What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[Bracken_Joy]

DIY squat rack! Well, not a rack per se, but a stand. This rounds out our current home gym projects- we can do all the olympic lifts now in our garage! So two aspects of money savings- 1, we didn't buy a pre-made squat rack ($$$), and 2- we're not paying for gym memberships (which then also saves gas, as we're not walking distance to a gym).

Very clever, I would never have thought of using wood - I've only ever seen steel squat racks.  Love how the bench press section is integrated in there too.

We did a very small version of that a few months back for stands for our bar to rack weight, and it has held up very well. (Deadlift stands, basically... or deadlift jacks. Not sure exactly what they'd be called). Since those have worked out so well, even for DH's stupidly heavy deadlift PRs, I figured the squat stands would be a safe bet =) And you really can't beat $36!

[lunahsol]

*  the usual free work coffee and homemade lunch
*  also brought homemade frozen meal to put in work freezer for tomorrow
*  stocked desk drawer with free snacks that i saved from someone who was tossing them
*  put $100 into "holiday" envelope . . . to make things easier on my future self
*  hung laundry to dry this morning

[ShaneD]

A couple of years ago, I'd switched from overpriced, fancypants-brand body moisturizer to pharmacy-level bargain-brand body moisturizer. (Doesn't smell as fun, but actually works better.) Comes in one of those big plastic pump bottles.

Today the pump stopped pumping, suggesting that the bottle was empty, but you could tell from the weight of it that there was definitely still product inside. I cut the bottle in half and scooped the leftover moisturizer into a (marked) ramekin, and holy frijole: out of a 20-oz bottle, there was a full 3 oz of product remaining. 15% of the bottle was completely inaccessible to the average customer. I've now got weeks more product to use.

Welcome to the dissecting-the-moisturiser-bottle club, there are tens of us!

:D Thank you! I could kick my old self in the head for not doing that sooner.


Bracken_Joy, there's no other way to say this: Nice rack!


Today:
* Did financial stuff for our small business, including putting money into our 401ks. Unsure as yet if we'll max them out this year, but we'll sure come damn close.
* Made sure to take chicken and vegetables out of the freezer to thaw this morning, rather than forgetting until dinner time and ending up calling delivery.
* Missed lunch (was involved in work), so quite hungry now. But fighting that urge to do takeout, too, and ate some celery with peanut butter instead.
* Been using up random things before we move in a couple of months. Today I put an oatmeal soap meant for dry skin that's been sitting in a closet for probably a decade into rotation as kitchen hand soap.
* Made $20 selling some old DVDs.

[Orvell]

Did my own haircut for the month! I have an undercut, so it's not hard: #2 buzzer on the sides and back. \o/
$20 bucks in the stash, right there.

[jengod]

Helped my friend partially clean up/clear out her late mother's hoarder house.

My friend offered me my pick of jewelry as a thank you offering, but that's not my thing. I did take about 400 Forever stamps, two fire extinguishers, some packing tape, two cans of Comet cleaner and an intriguing little book called Old-Time Pickling and Spicing Recipes.

Long story short, I won't need to buy any stamps for...forever?


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[Ceridwen]

Helped my friend partially clean up/clear out her late mother's hoarder house.

My friend offered me my pick of jewelry as a thank you offering, but that's not my thing. I did take about 400 Forever stamps, two fire extinguishers, some packing tape, two cans of Comet cleaner and an intriguing little book called Old-Time Pickling and Spicing Recipes.

Long story short, I won't need to buy any stamps for...forever?


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Jealous! We send a ton of Christmas cards so I can really appreciate that!

Only ate lunch out once this week, and it was with good friends and a restaurant I really enjoy (ramen).  I said no to Starbucks afterwards.

I've got a $27 ebates cheque on its way to me and referred a friend for another $5 (at the next payback).

DH suggested takeout tonight and I declined.  We're having a delicious pork ragu over penne (made a huge batch in the slow cooker last week) and I am excited to open up my weekend bottle of wine tonight.

Going to a kids' bday party this weekend (joint party for siblings), and I'm proud of myself for sticking to my $15 budget per kid.  When their gifts arrived from amazon I almost placed another order for a book because I felt cheap, but I reminded myself that these kids have EVERYTHING and there will be 50+ guests at this party, my friend loves me and not what I buy her kids, and we were invited there to celebrate and not to spoil her kids.

Accepted an offer to upgrade my credit card to one that gives triple rewards points (PC MasterCard World Elite) with still no annual fee.  I already get $20 worth of free groceries about every 6 weeks with my original card, so I'm really excited to see that triple!

[dorothyc]

Helped my friend partially clean up/clear out her late mother's hoarder house.

My friend offered me my pick of jewelry as a thank you offering, but that's not my thing. I did take about 400 Forever stamps, two fire extinguishers, some packing tape, two cans of Comet cleaner and an intriguing little book called Old-Time Pickling and Spicing Recipes.

Long story short, I won't need to buy any stamps for...forever?


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I love the selection of things you chose, and what a great deal on the stamps.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Helped my friend partially clean up/clear out her late mother's hoarder house.

My friend offered me my pick of jewelry as a thank you offering, but that's not my thing. I did take about 400 Forever stamps, two fire extinguishers, some packing tape, two cans of Comet cleaner and an intriguing little book called Old-Time Pickling and Spicing Recipes.

Long story short, I won't need to buy any stamps for...forever?

I had to Google Forever stamps (we don't have them here). What a brilliant idea. I would stock up if that was an option here; I'm forever sending birthday cards, letters to grandparents, Christmas cards, etc.

Good work!

[Tom Bri]

My wife cuts up EVERY 'empty' bottle, and the toothpaste tubes too.

For myself today, I ate the nice lunch my wife made last night. I just put it in my lunchbag this morning as usual and went off to work. The ingredients are: home made cornbread, ham and cheese bought at discount from the local deli. They sell the 'ends' of the cheese and meats for $1.58/lb. Every time I go there I ask if they have any ends, and they scoop them all up and weigh them and I get several pounds of a huge variety of meats and cheeses that I would otherwise never buy, really pricey stuff. My only regret is that I have no idea which brands or, sometimes even what variety I am eating.
For dessert I had home-made yogurt mixed with home-made wild plum jam. I picked and cooked the jam up a few months ago, and we have about a gallon left in the freezer.
My veggies were home-grown lettuce and carrots. My fruit was an apple, bought for 20 cents.
This is pretty typical of my daily lunch.

[Bracken_Joy]

Converted our existing amazon prime to prime student with DH's school email address. Free 6 months and then $49 instead of $99. Woo! And it saved our account history and S&S stuff, so that's awesome.

[1967mama]

Today I got $170 in free groceries (plus a free flashlight and 3 packs of batteries) for using PC Superstore points accumulated on my credit card.

[flan]

• Wanted a book. Went to Amazon.com. Lightbulb moment. GOOGLED NEAREST LIBRARY INSTEAD.
• Nearest library is within biking distance
• Brain magically remembers library card number from the account that's literally idled for over a decade

[WorkingToUnwind]

Used a tub of coconut oil (that I never cook with) to make soap - was surprisingly easy and fun. I now have enough soap for a few months.

How did you do it?? I have coconut oil that I don't know what do with too!

[2ndTimer]

Cut a stack of printer mistakes into grocery list size pieces and and left them on the corner of my desk.

[1967mama]

Workingtounwind -- Cook with your coconut oil :-) Any baked goods taste great with coconut oil in lieu of butter or oil. Last night I made sweet potato oven fries in coconut oil. Use it as a moisturizer for dry skin -- feels and smells fantastic.

[mustachepungoeshere]

We walked to the grocery store in a light drizzle, shopped local, walked home.

Ate leftovers for lunch.

I saved $20 by cutting my husband's hair for the second time ever. Slowly getting the hang of it, and he's happy.

(We have a hairdresser within walking distance of our apartment but I refuse to go there. The first and last time I had my hair cut there, the snotty hairdresser asked, 'Have you ever coloured your hair?' 'No.' 'Do you think maybe you should?' I have dark hair that develops natural highlights from the sun. My father is 57 and doesn't have a single grey hair on his head. There are things about my appearance I don't like, but I have no issue whatsoever with my hair colour. I like the fact that I don't feel compelled to dye it, it saves me a fortune. The fact that some walking bottle of blonde dye tried to upsell me into unnecessary treatments pissed me right off. I haven't been back since.)

[Bracken_Joy]

We walked to the grocery store in a light drizzle, shopped local, walked home.

Ate leftovers for lunch.

I saved $20 by cutting my husband's hair for the second time ever. Slowly getting the hang of it, and he's happy.

(We have a hairdresser within walking distance of our apartment but I refuse to go there. The first and last time I had my hair cut there, the snotty hairdresser asked, 'Have you ever coloured your hair?' 'No.' 'Do you think maybe you should?' I have dark hair that develops natural highlights from the sun. My father is 57 and doesn't have a single grey hair on his head. There are things about my appearance I don't like, but I have no issue whatsoever with my hair colour. I like the fact that I don't feel compelled to dye it, it saves me a fortune. The fact that some walking bottle of blonde dye tried to upsell me into unnecessary treatments pissed me right off. I haven't been back since.)

What a mean spirited person! Holy cow. Not good advertising, right there.

That tallies up with when I was growing my henna out. I went in to get a consult pre-wedding to see if the henna had faded and grown out enough for my hair to hold dye for my wedding. The hair dresser I was going to meet was being nice, did a strand test, but the color wouldn't hold. Mind you, it's not like my hair turned green and fell off. It just wouldn't absorb the dye. When she left to do something, I heard two other hairdressers talking about how "only an idiot would think they could dye their hair after henna".

Saves money though, right?

My savings: taking leftovers for work. Being satisfied with my scrub collection (I only have 3 sets, and it's easy to get bored. No advantage to more sets though).

Removed a couple items from subscribe and save that I found better deals on elsewhere. Follow through! It's important, but so hard sometimes.

Was bored yesterday, wanted to go somewhere and do something. Carpooled with DH to his campus while he met a group for a project. I sat in a coffee shop and read while watching a wind storm. No extra gas, different part of the city. Great entertainment and change of scenery for $2, which is cheap if it saved me from going shopping or to a meal somewhere.

[Orvell]

Last night the girlfriend and I went out to a nice dinner. But we went to a place that she had a gift card for ($25 off) so our combined cost, with tip, was $37 for a meal that was pretty damned good.
\o/
Also, the portions were enormous so it will also be my lunch today!

[ShaneD]

We walked to the grocery store in a light drizzle, shopped local, walked home.

Ate leftovers for lunch.

I saved $20 by cutting my husband's hair for the second time ever. Slowly getting the hang of it, and he's happy.

(We have a hairdresser within walking distance of our apartment but I refuse to go there. The first and last time I had my hair cut there, the snotty hairdresser asked, 'Have you ever coloured your hair?' 'No.' 'Do you think maybe you should?' I have dark hair that develops natural highlights from the sun. My father is 57 and doesn't have a single grey hair on his head. There are things about my appearance I don't like, but I have no issue whatsoever with my hair colour. I like the fact that I don't feel compelled to dye it, it saves me a fortune. The fact that some walking bottle of blonde dye tried to upsell me into unnecessary treatments pissed me right off. I haven't been back since.)

What a mean spirited person! Holy cow. Not good advertising, right there.

That tallies up with when I was growing my henna out. I went in to get a consult pre-wedding to see if the henna had faded and grown out enough for my hair to hold dye for my wedding. The hair dresser I was going to meet was being nice, did a strand test, but the color wouldn't hold. Mind you, it's not like my hair turned green and fell off. It just wouldn't absorb the dye. When she left to do something, I heard two other hairdressers talking about how "only an idiot would think they could dye their hair after henna".

Saves money though, right?

Don't you just love that? I've gotten hassle a few times for letting my light, ashy brown hair go natural, and once was told (with a sniff), "How unusual." I get to be the odd one out for not dying my hair (usually) blond for fear of the dreaded "mousey" look. If more people with this color let their hair alone, maybe it wouldn't be considered mousey.

Cut a stack of printer mistakes into grocery list size pieces and and left them on the corner of my desk.

Another option if there's only printing on 1 side: flip 'em over and put them back into the printer. We've now got a printer that prints double-sided, but we still save 1-sided prints (and even sometimes 1-sided junk mail) to re-run. That's the only thing I miss about working in an office: I used to come home with reams of free, half-used paper.


One we've been doing every today for months: using ice packs to keep an old, dying microwave in play. The thing was never very good to begin with, and has recently tended to overheat after a few minutes and shut itself off. We don't want to buy a new one before moving (and are hoping our next apartment might come with one), so we've been keeping it alive by covering the top with ice packs when in use. (I'd ditch it entirely for a while, but husband would go fetal.)

[mustachepungoeshere]

We walked to the grocery store in a light drizzle, shopped local, walked home.

Ate leftovers for lunch.

I saved $20 by cutting my husband's hair for the second time ever. Slowly getting the hang of it, and he's happy.

(We have a hairdresser within walking distance of our apartment but I refuse to go there. The first and last time I had my hair cut there, the snotty hairdresser asked, 'Have you ever coloured your hair?' 'No.' 'Do you think maybe you should?' I have dark hair that develops natural highlights from the sun. My father is 57 and doesn't have a single grey hair on his head. There are things about my appearance I don't like, but I have no issue whatsoever with my hair colour. I like the fact that I don't feel compelled to dye it, it saves me a fortune. The fact that some walking bottle of blonde dye tried to upsell me into unnecessary treatments pissed me right off. I haven't been back since.)

What a mean spirited person! Holy cow. Not good advertising, right there.

That tallies up with when I was growing my henna out. I went in to get a consult pre-wedding to see if the henna had faded and grown out enough for my hair to hold dye for my wedding. The hair dresser I was going to meet was being nice, did a strand test, but the color wouldn't hold. Mind you, it's not like my hair turned green and fell off. It just wouldn't absorb the dye. When she left to do something, I heard two other hairdressers talking about how "only an idiot would think they could dye their hair after henna".

Saves money though, right?

Don't you just love that? I've gotten hassle a few times for letting my light, ashy brown hair go natural, and once was told (with a sniff), "How unusual." I get to be the odd one out for not dying my hair (usually) blond for fear of the dreaded "mousey" look. If more people with this color let their hair alone, maybe it wouldn't be considered mousey.

Oh, the sniff!

My mother-in-law once popped into boutique while killing time, wearing a tiered skirt and tank top (this was a couple of years ago). The shop assistant greeted her with a sniff and "uh, fashions have changed!" :0

Glad I'm not the only one boycotting predatory styling. :D

[mustachepungoeshere]

Aaaand I forgot to post my small thing for today.

Booked movie tickets to Spectre using cinema loyalty points. A lovely but frugal date for a rainy afternoon.

[ozbeach]

Just spent 10 minutes filling out an online survey for my energy provider in exchange for a $10 grocery voucher.

Interesting thing is, I was sent an email a week or so ago and the only inducement to participate in the survey was a chance to go in the draw to win something - so I binned the email. Now, with 48 hours before the survey expires, they offer $10 vouchers.

[jordanread]

Working on a kind of a write up, along with reviews, but stopped in the goodwill as the SO and I dropped some stuff off. They had a basketball for $.99 ($1.06) with tax. Using other materials that were on hand, wound up with a 22.2lb medicine ball. Been thinking about trying that for a while. After it sets tonight, I'll beat it up a bit. I might have to actually wrap the entire thing with duct tape for extra support, and then something for grip, but we'll see how it goes. It seems a lot heavier though.

[2ndTimer]

Refilled ink for printer at Costco.  Stopped at Grocery Outlet en route and bought five more bottles of truffle oil.  I tried it yesterday and it is good so two for Christmas gifts and three for us.  Took a thermos of coffee along so there would be not temptation to buy it on the trip.

[Threshkin]

Used a tub of coconut oil (that I never cook with) to make soap - was surprisingly easy and fun. I now have enough soap for a few months.

How did you do it?? I have coconut oil that I don't know what do with too!

There are lots of recipes on-line.  One of my favorite sites is: http://soapcalc.net/

Usually, when I make soap I use a mix of Olive Oil, Coconut oil, Palm Oil, and Castor Oil.  Each type of oil has its own characteristics (cleansing, softening, foamy, etc.)  The soap calc site will tell you about the characteristics of each type of oil or fat you may want to use.  It will also tell you how much lye and water you will need.

VERY IMPORTANT: Add lye to water, never add water to lye!

Making your own soap is fun and not that hard.  Minimal tools are needed.  Very MMM. 

[1967mama]

Losing weight and thus am now fitting clothes I haven't worn in years! My wardrobe just tripled!

[AmandaS1989]

Instead of giving into the temptation to use my coupon from American Eagle and buy a new coat I resisted. Sure my old coat is a little worn at the cuffs but it's only a few small worn places. Old spendypants me would've said 'I haven't bought a new coat in 4 years, time for a new one!' New, slightly more frugal me says 'The coat's still perfectly fine and keeps me warm, why waste money on another one? I don't need it.'

[Tom Bri]

Dug about 30-40 pounds of potatoes from my garden. The original 'seed' potatoes were left over from the previous year's harvest, so this year I didn't have to buy any to plant. About 1/3 done digging, lots left to go. Hope the snow holds off a few more weeks!
We had a church pot-luck tonight. My wife made potatoes with parsley.

[Jakejake]

Yesterday - biked to work even though heading home into the cold 25mph wind for almost two hours, half in the dark, was brutal. When I finally got back my husband was standing in the garage waiting for me, and he announced "You're alive!" On the way into work though, I found an unopened bag of trail mix on the sidewalk. Score! That was my breakfast when I got to work.

The day before I got a 10lb bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts for 1.29/lb. I roasted it all and ran it through our deli slicer and got it into freezer bags for cheap healthy lunch meat.

Today, I got more free pumpkins, and I decided to rip off the bandaid. My husband knows the basement fridge is all pumpkins, but I also finally brought in the ones I was hiding in my car and the new ones and lined them up in the kitchen. I'm waiting for him to come home and yell at me, but at least we'll be done with that discussion once and for all. Tomorrow I'm going to try cooking a few to mush, then running that in the dehydrator til I can pulverize them and store them as powder. I'm hoping to fit each large pumpkin into a quart mason jar that way.

(and right now I hear him coming home and I'm getting nervous. Wish me luck!)

[1967mama]

Jakejake! Total awesomeness with your biking in the dark, cold wind! And the free pumpkins! That made me laugh! Way to go!

Tonight I made my own Lara Bars. Stupidly easy. 1 1/2 cups of pitted dates made into paste in the food processor. Remove to a small mixing bowl. Now grind up 1 1/2 cups of any kind of nuts (I used mostly pecans and 1/2 a cup of mixed almonds and cashews), with 1 tablespoon of coconut and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Knead all in small bowl and press into 8x8 pan lined with plastic wrap. Refrigerate. Cut when cold. I put mine in snack sized ziplock bags (no name brand) and kept them in the fridge after. Quite a bit cheaper than store-bought Lara Bars (which are one of the few sweets allowed on the eating plan I'm following ATM -- its called Whole30). There are tons of recipes for flavor combinations on Pinterest if you have other dried fruits and fixings you'd like to put in them:-)

[4alpacas]

Washed and brushed out the dog instead of paying for a groomer.  She was so well behaved!

I ran with the dog today.  I cancelled my gym membership a few months ago, so I've started running.  Outside. 

Purchased Christmas gifts.  One I used a gift card we've had for about a year.  The second, I used a 20% off code only good for this weekend.

Returned Redbox DVDs on time.  I also opted not to rent a new DVD for tonight.

Put out croissants to rise for tomorrow morning.

[Jakejake]

Quite a bit cheaper than store-bought Lara Bars (which are one of the few sweets allowed on the eating plan I'm following ATM -- its called Whole30). There are tons of recipes for flavor combinations on Pinterest if you have other dried fruits and fixings you'd like to put in them:-)

Googling pinterest and larabars ... 2nd recipe - pumpkin pie larabars! YESSSSSSSS!

[Tom Bri]

...Waiting to hear more about the pumpkins...
:-)

[steviesterno]

we made pickles! first time ever doing that, so the start up cost was higher. But I was proud, instead of buying fancy pickling sauce ($4 a packet!) we made our own.

curious to see how this all pans out, but an interesting first adventure.

[WorkingToUnwind]

Workingtounwind -- Cook with your coconut oil :-) Any baked goods taste great with coconut oil in lieu of butter or oil. Last night I made sweet potato oven fries in coconut oil. Use it as a moisturizer for dry skin -- feels and smells fantastic.

That sounds delicious. I'll put the jar by the stove so I remember I have it!

[BetsyS]

we made pickles! first time ever doing that, so the start up cost was higher. But I was proud, instead of buying fancy pickling sauce ($4 a packet!) we made our own.

curious to see how this all pans out, but an interesting first adventure.

What kind of pickles did you make?

I recently tried making pickled turnips... My better half absolutely hates turnips and we got a ton in our recent CSA. I've been roasting and eating them at lunch but even that has been hard going. So I tried a very simple middle eastern pickled turnip recipe and lo and behold, they are delicious - salty, crunchy, garlicky and with a bit of kick. We both love them!

[ShaneD]

Oh, the sniff!

My mother-in-law once popped into boutique while killing time, wearing a tiered skirt and tank top (this was a couple of years ago). The shop assistant greeted her with a sniff and "uh, fashions have changed!" :0

Glad I'm not the only one boycotting predatory styling. :D

HA! I'm so going to steal the phrase "predatory styling."


Jakejake, good luck!


BetsyS, pickled turnips sound amazing.

[Jakejake]

Pickling sounds like a brilliant way to change the taste of turnips!

Today I have gathered our remaining pumpkins into a family portrait and my husband is telling me I need to get a minivan and put their stickers on the rear window. Here's where I'm at with them now - pretty sure this isn't the sort of 'stache I was supposed to be working on.

I've moved 5 small ones into the oven now, a large one is steaming on top of the stove in a stockpot, and seeds from them all have been simmered in salt water. I'm going to salt and dry the skins into chips.

Aside from the ones you can see here, in the last 6 weeks we've eaten 5 pie pumpkins, one large cinderella style one, and the giant one is cooked and cubed in my fridge, waiting for some curry experiments. I think we need to step up the pace.

On the bright side, we've only spent $38 on groceries so far this month.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Today I have gathered our remaining pumpkins into a family portrait and my husband is telling me I need to get a minivan and put their stickers on the rear window.

Love the pic. Jakejake and the Multiplying Pumpkins - now with illustrations!

I would be making a year's supply of pumpkin soup with some of that lot.

(Recipe tip: 750g pumpkin, 250g potato, two large onions, a litre of chicken or vegetable stock, salt and pepper. Add to large pot, bring to the boil, simmer till pumpkin is tender, puree with stick mixer. Freeze flat in large ziplock bags for easy defrosting. Serve with a dollop of cream if feeling indulgent. For a Thai twist, saute a tablespoon of Thai red curry paste before step one.)

[Tom Bri]

Sawed and split firewood, stacked about 1 month's worth. This will be for next year, still too damp for this year.
Composted leaves in the garden. Pulled carrots and beets.
Got a bag of free apples from a friend and made applesauce, used beets to add more color. But...added too much beet, and now it has a bit of beet taste. Still Okay, but not as good as usual.

[Gerard]

Got a bag of free apples from a friend and made applesauce, used beets to add more color. But...added too much beet, and now it has a bit of beet taste. Still Okay, but not as good as usual.

Maybe take some of it, add even more beets, and try it as a side with roast pork?

<edit: ...with a pinch of caraway?>

[Gin1984]

Am now using Serve to write checks to the daycare and by loading with my FIA AMEX, getting 2% cash back.  Over the next year this will make me over $200 tax free.

[Tom Bri]

Maybe take some of it, add even more beets, and try it as a side with roast pork?
[/quote]

Nah, just added some lemon juice and cinnamon to make it a bit more applesaucey, and put it in containers in the freezer. I'll probably end up eating most of it, as that is what usually happens with my trials that don't quite go right. I have used beets before to add color to rhubarb sauce and applesauce, but this time put in two instead of just one, got about a gallon and a half of sauce.

[Bracken_Joy]

Sawed and split firewood, stacked about 1 month's worth. This will be for next year, still too damp for this year.
Composted leaves in the garden. Pulled carrots and beets.
Got a bag of free apples from a friend and made applesauce, used beets to add more color. But...added too much beet, and now it has a bit of beet taste. Still Okay, but not as good as usual.

Cranberries add color AND a delicious, not-beet flavor.

[horsepoor]

I reconsidered two articles of clothing I was going to get rid of.  One is a jacket that I've decided to turn into a riding vest the likes of which would be $100+ if purchased.  The other is a pair of brand new Wrangler jeans I was getting rid of because I look like an asshole in cowboy boots and hate riding in jeans.  Realized (duh) that I should just keep them as my next pair of work jeans because I don't care if I look like an asshole when I'm in my own backyard.

Also spent all day at home and didn't spend any money.  Cooked the two packages of beef heart that have been taunting me from the freezer for over a year as a ragu with home grown veggies.

[Ceridwen]

I didn't need to much in terms of groceries for the week so took the baby for a walk and went to our local little grocery store instead of taking the car to the big one the next town over.  Besides supporting a local business and getting some exercise, I also tend to stick exclusively to my list when I do this because I have no room in the stroller for impulse purchases!

Leftovers for lunch today and lunch already made for tomorrow too.

Listed a few baby items on kijiji.

[JLee]

I'm thinking  since I live alone I can get by with cold showers sometimes so why not just turn on water heater when running the dishwasher or clothes washer or when I want to take a hot shower? Is that bad for the water heater to turn on and off like that?

I don't know about how good it is for the water heater, but it can be bad for you if you don't follow guidelines around how long the water temperature needs to be at certain level to kill various bugs.  I see from http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/is-it-safe-to-turn-down-your-water-heater-temperature.html that this is very Canadian view on the subject :)

The water heater is using the most energy when it's heating cold water - maintaining existing hot water is minimal in comparison.

[Daisy]

I'm thinking  since I live alone I can get by with cold showers sometimes so why not just turn on water heater when running the dishwasher or clothes washer or when I want to take a hot shower? Is that bad for the water heater to turn on and off like that?

I don't know about how good it is for the water heater, but it can be bad for you if you don't follow guidelines around how long the water temperature needs to be at certain level to kill various bugs.  I see from http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/is-it-safe-to-turn-down-your-water-heater-temperature.html that this is very Canadian view on the subject :)

The water heater is using the most energy when it's heating cold water - maintaining existing hot water is minimal in comparison.

OK, thanks for the info.

The plumber was at my place today and told me not to shut off power to the water heater like you mention.

The money saving part was that I didn't need to get a new water heater at all. The heating element was blown and he replaced it with a new $16 one. Well that and what he charged for his labor (which was a bit more than $16). But he's an honest plumber and anyone else would have probably told me to get a new water heater.

Pro tip: Be nice to your repair people. This plumber works at all of my relatives' houses so he tries to be nice to us to keep the family business.

[Daisy]

Another money saving thing...I went to the book fair in downtown this weekend. On opening night, they had free BBQ and beer...no kidding...and I got to listen to a couple of authors talk and attend a cabaret performance...all for FREE! Even the parking was free for book fair attendees.

So a night full of interesting thought provoking talks, an hour and a half long circus/cabaret performance, full plate of BBQ and two beers...without spending a penny.

The benefits of living in a big town with a lot of free community events!

[Bracken_Joy]

Used some sad looking celery in a soup. Going to use up some other veggies in a curry tonight, before they get sad. Also used half an onion at for the soup, and will use the other half in the curry, so that I don't have to freeze it/there is no waste.