What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[Bracken_Joy]

Did a Costco run. They have by far the best price on organic eggs I can get (and they're a local, although large, company). It's less than 4 miles away, but I try to go no more than once a month because I get REALLY stressed in big crowds and Costco just kills me. You would think 11 on a Thursday would be fine, but nooo. Anyway, in addition to their great price on eggs, salsa, basmati rice, and canned tomatoes, I also got gas while I was there- $0.39/gal cheaper than the next cheapest place I live near.

Making a quadruple batch of hummus from dried chickpeas, going to freeze some for later.

Sent DH with food and homemade iced tea and coffee so he won't have to buy lunch or dinner.

Wearing a different pair of boots in the hopes I get used to them and won't replace my currents favorites (currently the superglue on the sole is failing for the second time... it's about time for the shoe graveyard for them).

[Kaikou]

didn't buy anything.

[1967mama]

*Scored 4 bags of red bell peppers @ $1/bag. Each bag contains 7 large peppers in perfect condition. Made fajitas for dinner tonite with 1 bag of peppers and leftover chicken. Tomorrow night will be greek salad. The rest will be diced and frozen for winter meals.

*Fancy Schwepps Raspberry Gingerale was $1/2L so I bought 3 for Thanksgiving as a special treat. Now, to keep it away from my teens until then!

*Soup stock made out of yesterday's chicken bones. I think I have around 12 large ziploc bags of stock in the freezer now.

*Trying to buy just the right amount of produce instead of overbuying and throwing bad stuff out...hate that!

[Bracken_Joy]

*Scored 4 bags of red bell peppers @ $1/bag. Each bag contains 7 large peppers in perfect condition. Made fajitas for dinner tonite with 1 bag of peppers and leftover chicken. Tomorrow night will be greek salad. The rest will be diced and frozen for winter meals.

Wow! That's an incredible deal. Best I get is $0.98 per pepper at Costco! Or $0.75/pepper at the farmer's market, but they're TINY.

[1967mama]

Bracken_joy,
Yeah I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them on the mark down shelf. I took 2 bags to start. And then I looked around (for some strange reason, like I was feeling guilty or something) and then grabbed the remaining 2 bags as I did the math in my head! It was $2.97 for a prepackaged bag of 3 mixed peppers -- or 7 red ones for a dollar! Haha!

[dorothyc]

I live 3 miles from work, but the trip home is up a very steep hill, so I usually drive. We have a gated parking lot, so I realized on Wednesday after I drove to work that I could leave my car in the lot for Wednesday night and Thursday, take the the bus Wednesday night, Thursday, and Friday morning, and have my car available to drive home Friday night, so that is what I did.

The company subsidizes my bus pass too, so each bus trip only costs me 75c. I would take the bus all the time, but the stop is 2/3 mile from work, and they only run once an hour in the evening, every 30 minutes in the morning, and when the weather is very hot it is tough to walk

[2ndTimer]

I recently experimented leaving the roots of my leeks in the ground when I harvested them in hopes of growing another crop of leeks.  At least one seems to have the ambition to do it.  Hopefully, the others will be popping up over the next few days.

[Kwill]

I switched back to the $10 plan with Republic Wireless. I'd added data for a couple months, but I don't think I need it right now.

[Rural]

Apparently I met my health insurance deductible. Not a money saver in the bigger sense, but I only paid $159 for an MRI today.


Better make sure we're both up to date on everything over the next three months!

[10dollarsatatime]

*Canned 12 quarts of tomatoes from the garden.
*Will can a few pints of tomato soup in a couple of hours.
*Will can a load of green beans as well.
*Saved all the skins for dehydrating into tomato powder.

[jengod]

* Picked up an Marcato pasta machine for $5 from a garage sale. It retails for ~$70, ~$30 used. Made fresh noodles tonight and the kids loved 'em.

* Saved shower warm-up water to use in the garden.

* Partly cleaned out my husband's car, collected the recyclable cans and bottles, and collected all the spare change.

[Gerard]

* Picked up an Marcato pasta machine for $5 from a garage sale. It retails for ~$70, ~$30 used. Made fresh noodles tonight and the kids loved 'em.

Great score! Do you think your kids would enjoy helping to make the noodles, given that it's "playing with a machine"?

Also, has anybody here ever used a pasta machine to roll out dough for home-made crackers? If so, how well did it work?

[Tigerpine]

I created an account on the NFPA website so I can access the NEC 70 2014 Code book for free.  Buying the book would have been about $100.

[dorothyc]

* Picked up an Marcato pasta machine for $5 from a garage sale. It retails for ~$70, ~$30 used. Made fresh noodles tonight and the kids loved 'em.

Great score! Do you think your kids would enjoy helping to make the noodles, given that it's "playing with a machine"?

Also, has anybody here ever used a pasta machine to roll out dough for home-made crackers? If so, how well did it work?

I don't think it would work as crackers are usually made with lower gluten flour, so they come out tender and flaky. Pasta machines work with high gluten flour which is much more elastic so it doesn't stick to the rollers. Your best bet for rolling crackers is to use a straight pin, maybe with silicone ring guides at each end.

Like these:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/king-arthur-flour-rolling-pin-rings

[jengod]

* Picked up an Marcato pasta machine for $5 from a garage sale. It retails for ~$70, ~$30 used. Made fresh noodles tonight and the kids loved 'em.

Great score! Do you think your kids would enjoy helping to make the noodles, given that it's "playing with a machine"?

Yes! They helped a little making the dough but missed the fun machine part. Next time I will have them help turn the knob and crank, and catch noodles.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dorothyc]

I grew up in the UK, where we use a measuring scale for baking, but now I live in the US I have a lot of recipes that call for cups of flour. I was always spilling flour trying to scoop and sweep over the bag, but I realized this week if I sweep over an extra bowl, the excess flour can be tipped back into the bag without wasting any or making a mess of the counters.

I'm making a ginger cake with fresh and ground ginger, from Jean Anderson's "Process This" book.

[Bracken_Joy]

I found $0.39 while cleaning out our air ducts! Also, we also found where the vent had dropped down from the floor in one room. Our land lady is going to have it fixed. Should reduce heating costs once we're using the furnace this winter. Glad we decided to clean them out!

[Spruit]

I shelled some dried beans today for culinary use and seeding next year. It's basically like unpacking brightly coloured gems pod by pod. After getting the plants up and running end of May, it took me zero effort to let them flower and grow beans. They did wonderfully despite the depleted sandy soil. Definitely planting a mix of shelling (runner) beans again next year.

Thoroughly weeded the shared garden path today, and was rewarded by a bunch of kale seedlings from a thankful allotment neighbour.

Resisted urge to go overboard on spring bulb ordering. Will check out the weekly farmers market instead for a cheap deal to brighten up the backyard in spring.

Picked up a stray euro at the supermarket. Small things...

[1967mama]

*Found cheap jeans that fit my long-legged and very thin son. He doesn't care about name brand or anything, just that they fit right (on the skinny side of jean fit) and that they're loooong enough! So happy to find these. Store is only 20 minutes away from home, but one I never go to.

*Greek salad for dinner with fish from the freezer. Greek salad will use up about 1/2 the peppers I got on clearance the other day.  Only 1 has been bad inside so far.

[Bracken_Joy]

Had to buy jeans for DH. Waited for a sale (15% off normal price) then signed up for the Levi's mailing list- 20% off and free shipping. $79 pair of pants for $36. I know ideally I would have done a thrift store, but  a- none are close by, b- the one that is is on currently contested gang territory and I'm avoiding the area right now, c- DH is the WORST to fit for pants, and d- he has zero free time right now since the term started.

Hung some clothes to dry. Not enough to save a run of the dryer, but at least it lengthens the lives of delicate pieces of clothing- that saves money too! I also used a delicates bag for those pieces for extra protection.

Got DH to buy produce at our bargain grocer! He's fine with packaged goods, but so far has resisted any produce from there. Even he couldn't pass up 6 yellow peppers for $2.50 though! The lure of homemade hummus to dip them in was too much. Plan to do a couple for hummus, then a couple for stuffed peppers.

Not saving money per se, but I finally collected all our student loans and their rates in one place. I keep forgetting the numbers! So this will help prioritize pay off once the current loan we've been working on is gone (monday!).

[Jakejake]

Did a cheap grocery run on my bike (18.9 miles), picked up cans I found along the way and cashed them in.
Got motivated by this thread to deal with my tomato crisis, I have them on the dehydrator now! The only down side of that is I was using the case of tomatoes to hide pie pumpkins from my husband. I keep getting them free (it's complicated), and he's concerned. Got two more of them today.

And yesterday I made a phone call to get forms to push my paycheck into the 457 beginning in Nov, when my 403b will be maxed out.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Took a military shower--wetted self down,turned off water, sudsed hair and person, turned water back off.

I wash my hair with baking soda and it just seemed like an unreasonable amount of potable water was going down the drain while I worked it into my hair.

[SingleMomDebt]

Attended a free Japanese cultural event. Ate lunch before hand to keep me full. $0 spent and had a great time. 

[Juslookin]

Wrote down the week's menu plan. Copied all needed recipes and put in kitchen folder so teenagers can help cook dinner.

Ran errands today after cooking big lunch at home (no eating out).

DH drove us the 1/2 hour away using his company car (free gas, perfectly legal, he's allowed unlimited personal miles).

We shopped with a list purchasing only what was pre-planned and needed.

Great day.

[Bracken_Joy]

Took weekend shifts this month so traffic isn't as bad- 20 min vs 45 min. Will save on gas.

As always, packing all my own food for work- nowhere to buy anyway, so no temptation!

[WerKater]

Took a military shower--wetted self down,turned off water, sudsed hair and person, turned water back off.

Is this actually unusual? I never heard the term "military shower", but this is how I always showered. Do most people actually leave the water on while applying shampoo and soap? If they do (and I know I will kick myself for that question...): WHY?

[2ndTimer]

Cooked for today a head of cabbage cooked with a little frozen roast pork and broth that I thawed.
Packed lunches for tomorrow.  Home made flat bread and string cheese bought for $2.00/lb at Grocery Outlet
The Hub is currently working on the greenhouse he is making me out of a neighbor's old windows
When he is finished tonight I will move in my two mint plants.  Free mint tea for the rest of my life and the pot of basil I am starting from free seeds someone was handing out on the street.

[frugledoc]

Took a military shower--wetted self down,turned off water, sudsed hair and person, turned water back off.

Is this actually unusual? I never heard the term "military shower", but this is how I always showered. Do most people actually leave the water on while applying shampoo and soap? If they do (and I know I will kick myself for that question...): WHY?

Feels good?

[jengod]

Took a military shower--wetted self down,turned off water, sudsed hair and person, turned water back off.

Is this actually unusual? I never heard the term "military shower", but this is how I always showered. Do most people actually leave the water on while applying shampoo and soap? If they do (and I know I will kick myself for that question...): WHY?

Feels good?

Exactly. A long hot shower is pretty cheap therapy, all things considered.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_shower

[jengod]

Took a military shower--wetted self down,turned off water, sudsed hair and person, turned water back off.

Is this actually unusual? I never heard the term "military shower", but this is how I always showered. Do most people actually leave the water on while applying shampoo and soap? If they do (and I know I will kick myself for that question...): WHY?

Feels good?

Terminology info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_shower

And yes, people do it because they think it feels good. A long hot shower is pretty cheap therapy, all things considered. I'll give up salting my food and long hot showers approximately never.

[pbkmaine]

Took a Martha White Thin Crust Pizza mix (75 cents at Walmart), and added caramelized onions, chopped ham, a mix of cheeses and made what I am calling Alsatian Tart for dinner. DH and I were inspired by the delicious but pricey Tarte d'Alsace from Trader Joe's.

[Jakejake]

I did the military showers when I was losing weight, but that was one of the first things I ditched when I got down to my ideal weight and switched to maintenance mode. That and the whole "cold shower" thing in general felt brutal to me.

Anyway, today: biked 19 more miles to pick up some free from craigslist rice milk to use in my lunch smoothies. Filled my panniers with recycling, since the route took me near a free recycle drop off center (we don't pay the fee for curbside pickup).

Ate a pear from a tree I biked past, so good! Found 5 more bottles (50 cents) during my ride. Got a couple more free pumpkins at kmart. The pumpkin situation here is out of control.

[1967mama]

Resisted the urge to buy a non-fiction book today that I really, really, REALLY wanted. I'm the 10th hold on 6 copies. Read up on the website to learn as much as I could before the book comes.

[steviesterno]

really started trying this MMM stuff this weekend.
Worked saturday, but got free breakfast so not all bad.
celebrated 1 year home-ownership by cleaning the garage/shop
spent yesterday cleaning out the shed an building a firewood storage rack from supplies I had on hand
spent saturday night listening to music around a campfire, roasting hot dogs with the wife
had the windows open full time and had ZERO ac/heat. pretty rare here in Texas.
Sold a bike that doesn't fit me for a profit to buy one that will, for grocery and errand adventures
Sold a random bookshelf that came free with the house.

[Moonwaves]

I'm leaving work at the end of the month and, things being the way they are here, that doesn't mean people will be offering to take me out for a farewell lunch (although my boss might do that if there's time). Oh no, it means that I provide a party for those I'll be leaving behind. I've made my peace with these silly traditions and rather than just skip it I'm keeping it small scale and telling people that we'll just head to the Irish pub for karaoke afterwards. Seriously, some people end up celebrating leaving here by staying here (drinking, admittedly) until midnight on their last day. Buying crates and crates of beer and wine and ordering food from our caterer. Not for me. I'll put in the effort and make rice krispie buns and probably bake one cake and otherwise it'll be a couple of bags of crisps, I think. Well, if I'm feeling super productive and bored the night before, maybe I'll make a quiche.

This past Saturday was reunifciation day here and when I was at the supermarket at lunchtime I saw that they still had some of their celabratory special offers. So got two bottles of semi-dry Sekt for 3.99 each instead of 5.99 and two bottles of dry for 2.49 each. I'll go over tomorrow to grab a crate of beer and then I'm done. And even better, it's the supermarket across the road from work so I can just bring the stuff straight here instead of having it sitting at home getting in the way and then having to find a way to get it from home to work. 3 weeks, 4 days and 3 hours and counting!

[Kaikou]

Took a military shower--wetted self down,turned off water, sudsed hair and person, turned water back off.

Is this actually unusual? I never heard the term "military shower", but this is how I always showered. Do most people actually leave the water on while applying shampoo and soap? If they do (and I know I will kick myself for that question...): WHY?

Feels good?

Terminology info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_shower

And yes, people do it because they think it feels good. A long hot shower is pretty cheap therapy, all things considered. I'll give up salting my food and long hot showers approximately never.

I use to do that as a kid. No one told me to. Funny now I don't do it anymore.

[Gerard]

Took a sub-military shower (wet a washcloth from the tap, rub all over, repeat as needed, shower only to rinse).
Biked to work and bank... absolutely beautiful weather here today.
Had fridge Soup (aka leftovers) for supper.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Took a military shower--wetted self down,turned off water, sudsed hair and person, turned water back off.

Is this actually unusual? I never heard the term "military shower", but this is how I always showered. Do most people actually leave the water on while applying shampoo and soap? If they do (and I know I will kick myself for that question...): WHY?

Feels good?

Terminology info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_shower

And yes, people do it because they think it feels good. A long hot shower is pretty cheap therapy, all things considered. I'll give up salting my food and long hot showers approximately never.

I use to do that as a kid. No one told me to. Funny now I don't do it anymore.

I don't particularly enjoy showering, so this was an easy cut for me. It kinda stressed me out, like dimes going down the drain, and I felt better with the water off. We all have our sacred cows... coffee is one of mine. Long showers, no.

I have this urge to drink hot coffee over and over again all morning. Discovered that tea is almost as tasty and can use the same leaves three times. I dunno if it's actually cheaper in general, but the tea was a gift, so replacing coffee that I bought with gift tea was definitely a savings.

[mustachepungoeshere]

35 degrees in Sydney yesterday so most people seemed to be either complaining about the heat or cranking the AC.

Our apartment is very well insulated (we're renting so I can't take credit, I'm afraid), so I was gleefully pegging washing on the toasty balcony all day then retreating inside to the cool.

Public holiday, hot day, and my husband and I will be away next weekend, so I was thrilled to get three loads washed and dried.

We're staying with friends so we won't pay for accommodation, taking a work car so not paying for fuel, we'll pack oats so no buying breakfast, and there will be about a dozen of us so we usually pitch in and cook dinner for the crowd. An affordable getaway, and one of our favourite weeks of the year.

[Candace]

I just used Super Glue to repair the sole of one of my office shoes instead of buying new shoes. The sole split in two right across the widest part, where the ball of the foot flexes. I've already had these shoes repaired once. I took them to the cobbler to fix significantly uneven wear on the heels, instead of buying new shoes, so this is the second time I'm saving them. I hope the Super Glue repair holds. I don't particularly like these shoes, but since I have to wear orthotic inserts now, I don't want to buy ANOTHER pair of ugly shoes that the inserts will fit into, before I really have to.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I just used Super Glue to repair the sole of one of my office shoes instead of buying new shoes. The sole split in two right across the widest part, where the ball of the foot flexes. I've already had these shoes repaired once. I took them to the cobbler to fix significantly uneven wear on the heels, instead of buying new shoes, so this is the second time I'm saving them. I hope the Super Glue repair holds. I don't particularly like these shoes, but since I have to wear orthotic inserts now, I don't want to buy ANOTHER pair of ugly shoes that the inserts will fit into, before I really have to.

If superglue doesn't work, you might try this e6000 glue that you can get from Amazon, or I bought mine at Joann: http://www.amazon.com/E-6000-237032-E6000%C2%AE-Craft-Adhesive/dp/B004BPHQWU

I used it to repair a leather purse and two pairs of toddler sandals; seems to be holding. Have definitely gotten my six bucks' worth.

[Bracken_Joy]

After orientation for work, there was an optional survey to fill out about the training. Not only did it enter me for a $50 gift card drawing, but I also got paid for the time filling it out. Seemed silly to leave money on the table when we'd already been there all day, but the other trainees left without filling it out. Into worse traffic, no less, because the extra 30 min pushed us past a lot of traffic.

So guys. I WON THIS.

$50 gift card, coming in the mail. Heck yes.

[Shinplaster]

I just used Super Glue to repair the sole of one of my office shoes instead of buying new shoes. The sole split in two right across the widest part, where the ball of the foot flexes. I've already had these shoes repaired once. I took them to the cobbler to fix significantly uneven wear on the heels, instead of buying new shoes, so this is the second time I'm saving them. I hope the Super Glue repair holds. I don't particularly like these shoes, but since I have to wear orthotic inserts now, I don't want to buy ANOTHER pair of ugly shoes that the inserts will fit into, before I really have to.

Goop for shoes is terrific stuff.  I used it to repair some winter boots 2 years ago for hubby - they split in exactly the same place as your shoes.  I troweled the Goop in, and the boots have held up through our nasty winters so far.

[Tigerpine]

After orientation for work, there was an optional survey to fill out about the training. Not only did it enter me for a $50 gift card drawing, but I also got paid for the time filling it out. Seemed silly to leave money on the table when we'd already been there all day, but the other trainees left without filling it out. Into worse traffic, no less, because the extra 30 min pushed us past a lot of traffic.

So guys. I WON THIS.

$50 gift card, coming in the mail. Heck yes.

Congratulations!  Sounds like you won on multiple fronts!

[jengod]

After orientation for work, there was an optional survey to fill out about the training. Not only did it enter me for a $50 gift card drawing, but I also got paid for the time filling it out. Seemed silly to leave money on the table when we'd already been there all day, but the other trainees left without filling it out. Into worse traffic, no less, because the extra 30 min pushed us past a lot of traffic.

So guys. I WON THIS.

$50 gift card, coming in the mail. Heck yes.

AWESOME. Congrats.

* Collected some gulf fritillary caterpillars that are living on our passionfruit vine and brought them inside. The kids can observe up close as the caterpillars go through the metamorphosis process.

* Filled out a store survey and got a $3 coupon for next time.

* Used a free drink coupon and a food coupon through the Starbucks app.

* Used a 20 percent off coupon to buy a retractable clothesline (in the interests of reducing our dryer use). I only have to not use the dryer 40 times to earn back the cost of the clothesline, LOL. :)

* Borrowed a hammer drill and mortar drill bits from my mom, and helped her repot a large plant.

* Scattered homegrown chamomile seed in a new part of the yard.

* Harvested green onion and sunchokes from the garden, and collected an egg. Cut lemon verbena branches and put them in an old milk bottle filled with rain barrel water for a mustachian flower arrangement.

* Culled some of my extra garden and compost books for resale.

* Fed the chickens the usual kitchen scraps (including a nice quantity of pumpkin seeds) and let them free-range all day, harnessing their roto-tilling skills and their additional fertility as the garden transitions to fall.

[Spruit]

I found a way to save on public transport, even for an incidental user that usually rides her bike to work. This will save me 2 euro every trip. If I take the bus twice a month on average, this pass will save me 37 the coming 365 days. Yay for small effortless wins!

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I told my husband he could plan to work on my birthday (when I don't work) so that he will not have to work this Friday evening, when I do work. We would either have had to shell out fifty bucks for a babysitter, or he could have had to drive 20 miles roundtrip in rush hour traffic to pick up the kids and bring them back to work with him.

[Juslookin]

DH and I took a couple days off and had a lovely staycation. Our vacation days expire if we don't use them. We took some time to do some yard work in the nice weather and cleaned out the garage. Better than an expensive vacation is peace and organization. haha

Today we slept in, went for a nice walk and than went out to lunch with a free gift card I won last Christmas at a Holiday party. Cost $0 and we're feeling very relaxed. Even better is tomorrow my lunch is the leftovers we brought home today from our free lunch.

[BetsyS]

Rode my bike to and from work. I know that's old hat for most folks here, but it was my first ride home in the dark since the days are getting shorter. New bike lights worked a treat.

No spend day as well.

[Rosy]

After orientation for work, there was an optional survey to fill out about the training. Not only did it enter me for a $50 gift card drawing, but I also got paid for the time filling it out. Seemed silly to leave money on the table when we'd already been there all day, but the other trainees left without filling it out. Into worse traffic, no less, because the extra 30 min pushed us past a lot of traffic.

So guys. I WON THIS.

$50 gift card, coming in the mail. Heck yes.

Sweet, always smart to enter when there isn't a lot of competition for the prize - besides, you can't win if you never enter. CONGRATS!

1. Well, my small thing for today was - actually remembering to take in the empty ink cartridges for credit at Office Depot and bring along the $10 off coupon  (if you purchase $50).
2. But, the purchase turned out to be only $48 not $50, awww, so the cashier said, "I can override your coupon" and we got our ten bucks:) Sweet!
3. Needed a new wireless mouse and they just happened to have a mark down - paid $19.90 instead of $39.90 - $20 savings.

So all in all - saved $30 plus $14 credit on my rewards card.