieu of buying, picked up $142 by selling LPs, 45 cents in rebates added to Checkout51 and ibotta, and got a $10 check for a vodka rebate in today's mail. Pretty damn pleased.


Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4272 on: September 08, 2015, 08:06:28 PM »
I'm at $5.30 so far between ibotta and checkout51. Every little bit helps!

10dollarsatatime

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4273 on: September 09, 2015, 08:18:02 AM »
*Last week I took a loaf of bread, some lunch meat, cheese, and fixings to work.  I worked 66 hours and knew I would never have time to pack lunches in the mornings after not enough sleep.

*Canned 34 pints of corn and 9 pints (so far!) of green beans from the garden.

*Took lunch to work yesterday morning.  Used up lots of garden produce, and one lonely smoked turkey sausage that's been in the freezer for months.

*Did not spend $300 on a chest freezer on labor day.  I still want one, but I will watch the classifieds to find one being sold cheap.

*Finally figured out my roku, so last night I watched a free movie instead of hitting the redbox.

ShaneD

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4274 on: September 09, 2015, 08:41:13 AM »
I'm at $5.30 so far between ibotta and checkout51. Every little bit helps!

Agreed. If it were labor intensive, I'd've given up already, but since the time involved each time is about 2 minutes, it works for me. I've yet to manage anything on ibotta that isn't an "Any Brand," but those 20-centers add up (at least $1/week just for buying the usual produce). I like Savingstar, too. Weekly produce discount is an easy win and the occasional multi purchase with high value coupons has worked out well. (I've had meh luck with Snap. Great rebate on almonds once, but little since.)

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4275 on: September 09, 2015, 09:00:12 AM »
I'm at $5.30 so far between ibotta and checkout51. Every little bit helps!

Agreed. If it were labor intensive, I'd've given up already, but since the time involved each time is about 2 minutes, it works for me. I've yet to manage anything on ibotta that isn't an "Any Brand," but those 20-centers add up (at least $1/week just for buying the usual produce). I like Savingstar, too. Weekly produce discount is an easy win and the occasional multi purchase with high value coupons has worked out well. (I've had meh luck with Snap. Great rebate on almonds once, but little since.)

I haven't heard of Savingstar. Could you tell me about it? I'll gladly use your referral code if I sign up, since I heard about it from you =)

Merrie

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4276 on: September 09, 2015, 09:03:05 AM »

*Did not spend $300 on a chest freezer on labor day.  I still want one, but I will watch the classifieds to find one being sold cheap.


We have tried to look for a fridge on Craigslist since ours is getting pretty long in the tooth, but we want an energy-efficient one and the vast majority of the fridges on CL we cannot tell the age (and thus the efficiency) of. A non-Energy Star chest freezer will chew up electricity. Your extra $100 or $200 over time to get a new item may pay off. Not to say go ahead and just buy whatever, but definitely bear that in mind.

ShaneD

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4277 on: September 09, 2015, 10:40:02 AM »
I'm at $5.30 so far between ibotta and checkout51. Every little bit helps!

Agreed. If it were labor intensive, I'd've given up already, but since the time involved each time is about 2 minutes, it works for me. I've yet to manage anything on ibotta that isn't an "Any Brand," but those 20-centers add up (at least $1/week just for buying the usual produce). I like Savingstar, too. Weekly produce discount is an easy win and the occasional multi purchase with high value coupons has worked out well. (I've had meh luck with Snap. Great rebate on almonds once, but little since.)

I haven't heard of Savingstar. Could you tell me about it? I'll gladly use your referral code if I sign up, since I heard about it from you =)

Not seeing any referral code option, though I do appreciate the offer! Happy to pay it forward freely, especially since I'd heard of it here on MMM somewhere myself.

Best option for info is here: https://savingstar.com/how_it_works . Things I like:

* You can cash out at $5 (instead of the oft-cited $20). ETA: And straight into a bank account. (No PayPal necessary.)
* Every week they offer 20% off a particular type of produce (this week is oranges).
* You can register your usual stores' loyalty cards with them, so you don't have to upload receipts: the rebates show up automatically in your account within a day or two by having used your loyalty card. Takes a few minutes upfront to type in all the numbers, but it's wonderfully brainless after.
* Every now and then they offer freebies.
* They often have rebates for multiple items bought over 4-6 weeks (rather than 1 week). E.g., when I first signed up, they had a $5 rebate if you spent $20 on Earthbound Farms products over a month. We go through 1-2 of the big boxes of salad greens each week, so that was easily done: I just made sure to buy that brand rather than another one. If I recall, Earthbound was 25 or 50-cents more expensive than store brand those weeks, but the math still worked out in my favor.

They update all offers on the first of the month, produce rebate every Tuesday, and freebies randomly, so I set my calendar to remind me of the regular updates and just randomly check in now and then to see if anything free might be available.

About 75% of the stuff they rebate is still stuff I'd never buy (as with most sites), but sometimes the stars align. I've noticed their offers often line up with available coupons and my regular supermarket's sales and/or digital coupons, which can bundle really well. E.g., right now Savingstar has $1.00 off when you buy 3 Progresso products; coupons.com has a coupon for $1.00 off when you buy 3 Progresso products; AND my supermarket has a digital coupon for $1.00 off when you buy 3 Progresso products. I know Progresso canned soup is $1/can at that supermarket when on sale -- so if it goes on sale in the next 3 weeks (which seems possible with all these offers floating around), the rebate plus 2 coupons makes it basically free (plus tax). Bonus: If ibotta shows up with a 20-cents of Any Brand canned soup, that's a 20-cent profit. By not being brand loyal on certain things, I've scored some free or stupid cheap (25-50 cents total) toiletries this way.

ETA: Just checked my circular, and sure enough: Progresso soup at 99-cents on sale this week. So 3 cans of soup, minus tax, plus a 3-cent profit.

BTW, related, in case you haven't seen it: Much as I like the mental exercise of figuring ^that kind of bundle out (it's like playing real-life Concentration), I love this site -- http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/ -- for figuring out bundles like the above for me. Each week they post a bunch of supermarket's sales, plus coupons and rebate site rebates that line up with those sale prices, plus unadvertised deals, and even previews of the following week's circular. If they've got your usual supermarket, it's really helpful and saves a bunch of time. You can even sign up for email prompts about your particular supermarket. I'm happy to be a lazypants on that front!
« Last Edit: September 09, 2015, 11:25:57 AM by ShaneD »

ketchup

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4278 on: September 09, 2015, 12:59:59 PM »

*Did not spend $300 on a chest freezer on labor day.  I still want one, but I will watch the classifieds to find one being sold cheap.


We have tried to look for a fridge on Craigslist since ours is getting pretty long in the tooth, but we want an energy-efficient one and the vast majority of the fridges on CL we cannot tell the age (and thus the efficiency) of. A non-Energy Star chest freezer will chew up electricity. Your extra $100 or $200 over time to get a new item may pay off. Not to say go ahead and just buy whatever, but definitely bear that in mind.
I bought an old chest freezer a few years ago on craigslist, and the energy rating on it estimated its running cost to be $52/year.  We bought a new one from Home Depot last year (yes, we have two chest freezers now; I promise it makes sense), and the same style energy rating estimated its running cost to be $51/year.  As long as you don't get a real dinosaur of a freezer, it shouldn't be much less efficient to get an older one.

EDIT: and for what it's worth, the craigslist one was $100 and I think the new one last year was $160 (floor model) at Home Depot.  $300 seems like a lot.

10dollarsatatime

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4279 on: September 09, 2015, 01:07:19 PM »

*Did not spend $300 on a chest freezer on labor day.  I still want one, but I will watch the classifieds to find one being sold cheap.


We have tried to look for a fridge on Craigslist since ours is getting pretty long in the tooth, but we want an energy-efficient one and the vast majority of the fridges on CL we cannot tell the age (and thus the efficiency) of. A non-Energy Star chest freezer will chew up electricity. Your extra $100 or $200 over time to get a new item may pay off. Not to say go ahead and just buy whatever, but definitely bear that in mind.

Thanks for the heads up.  I'm just looking for a small one... between 7 and 9 cu ft.  With your information in mind and the price differences between the sizes, I may end up with a new 7 footer for under $200.

jengod

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4280 on: September 09, 2015, 06:23:57 PM »
* Harvested the last two spaghetti squash of the season. This was our first year growing spaghetti squash and it was a great success.

* Dried a load of laundry in the sun.

* One neighbor left a browning fiddle-leaf fig houseplant out by the side of the road, and another neighbor left out a huge terra cotta pot planted with a dead succulent. With help from my toddler, I painted the pot and replace the succulent with the fig. It now makes a wonderful corner accent in our living room, all for the low, low price of FREE.

* Speaking of curb shopping, I scouted an alley trash pile today (I think someone was cleaning out a garage), and brought home a huge sturdy wooden crate that we can use as a side table, a small place mat that's perfect for under our water jug, and someone's collection of 1970s baseball cards. Listed the cards on eBay; fingers crossed for sales!
« Last Edit: September 09, 2015, 06:38:20 PM by jengod »

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4281 on: September 09, 2015, 08:44:56 PM »
*Took out heaps of stuff from the library today - rediscovered the magazine section upstairs and found some great history magazines for my 10 year old son who is obsessed with the subject atm. Said child has lost his library card, and because we are "heavy users" the librarian gave him a replacement card for free instead of charging us the usual $2 lost card fee. I love that we are heavy users of the library!

*Brown beans for dinner - started it from dried navy beans 2 days ago. I find this process incredibly rewarding. They taste out of this world!

*Another huge spinach salad with part of the 2 lb bag of spinach I picked up last week for $4 - a great dressing found online and subbed in pumpkin seeds for blanched almonds. Craisins add a lovely punch of flavour too.

*Made a loaf of bread in the bread machine for lunch -- love that 58 minute cycle. We had bread with cheese and cucumbers for lunch today

*Did chicken bones in the crockpot for broth today. Used my own parsley, rosemary and basil for seasoning in addition to some dried ones and also onions, garlic and carrots. I have 10-15 large ziplock bags in the freezer now, for when it cools down more and we start into soup season.

*Husband is painting 12 year old son's room his favourite colour -- ORANGE! as in 1970s orange. Its awful but he is delighted! I'm keeping my mouth shut on this one.







4alpacas

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4282 on: September 09, 2015, 09:05:22 PM »
Used up 2 avocados and 1 lime that were about to turn for guacamole for dinner (unfortunately one lime and one avocado couldn't be saved/used)

Packed breakfast and lunch for tomorrow.  Ate my breakfast and lunch that I packed for work today.


*Husband is painting 12 year old son's room his favourite colour -- ORANGE! as in 1970s orange. Its awful but he is delighted!
When we were younger, my mother let my siblings and I choose our bedroom colors.  All of the choices were horrendous, but we loved it.  My siblings and I now laugh about who had the worst design.

choppingwood

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4283 on: September 09, 2015, 11:03:12 PM »
*Husband is painting 12 year old son's room his favourite colour -- ORANGE! as in 1970s orange. Its awful but he is delighted! I'm keeping my mouth shut on this one.

Brings back fond memories. I lived in an orange dorm room for two years. Didn't get depressed.

Melody

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4284 on: September 10, 2015, 03:47:28 AM »
Ate a tin of baked beans for lunch as there was no lunch food in the house. Hence avoided buying lunch (at least $5). Bonus didn't have to leave the office during the unexpected thunderstorm.

ShaneD

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4285 on: September 10, 2015, 09:41:47 AM »
Caffeine consumption had gotten way high during a few hard and deadline-related hell weeks, but am down to 2 cups of coffee per day.

Husband working on reducing as well. Change has already been noticeable as we're now making only 1 pot of coffee per day, no second (or third) pot.

homehandymum

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4286 on: September 10, 2015, 04:49:08 PM »
Cut my own hair this morning, then washed with baking soda and vinegar as usual.
Pulled chin hairs out myself with tweezers (ok, so I've never paid someone to do that, but some people do :) )
Brewed 2 cups of tea using one tea bag in my cute yellow tea cup
Bought veggies through local food co-op

zoltani

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4287 on: September 10, 2015, 04:57:52 PM »
Signed up for southwest rewards card, so I'll hopefully be saving some money on flights in the future.

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4288 on: September 10, 2015, 11:19:41 PM »
Cut my own hair this morning, then washed with baking soda and vinegar as usual.
Pulled chin hairs out myself with tweezers (ok, so I've never paid someone to do that, but some people do :) )
Brewed 2 cups of tea using one tea bag in my cute yellow tea cup
Bought veggies through local food co-op

Wait .. I could have written this post myself! Had a déjà vu moment there for a sec!

homehandymum

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4289 on: September 11, 2015, 12:27:44 AM »
Cut my own hair this morning, then washed with baking soda and vinegar as usual.
Pulled chin hairs out myself with tweezers (ok, so I've never paid someone to do that, but some people do :) )
Brewed 2 cups of tea using one tea bag in my cute yellow tea cup
Bought veggies through local food co-op

Wait .. I could have written this post myself! Had a déjà vu moment there for a sec!

It's what all the cool kids are doing ;)

10dollarsatatime

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4290 on: September 11, 2015, 08:52:38 AM »
Using produce from my garden, canned a mexican tomato sauce to eat over rice.  It's kind of like salsa, but more taco-y.  I ended up with 6 pints after dinner last night and packing my lunch for today.

Also.  I packed a lunch for today. :)

kander

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4291 on: September 11, 2015, 11:05:41 AM »
My son saved me money today!!

We wanted to go to a indoor playground, but he was so tired that we didn't go. This saved me the entrance price of €4, but probably also €10on food and drinks.

dantownehall

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4292 on: September 11, 2015, 01:00:19 PM »
Rice and beans (and hot sauce) for every lunch this week!

Good thing I like it.

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4293 on: September 11, 2015, 04:03:45 PM »
Packed snack for Little Brother to take to daycare, because otherwise they charge $2.

Tabitha

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4294 on: September 11, 2015, 07:24:29 PM »
Hubby took his jacket to the tailoring shop. $7 to repair the zipper, instead of the cost of a replacement windbreaker.
Dinner was from the freezer, and lunches brought from home.

We're good at frugal solutions and everyday frugal.  Where we trip is the "I wants", and we tend to enable each other instead of reinforce each other. Something to work on.

T

Argyle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4295 on: September 11, 2015, 11:00:22 PM »
I was out of the country for several months, so I put my car insurance on "storage."  Today I got the check for the money I saved: $57.  While I was gone I also unplugged the fridge, and the reduction in my electricity bill revealed that running my fridge costs $30 a month.

Moonwaves

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4296 on: September 12, 2015, 06:44:36 AM »
I needed some more coriander but resisted the temptation to get a tiny packet in the supermarket across the road from work yesterday just so that I'd have some. Instead I walked (well, strolled, can't make myself rush on a weekend morning and even strolling it's still less than 15 minutes) to the Turkish supermarket today and bought the big jar for a quarter of the price of the little packet.

Since I was passing anyway I also called in to my friendly neighbourhood tailor to make sure they could fix the zip on a handbag. It's an old one I dug out when I was looking for stuff for the flea market last week and apart from the zip and buckles it's still perfect. They might not be able to fix the buckles but as long as the zip is replaced it'll do for my needs.

ShaneD

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4297 on: September 12, 2015, 09:24:12 AM »
* About to sew a button back onto spouse's pants.
* Goodwilled some clothes, housewares, and LPs that didn't sell the other day.
* Sent jeans off for major repair -- which will cost the same as buying new really, but will cost less in time, energy, and either gas or return shipping to have to find a new pair that fits well.
* Saved $26.32 via coupons and online rebates last night, which included a free (small) jar of olives.

[Link to free olives coupon here.]
ETA: ^Note: I've only managed to get that coupon to print from the browser (and not get stuck in a download loop) in Firefox.
« Last Edit: September 12, 2015, 09:33:59 AM by ShaneD »

Argyle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4298 on: September 12, 2015, 02:04:09 PM »
Well, the $30 probably wasn't the fridge alone — it was also the electricity I use in a month.  That is, when I go away and use no electricity except for lights on a timer, and I unplug the fridge, the bill goes down by $30 a month.  For past trips, when I left the fridge on, the bill went down a bit, as I remember, but not a whole lot.

Of course to unplug the fridge you have to empty the fridge.  I had some frozen soup in the freezer and som ebutter in the fridge I thought, "Is it worth maybe $60 or so to keep these in the fridge?  Would I pay that much to keep them?"  So I ate up the soup and gave away the butter.

Tyson

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #4299 on: September 12, 2015, 02:10:12 PM »
Made waffles at home for brunch instead of going out to a local restaurant.  My new waffle maker is paying for itself already! 

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!