What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[Kitsune]

I bought a pregnancy test at the dollar store rather than the drugstore. $4 cheaper per test and works just as well. Who knew?

Omg very relevant to me right now. Thanks for the tip! I hope you get the result you are hoping for! :)

Dollar store cheapies are the best!

Bit of a spendy evening yesterday (saw Florence & The Machine in DH's company box.  Free tickets and drinks but $20 to tip the hostess and a $35 cab ride home because the show was long and we didn't want to keep my mom who was babysitting up past midnight if we took the bus).  Despite being tired and really not wanting to, I made my breakfast and lunch for the next day when I got home, and also organized supper so I wouldn't be tempted to order a pizza for the kids.  I am tired and hungover today, but not spending a penny!

Go you!!

I think some of my friends were at that show - I hear it was awesome, and I'm jealous.

[Inaya]

Wanted an Earl Grey Vanilla Creme Latte from Argo Tea because the office I'm working at is freezing cold and usually doesn't have tea (and the coffee is Godawful--and this is coming from someone who drinks store-brand instant coffee). Instead made sweet Earl Grey tea at home with milk that I frothed with my Magic Bullet.

[jordanread]

(and the coffee is Godawful--and this is coming from someone who drinks store-brand instant coffee).

Those two facts make me think that it may not be coffee at all. Just ground poop or something. Instant coffee is pretty much the bottom of the barrel (IMHO), regardless of the brand. If it's worse than that, I think you are licking the barrel, and possibly one used to transport oil.

[Inaya]

(and the coffee is Godawful--and this is coming from someone who drinks store-brand instant coffee).

Those two facts make me think that it may not be coffee at all. Just ground poop or something. Instant coffee is pretty much the bottom of the barrel (IMHO), regardless of the brand. If it's worse than that, I think you are licking the barrel, and possibly one used to transport oil.

Full disclosure: I do dump a packet of instant hot cocoa into said instant coffee. But I still wouldn't even do that with the "coffee" in this office.


ETA: People complain about the coffee in the main office. Then they come here and realize how good they have it. I think it's free here because nobody would ever pay for it.

[Thinkum]

Made a batch of soap which will be ready for use in about 8 weeks or so. I love the soap I make, so much better than comparably priced soap at big box stores, almost no comparison really.

[Threshkin]

Made a batch of soap which will be ready for use in about 8 weeks or so. I love the soap I make, so much better than comparably priced soap at big box stores, almost no comparison really.

I make soap about once or twice a year.  This gives me more than enough for my own use as well as plenty for gifts.  Making soap is super simple chemistry but it is chemistry so you need follow the safety precautions.  The biggest benefit for me is knowing exactly what I am using on the largest organ (and permeable membrane) on my body.  Many commercial soaps contain nasty ingredients line formaldehyde that I want to avoid.  For me, the cost savings is a nice secondary benefit.

For most recipes you should not need to let the soap cure for 8 weeks.  4 weeks is plenty to let the soap dry out and firm up.

[Thinkum]

Made a batch of soap which will be ready for use in about 8 weeks or so. I love the soap I make, so much better than comparably priced soap at big box stores, almost no comparison really.

I make soap about once or twice a year.  This gives me more than enough for my own use as well as plenty for gifts.  Making soap is super simple chemistry but it is chemistry so you need follow the safety precautions.  The biggest benefit for me is knowing exactly what I am using on the largest organ (and permeable membrane) on my body.  Many commercial soaps contain nasty ingredients line formaldehyde that I want to avoid.  For me, the cost savings is a nice secondary benefit.

For most recipes you should not need to let the soap cure for 8 weeks.  4 weeks is plenty to let the soap dry out and firm up.

I have worked in a lab with dangerous chemicals, so I always follow proper PPE precautions. As for the cure time, it really varies on the type of oils used as well as how long the bar will last. Sure you can use the soap after 4 weeks, but it will not last as long as one that has cured for 8 weeks or more.

I make about the same amount of soap as you, twice a year at most. However I am going to make some for the sinks, rather than use the liquid antibacterial stuff that dries out skin. So I will probably be making more in a few weeks.

[brute]

Made a batch of soap which will be ready for use in about 8 weeks or so. I love the soap I make, so much better than comparably priced soap at big box stores, almost no comparison really.

You have a link to the recipe for this? I hate my current soap.

[Thinkum]

Made a batch of soap which will be ready for use in about 8 weeks or so. I love the soap I make, so much better than comparably priced soap at big box stores, almost no comparison really.

You have a link to the recipe for this? I hate my current soap.

I use one from a book I got ages ago. Here is a link for some recipes though: http://www.soap-making-resource.com/soap-recipes.html. That is also a pretty good place to get supplies. I also use Bramble Berry and another place for the lye (Sodium Hydroxide).

[Rural]

 Fertilized everything I'm growing with a homemade organic fertilizer (you may not want to know the details, but pee was involved).


Took cuttings from my stevia plant where it was getting a little leggy and rooted eight of them, plus harvested and dried the leaves I had to cut away to encourage  root growth. Dried them for free on a cookie sheet on the dashboard of the car.


 Found about six ripe blackberries, the first of the season. I ate half and brought half to my husband, and I think this evening I'm going to use some of that stevia in a cobbler to use up some of last year's blackberries from the freezer – it's time.


 Dried laundry on the porch railing – in this heat, it takes about 45 minutes, so I have plenty of time to do multiple loads


 Neither of us went down off the mountain today.

[Blissful Biker]

I put storage wax on the family's skis myself instead of taking them into the shop.  And storage wax prevents the bases from drying out extends the life of the skis.

[marty998]

Poured half a glass orange juice as part of breakfast this morning. Filled the rest of the glass with water.

Tastes better, with less sugar, and 2 Litres becomes for 4 Litres so you save half the cost.

[Zaga]

Poured half a glass orange juice as part of breakfast this morning. Filled the rest of the glass with water.

Tastes better, with less sugar, and 2 Litres becomes for 4 Litres so you save half the cost.

I do that with other juices but something about orange juice makes it taste weird when cut with water. Maybe the reduced bite of the acid.

Might not save money, but squeeze a bit of lemon into diluted orange juice, very refreshing!

[marty998]

Poured half a glass orange juice as part of breakfast this morning. Filled the rest of the glass with water.

Tastes better, with less sugar, and 2 Litres becomes for 4 Litres so you save half the cost.

I do that with other juices but something about orange juice makes it taste weird when cut with water. Maybe the reduced bite of the acid.

Might not save money, but squeeze a bit of lemon into diluted orange juice, very refreshing!

I found it tasted 'weird' initially... yes the acid being milder was part of it, but I really think it is the reduced sugar hit...

For me the "pour a half glass and add water thing" works really well with orange and mango fruit juice.

Not so much with apple juice...

[AMexicanHipster]

Does selling old videogames count?

[Rural]

Finally, After a year and a half of pain, we went shopping for a decent office chair for me – I had one at home, but I took it to work, where I sit at the desk for longer hours.



Went to a zillion "seconds" stores looking for a bargain one, then finally went to Staples and sat in every chair there. One (a Lay-z-boy) was pretty darn good, but not quite perfect, and was 350 bucks. Couldn't do it.  Gave up, headed out, and happened to go by a giant Goodwill (we have to drive to the city to shop for office chairs). Found the exact same almost but not quite perfect model Lay-z-boy office chair with a tear in the back for $25. Score.  Oh, the $25 version was an ugly baby-shit brown color; the $350 job was slick black. For the differential, somehow I'll  pick up the pieces of my shattered life and move on with my shit-colored pain reducer. :)

[horsepoor]

Found a nice pair of work gloves in the middle of the road tonight while walking the dog.  I wear through them pretty quickly rasping horse hooves, so I'll throw these in the wash and use them for out at the stable.

Picked a shit-ton of cherries today, as well as a bunch of potatoes and cauliflower and froze bunches of cauli-rice.

Used some old beans, chicken leftover from last week, ham languishing in the freezer and a stray chorizo to make a huge pot of delicious bean stew.  Froze half for later.  Baked a bunch of beets and potatoes to use throughout the week as well.

[athiker10]

Today I re-invested my newly rolled over Roth IRA with help from my thrifty mother and also sanded off two spots of rust on my very nice Surly Cross-Check, and covered them with black nail polish and top coat borrowed from my sister. I'm not sure exactly what it saved in terms of having someone else do it, but it saved my bike from further deterioration!

[jengod]

* Hung out a load of laundry to dry
* Took the bus to UCLA instead of driving, saving gas and the cost of parking ($12)
* Cut my son's hair using our new Wahl clippers. I spent a lot for the "premium" model and the color-coded combs but this cut would have cost $30 (incl tip) at my son's favorite haircut place (chairs shaped like cars! Cartoon movies on TV!) so I have already started making my money back.
* Great morning for community-building as well:
** Our neighbor Jai grew up in Syria and recognized our lemon verbena as a lovely tea herb he remembered from home. I took over an armful of branches today and he should be rich in tea leaves for a few days at least.
** Our next-door neighbor Keiko was decluttering and brought over a kid's basketball hoop and 3 boxes of Legos!


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[Rural]

Cooked a lot for the week: bread, yogurt, deviled eggs, pesto chicken salad (had to cook the chicken first, but I had pesto in the freezer from last summer), baked pasta. Planned meals for the week. Did laundry and hung most everything on the porch to dry (socks remain too big a pain to hang).


Remembered to water my garden plants and the stevia cuttings I'm rooting, plus the avocado seed I'm trying to get going looks suspiciously like it may do something (a first for me and avocado). If so, I'm declaring a homemade rooting hormone win (willow bark tea). I'm hoping to grow an avocado - it'll be 3-7 years until friuting is possible, but I think having the atrium done is still at least a couple of years  out, anyway.


I also picked blackberries, but we ate them all. There aren't yet so many ripe that we can't eat them easily in a sitting, but the time is coming.


He dug up water lines to look at the feasibility of plumbing in grey water (bad news there; we seem to have taken shortcuts in getting ready for the concrete pour on schedule), then worked on organizing his tools once the real heat hit - it's well over 90 again.


Neither of us went down off the mountain today.

[Rezdent]

snip...
Neither of us went down off the mountain today.

I just love it every time I read that line.

[FunkyChopstick]

*Got Subway with hubs for dinner- BOGO hogies!

*Made our Sunday meal plan for the week

*Weeded and watered our micro orchard out back. In 2-3 years we should have more fruit than we can stand

*physically cut my credit cards

* I'm going to start some garden plants tonight. I'm going to love some free veggies in 8 weeks.

[ayylmao]

Sitting all day at home depressed and unable to motivate myself to do anything, wasting mere cents on using electronic devices until it's time to sleep after having absolutely no good food the whole day because I can't motivate myself to cook :))))

[Rural]

snip...
Neither of us went down off the mountain today.

I just love it every time I read that line.

:-)

It's still fun to type, and it makes for a pretty good day, too.

I'd be in better shape, though, if I'd sub in "hiked down the mountain and back" every now and again. The berries (especially blueberries) will be luring me halfway down, at least.

[Spiffsome]

Yesterday I made curry from scratch! Onion, garlic, ginger and spice mix fried together, then add meat and vegetables and simmer in a mix of yoghurt and water for about 1/2 hour. Add a bit of salt and sugar to boost the flavour if required. The home-made yoghurt also got made into lassi drinks to go with the curry. I feel so badass!

(Now, if I can get the hang of naan bread, I will be a cooking goddess.)

[HappierAtHome]

Yesterday: made up a big batch of vege soup and three loaves of bread (seed and nut loaf) to help us get through the working week. I love soup weather!

Today, so far: did my usual money saving habits (bus to work, brought my lunch, wearing my awesome work clothes I bought second hand on ebay) plus arranged a lift to my training tomorrow so I won't have to drive and pay for parking. The guy giving me a lift is happy because it means I'll be there to help him set up the room. Everybody wins!

*Weeded and watered our micro orchard out back. In 2-3 years we should have more fruit than we can stand

How many fruit trees do you need for it to qualify as a micro orchard? Because I love that term and would like to use it myself :-P

Now, if I can get the hang of naan bread, I will be a cooking goddess.

I've heard good things about the Budget Bytes recipe, but haven't tried it myself yet.

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

Yesterday, I knew I would be at the airport at lunchtime. I packed a bag lunch with a sandwich, apple, and bag of chips. Total cost was less than $3.

[4alpacas]

Yesterday: made up a big batch of vege soup and three loaves of bread (seed and nut loaf) to help us get through the working week. I love soup weather!

Today, so far: did my usual money saving habits (bus to work, brought my lunch, wearing my awesome work clothes I bought second hand on ebay) plus arranged a lift to my training tomorrow so I won't have to drive and pay for parking. The guy giving me a lift is happy because it means I'll be there to help him set up the room. Everybody wins!

*Weeded and watered our micro orchard out back. In 2-3 years we should have more fruit than we can stand

How many fruit trees do you need for it to qualify as a micro orchard? Because I love that term and would like to use it myself :-P

Now, if I can get the hang of naan bread, I will be a cooking goddess.

I've heard good things about the Budget Bytes recipe, but haven't tried it myself yet.

I've used the Budget Bytes naan recipe.  It's simple, and the bread is really tasty when it's fresh and warm.

Leftovers for breakfast. 
DH made a huge batch of hummus that we ate for lunch and dinner.

Worked on a few projects around the house.
Made a batch of iced tea for tomorrow.
Defrosted a few frozen turkey black bean burgers for lunch tomorrow (http://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/08/mini-black-bean-turkey-burgers/)
Walked to the neighborhood grocery store instead of driving

[Luckyvik]

Bought $17 mattress cover instead of $2000 new mattress more of a delaying the purchase tactic as our mattress has a couple of springs starting to poke out. On downside spent too much on coffee- see Facepunch thread.


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[Juslookin]

The subscription to my local paper is up this month.  I called this morning to cancel it.  We originally needed it for kids doing homework assignments.  Now it's just me reading it.  I'll deal.

We spent the whole weekend puttering inside and outside the house.  No money spent on the weekend for entertainment.

[Inaya]

Cancelled my Amex Blue Cash Preferred before the $75 annual fee kicked in. They offered me a $25 discount on the next year, but still not worth it since 1) pay for produce in cash May-October and 2) shop at Walmart fairly often. I'll grab the free version since 3% is better for groceries than anything else I can find.

[Bracken_Joy]

- Cutting down on how much coffee we drink. (OH my god what am I signing up for). Down to 1 cup apiece for husband and I each day. This'll reduce beans somewhat. (Although it's surprising how many beans it takes to make a single cup vs a pot... not a huge difference! Like a critical mass thing. Still, small savings).
- Made a CostCo trip, even though ehhhhhhh didn't wanna
- Used our last gift card to Target from our wedding to replace my yoga pants (FINALLY), get a dayplanner for this next year, and buy 3 shirts on sale for me and a tanktop for husband.
-Bathed our dog ourselves. Big change from her groomer pampering we always gave her! It's easier for me to be frugal with my own things, but I like spoiling the dog =P
Biggest one:
- Did a cheap anniversary trip. Returned to our in-state camping spot we found on our "camping-moon" last year after the wedding. Spent 4 days/3 nights there. Just the price of gas there and back. Dispersed camped, so not even campground fees. Lovely spot, and near total seclusion (3 cars went by each day- same cars- cutting wood higher up the mountain).

[Jschange]

Today I bought nothing! And better still, I left my wallet at home without anxiety, because I'm only a 5 minute walk from  work.

I'm planning to leave it behind more and more of the time. Can't buy without money

[mustachepungoeshere]

Saved $1.50 by catching the train off-peak.

That was after working an extra three hours, essentially unpaid, so not sure I'm in front there...

[hoipolloi]

Stood in line for ~20 minutes after work to get a burrito bowl for $1. Didn't have anything prepared for dinner, so it worked out nicely. Was a promotion for a Chipotle style place named Dos Toros opening a new location.

[Inaya]

Went to CVS for some eye drops. Noticed that the slightly more expensive kind was BOGO half off, which would be less than the cost of 2 of the cheapest kind. Look at receipt and notice that the discount didn't apply--it apparently expired in May, but they never took the sale tag off. Returned them and got the cheap ones. Which were on sale, but didn't have a sale tag--saved $7 all told. Thanks, CVS. You and Jewel are the reason I check receipts.

[Juslookin]

Spendy day here.  Booked DS18 for his surgery to remove his wisdom teeth.  Copay of $35.  Ka-ching. Not sure what the actual surgery will cost us.  With dental and health insurance hopefully not much. 

[Serve&Volley88]

Brought lunch to work. Today marks a week and two days since I last bought my lunch. Laziness overtook me in April and May and I began to buy lunch most days of the week. I almost puked when I looked at last month's entertainment spending in YNAB! Back to brown bagging.

[Bracken_Joy]

Used a super wimpy bell pepper and some starting to dry out leek shoots in a curry. Turned out wonderfully =) And less food waste!

Drank some "inherited" tea. Brother moved out and didn't want it because it was technically expired. But they're all individually wrapped and still taste totally fine.

Harvested lettuce and peas. Used the peas in the curry, too.

[sis]

I sold a pair of shoes that I'd only worn a couple of times because they didn't fit me well.  That was better than them gathering dust in the closet.  $25 more in my wallet.

[rulesofacquisition]

In the past few days we have installed one highly controversial low flow shower head and replaced 3 more lights with LED' s.

[infogoon]

There's some construction in my office -- we have no break room, which means no coffee makers. My coffee-drinking coworkers all stopped for takeout cups on the way in this morning; I filled a thermos at home and brought it in. Best part is I have a nice hot cup of coffee for after lunch, and they're all heading back out.

[Erma]

I have won some cat food. The cats are happy and I can save some money.

[neophyte]

I need a new dentist, so today I called all the dentists with good yelp reviews and found one that offers a substantial discount if you prepay a package deal for both your cleanings for the year. If I wind up hating this dentist so much that I don't use the second cleaning, it's still cheaper than the place that quoted me $400.

[mustachepungoeshere]

I gave blood - it isn't paid in Australia but they do give out some pretty good snacks (cookies, chips, cheese and crackers). So I'm calling that my saving - it offset the potential urge to buy those items.

And it is National Blood Donor Week.

Great work! :)

[Inaya]

Reminds me that it's been a while since I donated platelets (my B+ blood is so common they don't even want it). I keep having to cancel my appointments.

Back on topic. We hosted a catered meeting today. I planned ahead and took some empty Tupperware to work so I could export some food. Leftovers for dinner, which is stellar since it's stupid hot and I don't wan't to use the stove/oven.

[Kitsune]

Stopped by a roadside stand for fresh strawberries directly from the farm (... For the 3rd time this week...). Total spending on strawberries is 30% of this week's fruit spending, but we are under budget and VERY happy about the strawberries. :)

Omg, fresh in-season fruit. People who live in sensible climates have no idea how amazing this is.

[fishnfool]

I finished off the pot of black beans with ground turkey my wife made last Sunday. I warmed them up and put 3 fried eggs on top. .....Made a delicious dinner! 

There's nothing like a pot of beans with meat or rice to stretch out the food budget and still feel like you're eating healthy.

[Luckyvik]

Our winter doona was getting a little sparse, contemplated getting new $200 doona, decided to put summer doona on top of winter one, that works well.


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[21runner]

I decided not to play in a day/night golf tournament that I had originally decided I might play in. To play in the tournament wouldn't have cost me anything, my employer would have paid for it since they sponsor the tournament, but I would have had to have purchased some glow-in-the-dark golf balls for the night portion of the tournament. I don't normally play at night (obviously) so this purchase would have had no use after the tournament. Saved $20.00 and it's going straight to the Roth!