What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[peppermint]

Yesterday -- went to a 4th of July BBQ to celebrate. Brought some wine that was left at my house from a BBQ that I threw a couple of weeks ago.

Today -- brought lunch and iced coffee from home, then mcguver'ed something for dinner out of random things in the fridge.

Tomorrow -- a friend who used to live here is visiting and invited friends out for dinner and drinks. I said I'd meet up for a drink but will have dinner at home first.

[mustachepungoeshere]

I worked back last night, so scored a discount train fare home. Again.

Made pumpkin and pinenut pasta for dinner out of fridge/pantry ingredients, with leftovers for lunch today.

Shopped this morning for an office morning tea. I get the loyalty points and work reimburses me for the expenses.

[SoccerLounge]

I didn't buy anything today. I brought all my work food from home - two meals and a bunch of snacks - like usual. (Coffee and water are free at my workplace, so I just drink those.) For recreation (plus exercise), I hiked. And then I just went home, showered, made myself a delicious dinner, and surfed the Web like a total mouse potato :)

[Bracken_Joy]

Used some really rough freezer burnt beef (inherited from my brother moving, LOL) and some old sauage in a spaghetti sauce. Turned out great.

[jengod]

* Invested in a tortilla press ($12) and some masa and learned how to make tortillas at home. So easy and delicious!
* Currently drinking a tisane made from homegrown lemon verbena.
* Line-dried all the laundry, which is getting to be my favorite chore.

[mustachepungoeshere]

* Line-dried all the laundry, which is getting to be my favorite chore.

Seconded.

It smells great, you get to be outside, and it's like playing Tetris! Or maybe that's just me...

[Vanguards and Lentils]

Traveling in Europe edition -

• Drank out of my own water bottle before and after dinner instead of paying €2 at a restaurant for tap(!) water
• Used a 10-trip bus ticket instead of singles. Lowered already low prices. (Jealous how cheap and efficient buses and trains are outside the US 😥)

[Kitsune]

I gave up and went to the supermarket for jars of spaghetti sauce and other prepared meals.

Morning sickness is a filthy lie - it's all-day sickness and perpetual nausea, and preparing food makes me puke. If it just shows up in front of me, I can manage a few bites, though. We've been defaulting to take-out, but the stuff from the supermarket should work for about 1/5 of the cost of take-out.

I hate doing this during a season with so much fresh food... but you gotta do what you gotta do. If this follows previous patterns, I should stop puking by mid-August and be generally good to cook through harvest season. 

[FrugalFisherman10]

I rode my bike to work for the first time today!
Well, I rode it to the Public Transit (MARTA), and then rode the public transit to work from there. It is about 1.5 miles of biking to the train from my house.

Did I save money? well...barely

Public Transit costs $2.50 each way, so a total of $5. I bought my tickets with pre-tax money though, so I effectively saved 20% of that at my marginal tax rate right? So I spent $4 for a $5 train ride.

Vs. the Alternative:
Parking in the Area, the cheapest I've found, is $4 per day. I could buy a monthly pass though and get it down to $3 per day ($60 for a month, avg of 20 working days per month).
But in that case I would have spent money on gas too (driving is about 18 minutes and 6 miles one way, and my car gets 18 mpg or worse in the city), plus wear and tear on my tires, etc. AND, I wouldn't have gotten any exercise.

Parking: $3
+ Gas: 12 miles roundtrip / 18 MPG = 2/3 gallon x $2.10 (price per gallon) = $1.40
+ Wear and tear, tires, oil: $.10
=$4.50
+ cost of no exercise
= ???

We'll call it a win!

[Spruit]

Traveling in Europe edition -

• Drank out of my own water bottle before and after dinner instead of paying €2 at a restaurant for tap(!) water
• Used a 10-trip bus ticket instead of singles. Lowered already low prices. (Jealous how cheap and efficient buses and trains are outside the US 😥)

Hmm dunno what country you're visiting at the moment, but in the NL busses and trains are so expensive that flying across Europe is cheaper than using transit to the airport - within the same (tiny) country.

[Jschange]

I finished some pickles I made in leftover pickle brine, so I threw in some cauliflower to see how it goes. I have also been hand washing most of my laundry, which is the biggest savings.

[Vanguards and Lentils]

Traveling in Europe edition -

• Drank out of my own water bottle before and after dinner instead of paying €2 at a restaurant for tap(!) water
• Used a 10-trip bus ticket instead of singles. Lowered already low prices. (Jealous how cheap and efficient buses and trains are outside the US 😥)

Hmm dunno what country you're visiting at the moment, but in the NL busses and trains are so expensive that flying across Europe is cheaper than using transit to the airport - within the same (tiny) country.

 In Europe I've only ridden trains in Russia and now Italy so I guessed that those two were representative, but I guess not. As a preliminary guess, it could be that the main rail operator in Italy is owned and subsidized by the government (it seems they operate at a huge loss) while there are several competing companies, and high demand in the Netherlands.

Either way, there's no way I could get a 2+ hour train ride in the US for $13 or a sleeper car for $70 :(

[auntie_betty]

 In Europe I've only ridden trains in Russia and now Italy so I guessed that those two were representative, but I guess not. As a preliminary guess, it could be that the main rail operator in Italy is owned and subsidized by the government (it seems they operate at a huge loss) while there are several competing companies, and high demand in the Netherlands.

Either way, there's no way I could get a 2+ hour train ride in the US for $13 or a sleeper car for $70 :(

6.5 hour trip to Madrid, equivalent of $90 1st class return. TV screen with headphones (no choice but Night at the Museum is still funny when you don't really speak Spanish), buffet car (aka bar), stunning scenery and two golden eagles. Door to the centre of Madrid it took less than double the time of flying, but no stress and cheaper. And time doesn't matter when you're FIRE'd :)

[ArcadeStache]

Went to the beach today with family we are visiting. Beach badge (basically your $7 per person beach pass) checkers never came around to make us pay up, so free beach day in overtaxed NJ!

[horsepoor]

I called Capital One today and very nicely asked about getting the annual fee, and subsequent late charge dropped from my account, as I hadn't been using the card, and didn't know the annual fee was due.  They refunded me the $84 and changed me from the Venture to the fee-free Quicksilver card, for about a 5-minute phone call.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Went to the beach today with family we are visiting. Beach badge (basically your $7 per person beach pass) checkers never came around to make us pay up, so free beach day in overtaxed NJ!

Wait what? You have to pay for the beach? Mind blown...

Seconded!

[mustachepungoeshere]

Packed lunch, as always. Today it was yummy leftovers from dinner with friends last night.

I've been doing tax prep this week, which will save/earn me money in the long run.

[ArcadeStache]

Went to the beach today with family we are visiting. Beach badge (basically your $7 per person beach pass) checkers never came around to make us pay up, so free beach day in overtaxed NJ!

Wait what? You have to pay for the beach? Mind blown...

Seconded!

Yep. Nevermind that the townships already collect massive property tax revenue on the many million dollar homes and the fact that American tax payers already pay for beach replenishment. Gotta keep squeezing people.

[frooglepoodle]

Made a delicious breakfast for DH and myself using leftovers.
Worked at the gym childcare co-op.
Ate leftovers for lunch.
Mixed up a batch of homemade nut-free granola as a hostess gift for a friend we are visiting next week (I'm going to wait until it cools off tonight to actually bake it).

And it's only noon!

[jengod]

* Bought used tomato cages at an estate sale instead of new at Home Depot. Saved $7 per cage.

* Returned about ~$8 of bottles and cans, used the proceeds to buy a whole chicken on sale for $0.99/lb. Roasted and served for dinner, with lots of leftovers, including a crispy broccoli that DH especially liked.

* Prepared yeast waffle batter tonight for use with new-to-us used waffle iron tomorrow.

[piercrab]

Sold unused toy box for $25 and reclaim large space in the home.
House looks bigger with less stuff.

[Inaya]

Bought some produce at the farmers market with tons of greens. Didn't want to waste the greens so tossed them into the instant pot with a mixed batch of frozen bones saved from previous cooking projects (chicken legs and pork necks maybe?). Hoping for tasty broth tonight.

[SoccerLounge]

Made bread instead of buying it (with the help of an awesome assistant). 40-minute hamburger rolls, which have just become my go-to bread roll recipe.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Made bread instead of buying it (with the help of an awesome assistant). 40-minute hamburger rolls, which have just become my go-to bread roll recipe.

My hamburger buns are more of a "whole damn afternoon" thing. Please share recipe!

[Tamster]

^ +1 need an easy recipe

[SoccerLounge]

Here you go! There's no "secret" - they just use a bit more yeast, which naturally affects the way they come out (slightly 'yeastier,' duh). But it turns out I really like that side of the bread-flavor spectrum, so they work great for me :)

Edit: Today we tried to make 6, rather than 12 (same ingredients - i.e. six twice-as-big rolls); they were a bit large/thick. The optimum change if you want slightly bigger ones would probably be from 12 pieces to 9, which shouldn't need either the (very short!) rise time or the cooking time to be changed much at all. :)

[Moonwaves]

Here's another recipe, this time for 30-minute bread rolls: http://mortgagefreeinthree.com/2014/07/30-minute-rolls/
They're good for burgers, too. I've only made these once actually, and I remember finding them quite sweet so would probably cut down on sugar or add a bit more salt next time. But they were very good otherwise and they froze really well. And really did only take 30 minutes - normally any of those "only takes" things means I have to add at least half again as much time.

[SoccerLounge]

These are almost the same recipe! The one I made is in American-preferred units, and the one you cited is in metric and Celcius. But otherwise they're very similar - not that that's a bad thing, because now we have fast bread rolls the entire MMM forums readership can make :D

[Rural]

-Made loaf bread
-Made cornbread
-Mixed 1 cup water and 1tbs dr. Bronners liquid soap to refill an empty foaming soap dispenser.mworks like a charm. This was my plan all along; the cheapest foaming dispenser I could find came from Dollar Tree and was full of soap. Took us at least six months to use that up, but finally I get the peppermint foam I wanted.
-Bought groceries for the week - $7.83. We really only needed fruit, but I also bought a pound of turkey sausage to make breakfast for dinner this week. We already have eggs, ingredients for biscuits, and grits, so this is an easy win. We eat half a package of sausage per meal when we do this, and it was $2. Also bought bananas and sale cherries ($1.50 a pound) - last week nothing but bananas was remotely reasonable, so I ate twice the bananas and I'm glad for a change.


Today's big project:
Scrubbed down wire closet shelving with hanging bars (removed from the trailer and filthy plus smelling of mold - three years uninhabited haven't done that thing any favors). I scrubbed with bleach, my husband stained boards for a mounting system and hung them, and now we have shelves and hanging space on the two unused walls of the laundry room. This is much more drying space than before, with just a folding rack.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Brought home leftovers last night from a function.

This stash will give me lunch and dinner for days.

[Kitsune]

So morning sickness is a filthy lie - it's all-day nausea and not eating.

I bought some prepared food for my husband and child, and I'm basically keeping down frozen fruit and the occasional fresh vegetable or bagel. Turns out, basically not eating lowers your grocery bill.mwho knew.

I am told there are drugs for this. I want them.

[horsepoor]

Sorry you are experiencing that all-day sickness, Kitsune.  It's so strange that puking happens just when a woman needs nutrition the most.

Today I hit the bulk section at Rosauer's since they were having a one-day 20% off sale.  Bought lots of beans, spices and tea. 

Also used a $10 off coupon at the feed store and picked up some half-priced herb plants while I was there. 

Took advantage of a Mark's Daily Apple/Thrive Market promo for 6 fancy chocolate bars for free, with $1.95 shipping. 

Canned a bunch of apricots given to me by a co-worker.

Turned leftover veggies into a breakfast hash with some bacon and a couple fried eggs.  Grazed while canning and smoking pork belly this evening instead of cooking dinner.

It has been a very food-centric day.

[mustachepungoeshere]

So morning sickness is a filthy lie - it's all-day nausea and not eating.

I bought some prepared food for my husband and child, and I'm basically keeping down frozen fruit and the occasional fresh vegetable or bagel. Turns out, basically not eating lowers your grocery bill.mwho knew.

I am told there are drugs for this. I want them.

Poor thing. Hang in there.

[EcoCanuck]

Sorry to hear that Kitsune. My wife is experiencing something similar being nauseous all day. We've found she can't eat much/anything after 4pm or she can't keep it down. Shes around 10-12 weeks pregnancy. We're still experimenting with food - smaller meals and soups seem to be the best bet. Meat in general seems to be more difficult for her.

All the best!

EcoCanuck

[Moonwaves]

These are almost the same recipe! The one I made is in American-preferred units, and the one you cited is in metric and Celcius. But otherwise they're very similar - not that that's a bad thing, because now we have fast bread rolls the entire MMM forums readership can make :D

I know, I had to look carefully to find the difference but apart from the egg (and the measurements) they really are almost the same. :-)
I have to admit I get frustrated finding so many great websites for recipes and they only have the American measures. And it seems like it might not be possible to have too many fast bread recipes. LOL

[SoccerLounge]

I needed a cooling rack of some sort today. Goodwill had one for $3. But the dollar store had four for a buck! Now I can cool just about anything I could ever reasonably make without relying on the kludged-together aluminum foil versions I'd previously used.

I also had a delicious brunch... at home.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

So morning sickness is a filthy lie - it's all-day nausea and not eating.

I bought some prepared food for my husband and child, and I'm basically keeping down frozen fruit and the occasional fresh vegetable or bagel. Turns out, basically not eating lowers your grocery bill.mwho knew.

I am told there are drugs for this. I want them.

This is a bummer! I didn't throw up much but also just felt constantly gross. Blech.

I say try the drugs. Not to be a pusher or anything. I never did, but there's no reason to be a martyr! FWIW I did not have the same troubles the second time through.

[csprof]

So morning sickness is a filthy lie - it's all-day nausea and not eating.

I bought some prepared food for my husband and child, and I'm basically keeping down frozen fruit and the occasional fresh vegetable or bagel. Turns out, basically not eating lowers your grocery bill.mwho knew.

I am told there are drugs for this. I want them.

This is a bummer! I didn't throw up much but also just felt constantly gross. Blech.

I say try the drugs. Not to be a pusher or anything. I never did, but there's no reason to be a martyr! FWIW I did not have the same troubles the second time through.

Zofran works quite well for some people.  It's hellishly expensive if you're paying for it out of pocket, but if your insurance covers it, there you go.  One of my friends is successfully using it now to get through what was otherwise horrid morning sickness.

(And, uh, this is not medical advice, but if you have any leftover afterward, keep it around.  It's a godsend if you / your partner ever have to have a colonoscopy and find that all the crap you have to drink beforehand makes you sick.)

[Tom Bri]

So morning sickness is a filthy lie - it's all-day nausea and not eating.

I bought some prepared food for my husband and child, and I'm basically keeping down frozen fruit and the occasional fresh vegetable or bagel. Turns out, basically not eating lowers your grocery bill.mwho knew.

I am told there are drugs for this. I want them.

Tough times, Foxy. If it helps you at all, moms who get morning sickness tend to have healthier babies. No idea why. I also read somewhere that it actually has a purpose, to keep you from eating certain foods. Good luck, and I hope you find the good meds!

[Kitsune]

So morning sickness is a filthy lie - it's all-day nausea and not eating.

I bought some prepared food for my husband and child, and I'm basically keeping down frozen fruit and the occasional fresh vegetable or bagel. Turns out, basically not eating lowers your grocery bill.mwho knew.

I am told there are drugs for this. I want them.

Tough times, Foxy. If it helps you at all, moms who get morning sickness tend to have healthier babies. No idea why. I also read somewhere that it actually has a purpose, to keep you from eating certain foods. Good luck, and I hope you find the good meds!

I'm gonna keep telling myself that re: healthy babies.mno idea if it's true, but I'll take the encouragement! Second theory only works if "certain foods" means "most foods". Ugh.

Plus side, I guess: my jeans are loose, my grocery bill is super low, and I managed to book a dr apt next week.

If this follows the same pattern as last time I'll be ok by mid-August, but that's a long time to go with little food. Yay prenatal vitamins, I guess...

[mustachepungoeshere]

A frugal but satisfying evening.

Scored an early mark from work which meant I got home in time to change and go out for a long walk while there was still some light in the sky.

Leftovers for dinner, and Gilmore Girls (don't judge me) on Netflix while I declutter the pantry ahead of our (likely) upcoming move*.

Anyone know if almonds are still ok if they've gone slightly soft? I had slivered almonds in a sealed container and they've softened. Keep or toss?

*On Sunday we found a new unit. Today I submitted rental application forms. If all goes well, we're out in three weeks. Fast turn around but I am up to the challenge. I think. :)

[Bracken_Joy]

A frugal but satisfying evening.

Scored an early mark from work which meant I got home in time to change and go out for a long walk while there was still some light in the sky.

Leftovers for dinner, and Gilmore Girls (don't judge me) on Netflix while I declutter the pantry ahead of our (likely) upcoming move*.

Anyone know if almonds are still ok if they've gone slightly soft? I had slivered almonds in a sealed container and they've softened. Keep or toss?

*On Sunday we found a new unit. Today I submitted rental application forms. If all goes well, we're out in three weeks. Fast turn around but I am up to the challenge. I think. :)

Re: the almonds. You can toast them in the oven to re-crisp them a bit. They'd make a good spiced nut recipe I bet too!

They should be plenty safe. I know people will often soak almonds and then oven crisp them to reduce phytate content, so I can't imagine this is particularly different =) If they've got a green tinge, though, or an acrid taste, toss 'em!

[jengod]

A frugal but satisfying evening.

Scored an early mark from work which meant I got home in time to change and go out for a long walk while there was still some light in the sky.

Leftovers for dinner, and Gilmore Girls (don't judge me) on Netflix while I declutter the pantry ahead of our (likely) upcoming move*.

Anyone know if almonds are still ok if they've gone slightly soft? I had slivered almonds in a sealed container and they've softened. Keep or toss?

*On Sunday we found a new unit. Today I submitted rental application forms. If all goes well, we're out in three weeks. Fast turn around but I am up to the challenge. I think. :)

Re: the almonds. You can toast them in the oven to re-crisp them a bit. They'd make a good spiced nut recipe I bet too!

They should be plenty safe. I know people will often soak almonds and then oven crisp them to reduce phytate content, so I can't imagine this is particularly different =) If they've got a green tinge, though, or an acrid taste, toss 'em!

You could also put them in a food processor with a little oil and they would be yummy almond butter for toast.

[Bracken_Joy]

Unplanned savings: last week went to stay with in-laws because MIL was in the hospital. Commuted from their house to work. DH needed our car, so I borrowed my FIL's TDI. Offered to pay for a fill, but he wasn't worried- it gets ~50mpg. So that saved a good $30-40 in gas for me.

Our garden peas are winding down, but I was still able to get enough to really flush out our stir fry last night. Also featured: carrots of odd texture because they got frozen at the back of the fridge, floppy left over bok choy, a cheap "ugly rack" bell pepper ($0.59 instead of $1.19). Used chives from the garden, which are miraculously still producing after 1.5 years and neglect through the winter. Got the sambal oelek at our discount grocer, Grocery Outlet. It was a delicious stir fry with an awesome texture.

Saving the nice looking Atlas jars from our pasta sauce from Costco for food storage.

Starting the deep cleaning process on our rental, because we move in 1 month, and our land lady will be showing the place before then. Hoping an easy showing for her = more deposit back for us.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Anyone know if almonds are still ok if they've gone slightly soft? I had slivered almonds in a sealed container and they've softened. Keep or toss?

Re: the almonds. You can toast them in the oven to re-crisp them a bit. They'd make a good spiced nut recipe I bet too!

They should be plenty safe. I know people will often soak almonds and then oven crisp them to reduce phytate content, so I can't imagine this is particularly different =) If they've got a green tinge, though, or an acrid taste, toss 'em!

You could also put them in a food processor with a little oil and they would be yummy almond butter for toast.

Excellent, glad I didn't toss them.

Thank you for the suggestions.

[horsepoor]

Made pesto from the garden with the rind of a Parmesan wedge, a random handful of nuts, and vinegar instead of lemon juice. 

Baked cookies for the meeting I'm hosting tomorrow.  I don't HAVE to bring anything, but it keeps the troops happy, and homemade cookies are cheaper than a box of donuts.

Was offered 8 bales of free hay while I was out at the barn tonight.  It's about $6/bale, so $48 saved if it turns out to be good hay.

[mustachepungoeshere]

I've been coveting a wire stand to store cutting boards (somehow went from two to eight in the space of a year), but I refused to pay $25-$30.

Just spotted a vintage file rack at work which will do the job beautifully.

Boss gave it to me on the spot. "I didn't see anything. You were never here."

[piercrab]

Sold unused child life vest for $10 on craigslist and regain some closet space.  It's a good feeling to let unused items go knowing it will be re-used.

[Thinkum]

The other day I was going to go buy some wood dowels to tie my giant over-taking tomatillo plants to. However, I just used garden twine and tied it to the cage it's growing around. It's worked out pretty good for the time being. Saved time and money right there.

[lunahsol]

Made the best marinara sauce I have ever had with tomatoes from my mother's garden and basil from mine.  I just wish I had made MORE of it!