What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[mustachepungoeshere]

Gave up eye make-up wipes in favour of liquid eye make-up remover and cloth wipes. 60 cents for the cloth and $6 for the bottle which should last me a couple of months versus $7 a month for a packet of disposables.

The next step will be making, rather than buying, the liquid.

Just knocked the bottle on to the floor and spilt maybe a third of. Damn!

In other news, the floorboards in front of my bedroom mirror are sparkling. Effective and gentle with no oily residue!

[Inaya]

Hubs needs a bank account with local branches, which our online bank does not have. He was going to sign up with Chase for the $150 checking and $100 savings bonuses they offer on their website, but after some digging a pile of old mail this morning, I found a $200+$200 offer that expires 9/2. Serendipity! $400 earned is $400 saved!

He's also going to get his annual blood draw today, which will save us $100 on health insurance next year.

[MountainGal]

Picked up a quarter in the grocery store parking lot.  Made .25

Saved .20 cents a gallon using fuel points.  Saved $4.40

Refrained from buying a coffee when buying a work associate a Starbucks gift card yesterday.  Saved $2.95

[frooglepoodle]

Walked to the post office with my neighbor. We were going to walk anyway, so might as well get an errand done while we were at it.

Leftovers for lunch, and some of last night's leftover taco meat will be going into tamale pie for dinner tonight.

Volunteered as a pattern tester = free sewing pattern in exchange for feedback.

[lizzzi]

Thought I'd buy a new Eddie Bauer Lodge Parka online in the Labor Day sale. Puppy has torn a small rip in my old one, and I have a yen for a blue parka instead of black. Went online. Can get parka on sale marked down from $229 to $172. Went to closet, got out old black parka. Noted also that I already have a blue winter hooded coat, barely worn. Tried both on--both look fine. Got needle and thread, mended rip in old black parka. Good to go. X'd out of the Eddie Bauer website. Money spent? Zero.

[Maurits28]

Last week my SO went away for a week, and every evening meal I finished food we still had in the cup boards, freezer and fridge. Probably saved me $ 35 in take out food, which I normally do when I'm home alone.

As a side note, spent the evenings developing my programming/nerd skills which tend to be harder than I thought.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Doctor's appointment this morning: pap test, breast exam, new OCP script.

My medical centre bulk-bills so I'm out of pocket precisely 0.

In addition to the traditional pap test her practice also sends samples for a liquid pap test, which isn't covered by Medicare, but their lab now covers it ahead of a change in the national cervical cancer testing protocol next year.

Doc also told me to shop around when getting the script filled. "The in-house pharmacy just isn't competitively priced."

[1967mama]

*made a huge double batch of beef stew for dinner - used one of my last packages of beef from our two sides of beef from last fall. I'm rationing from now till October when our new sides are ready for the deep freeze.

*stayed HOME.

*leftover spaghetti for lunch for the masses

[Bracken_Joy]

-DH heard back about his work travel last week- apparently he gets a $39 per diem we weren't aware of, so that's cool. I sent him with food, so he didn't spend any of it. Same trip this week (and probably next), and sent him with food again. There's a mini fridge in his room, and he takes a cooler with an ice pack to the work site.

-Even though I felt too tired to cook after getting home from work, I didn't let the broth from our latest chicken go to waste. Made egg drop soup for dinner.

[Inaya]

Our team is hosting a half-day meeting today, and it'll be catered. Brought in some leftover takeout containers, so I'll probably eat for the next 2 days on whatever I take home.

[Goldielocks]

OK so I was at a drive thru (not perfect) but I opened my door to pick up a dime I saw on the ground by the payment by the window.

There was $3.45 on the ground.  One loonie, one twonie, one quarter and 2 dimes. Who wouldn't make the effort to pick up a $2 coin they dropped?  My SO said a frequent Fast Food customer.

Someone with a bad back or who stopped to close to the wall, and can't open car door enough to get out, of course!

[lizzzi]

Almost listed my house with a realtor to make the move back from the Heartland (LCOL area) to good, old NY...definitely a HCOL area. Then slept on it, and decided to stay in LCOL area for the foreseeable future, but make big, fun trips to NY sometimes--I am an eight-hour drive, or an easy, short plane flight away. Really want to go back, but seeing little grandchildren's sad faces when I suggested the move made it hard to do. Also planning to maximize my savings while here--easy enough to stash a lot--, so I can make the jump more easily when the grands are older...it is still my plan to go back.

[Rubic]

I've been waiting over a year to purchase a Tortuga backpack for
travel, even contacting the company to see if I could purchase a
returned product at a discount.

Today Tortuga sent out an email they're offering discounts on
their current backpacks before they release the new models.

http://www.tortugabackpacks.com/collections/refurbished-travel-backpacks

Even better, 50% discounts on their refurbished backpacks:

http://www.tortugabackpacks.com/collections/refurbished-travel-backpacks

Even discounted, this may seem like a un-Mustachian price to pay for a backpack,
but I may be living out of one of these for a couple years.

[Maurits28]

I've been waiting over a year to purchase a Tortuga backpack for
travel, even contacting the company to see if I could purchase a
returned product at a discount.

Today Tortuga sent out an email they're offering discounts on
their current backpacks before they release the new models.

http://www.tortugabackpacks.com/collections/refurbished-travel-backpacks

Even better, 50% discounts on their refurbished backpacks:

http://www.tortugabackpacks.com/collections/refurbished-travel-backpacks

Even discounted, this may seem like a un-Mustachian price to pay for a backpack,
but I may be living out of one of these for a couple years.

Hi Rubic, great backpack!

I don't think it is un-Mustachian at all, buying good quality products that you can use over a long period is sustainable and might save you money in the long term, especially if you make a balanced decision between need and want.

Happy backpacking!

[4alpacas]

I've been waiting over a year to purchase a Tortuga backpack for
travel, even contacting the company to see if I could purchase a
returned product at a discount.

Today Tortuga sent out an email they're offering discounts on
their current backpacks before they release the new models.

http://www.tortugabackpacks.com/collections/refurbished-travel-backpacks

Even better, 50% discounts on their refurbished backpacks:

http://www.tortugabackpacks.com/collections/refurbished-travel-backpacks

Even discounted, this may seem like a un-Mustachian price to pay for a backpack,
but I may be living out of one of these for a couple years.

Hi Rubic, great backpack!

I don't think it is un-Mustachian at all, buying good quality products that you can use over a long period is sustainable and might save you money in the long term, especially if you make a balanced decision between need and want.

Happy backpacking!

I'm also a fan of buying quality items.  I bought a Timbuk2 messenger bag on sale in 2005, and I still regularly use it.  The bag still looks great. 

Packed breakfast, lunch, and snacks from random leftovers around the house.  We will finally get groceries this weekend.  We've been stretching our groceries that we bought almost a month ago.  Thank goodness for my friends' fruit trees and our garden.

Ran out of my morning breakfast tea.  I've decided that I will use all of the tea that I have before I buy more (which is a lot!).

Using my unlimited yoga membership every day this week, which means I haven't paid for individual barre or Pilates classes. 

[jengod]

* Parked at a city meter instead of in the dedicated underground lot, saving several dollars.

* Went to the maternity boutique planning to buy three or more nursing bras but they only had one of the my size in the style I liked, so I just bought one. I suspect that will be sufficient for the time being.

* Returned two library books that are due tomorrow, avoiding any overdue fines.

[1967mama]

* Went to the maternity boutique planning to buy three or more nursing bras but they only had one of the my size in the style I liked, so I just bought one. I suspect that will be sufficient for the time being.

Idea: Check Amazon. You now know the make and model of your bra of choice so you can buy it anywhere. Quite possibly cheaper than the boutique.

Edit: typo

[1967mama]

*Returned books on time to the library as well! Also, getting back the $45 (!!!!!) from a lost item that we'd paid for that was found

*leftover beef stew for lunch

*ground pork and cabbage for dinner (egg roll in a bowl)

*organized school books with kids to see what we already have and don't need to order for this year (we homeschool)

*lots of tea consumed - trying to use up my stash - slightly thrilling to recycle yet another tea box every week or so!

*grapes are 97 cents a pound! And delicious!

[horsepoor]

Dinner for out of town guests:. Chicken from the freezer, ratatouille from garden veggies and cornbread from ingredients I had on hand.    Nice meal with no shopping required.

Fighting the urge to go shopping for fall clothes.

[jengod]

* Went to the maternity boutique planning to buy three or more nursing bras but they only had one of the my size in the style I liked, so I just bought one. I suspect that will be sufficient for the time being.

Idea: Check Amazon. You now how the make and model of your bra of choice so you can buy it anywhere. Quite possibly cheaper than the boutique.

I like you. Thank you!!

[Dollar Slice]

In spite of being in a serious trough on the self-confidence/self-esteem curve, I managed to be brave and open up my laptop to replace the keyboard. I've been thinking of getting a new laptop (current one is 5+ years old) and I was very tempted to use the broken keyboard as an excuse. Instead I decided to drop $17 on a refurb replacement keyboard and try to do it myself. Surprisingly easy. Props to Lenovo for making that such an inexpensive part that can be replaced so simply.

I may still succumb to the new laptop in a few months since I have to come up with $4k in spend for my new Chase Sapphire Reserve, and it's getting to be an antique ... but even if a $17 part only buys me three months of laptop use, that's still worth doing. At least I'll have time to research a new purchase and wait for a sale/deal.

[clarkai]

I cooked swiss chard stems, instead of composting them. Tasty, and now a bunch of chard will go twice as far.

[KCalla]

Dollar Slice,
I have an out of warranty Lenovo laptop.   It has been back to the seller and manufacturer multiple times.  Erratically, the 2, w, s, x keys fail.  Was this at all similar to your problem?  I was told that my keyboard was replaced once, but my confidence in that is low.
Thanks.
Karen

[Dollar Slice]

Dollar Slice,
I have an out of warranty Lenovo laptop.   It has been back to the seller and manufacturer multiple times.  Erratically, the 2, w, s, x keys fail.  Was this at all similar to your problem?

Sort of similar, but probably not the exact same problem; your bad keys being all in a row would make me think damage or some kind of electrical issue. Mine was simply the spacebar wearing out and no longer working 100% (you had to hit it just exactly in the right spot, and pretty hard). Checked to make sure nothing was stuck, popped it out and back in again, nothing helped. So: replaced.

I'd be surprised if you sent it back in for broken keys multiple times and they didn't actually replace the keyboard, though... :-/  It's a cheap part and a five-minute job. I wonder if it could be damage to the plug/socket on the motherboard or something like that. But worst-case scenario is throwing away ~$20 so it is worth a shot, on the off chance the repair people were incompetent/lazy.

If you happen to have a Thinkpad T420i (or compatible) I'll send you my old one and you can see if it works - you wouldn't want to keep it due to the space bar, but if it fixed the 2/w/s/x problem you'd at least know that replacing the keyboard would work.

[KCalla]

Thanks for your quick reply, Dollar Slice. 
I found my repair paper work.  Clearly tells me that they did replace the keyboard.  I bet you are right and it's electrical.  Your post and reply got me thinking about the laptop again (in the closet).  Realized that that my frustration with it kept me from using it for non-keyboarding tasks.  I may have a nephew who can get some use out of it.  Thanks for sharing your repair success, you got me thinking of a "repurpose" opton.

[PMG]

Thanks for your quick reply, Dollar Slice. 
I found my repair paper work.  Clearly tells me that they did replace the keyboard.  I bet you are right and it's electrical.  Your post and reply got me thinking about the laptop again (in the closet).  Realized that that my frustration with it kept me from using it for non-keyboarding tasks.  I may have a nephew who can get some use out of it.  Thanks for sharing your repair success, you got me thinking of a "repurpose" opton.

Obviously it wouldnt be ideal but can you use a cheap Bluetooth keyboard with it? 

[ptenn]

I biked to the doctor's office where I'm waiting right now. Had to use my wife's bike because mine has a busted wheel tube that I thought I fixed but apparently is busted again. She is about 6 inches shorter than me so I looked pretty ridiculous. And holy crap is it hard to ride a smaller bike for an extended period of time.

[K-ice]

I've decided that I will use all of the tea that I have before I buy more (which is a lot!).

Good luck!  I find this so hard to do with all the varieties of teas out there.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Returned a top for a $25 refund.

Went halves with my mum on a family birthday gift. Re-used gift bags on that gift, and another.

Cold-washed, line-dried three loads of washing.

I'm also loving the natural light in new apartment. No longer need lights on inside during the day.

[Squirrel away]

I should start using up my teas too, I just had a nice cup of gingerbread tea.:)

Line dried washing as it is sunny.

[Spiffsome]

I am currently making a quilt from fabric scraps. Reverse Garbage, a recycling shop in my town, sells books of upholstery fabric samples so I can get a dozen samples of the same fabric and pattern in a variety of colours. Arranging the samples in a pleasing pattern is quite enjoyable and when I'm finished I have an awesome throw or blanket for about $20 worth of materials. Because the pieces are relatively large, it requires fairly basic sewing skills.

[KCalla]

PMG - a great idea!  It had not occurred to me at all. Love this board!  Karen

[Erma]

I mended the pocket of a pair of trousers.

[horsepoor]

Rearranged and repurposed stuff to meet my organizational needs, instead of buying new things.  Specifically, I was thinking of buying milk crates to hold towels, and remembered I had a couple in the shop.  Used a horse supplement bucket to store the horses' salt, and another one for gathering up chicken poo.  Rounded up some tins from bulk olive and sesame oil and used them to store zip ties, etc.

Improvised a savory cornbread French toast to use up leftover cornbread for breakfast, as well as eating other leftovers.

Started a batch of salsa verde from garden produce, which I'll can tomorrow.

Made a big batch of green soup to can or freeze for later, since I'm overrun with chard, parsley, kale and collards right now, and eat loads of green soup in the winter.

Put the good handle off a worn-out shop broom on the good head of a broom that had a broken handle.  Still planning to repair the broken handle and use the worn-out broom in the garden or horse trailer.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Had a discussion with internet provider over a bill that was five times what we usually pay.

We moved, they managed to charge us two full months for apartment A and a full month for apartment B, even though we only had internet for a combined 21 days last month.

They charged us a service fee.

And they charged us for a new router, despite the customer service rep who handled the transfer promising the router would be free of charge.

I've had $120 knocked off the bill so far, but I'm not paying it till the fee for the router is also removed,

[Kitsune]

Took out a (small) amount of cash and am taking the toddler Apple-picking this morning.

Grocery stores around here are listing apples at 2.50$/lb, which is LUDICROUS. The local orchard does you-pick for under 1$/lb, Toddler loves apples, and it gives a nice morning of entertainment on a day off work. Done and done.

[frooglepoodle]

Because potatoes were on sale but don't keep well in our pantry:

*Made a Spanish tortilla (basically a potato frittata) for breakfast. Super cheap and has a decent amount of protein.
*Making a batch of my mom's "braided egg bread" since it uses mashed potatoes. This will make 2 loaves to freeze (each good for 2 French toast breakfasts) and 8-10 rolls for burgers or sandwiches.
*Potato salad with dinner tomorrow.

Yesterday we used the wild elderberries we've been picking to make syrup to take as an immunity supplement. We found more bushes that aren't yet ripe, so we're also planning on jelly later in the fall.

[tonysemail]

got a haircut at home for the first time.
it doesn't save much money.
but i think we'll get fast enough that it will save me a lot of time in the future.

[Bracken_Joy]

Doing lots of work this labor day weekend, and doing it ourselves of course.

-Bought paint on sale from Home Depot's labor day sale. $10 back on each gal ($26/per originally). Also used a $5 off $50 or more coupon I got for signing up with a mailing list.
-Painted our dining room
-Today repainting DH's office (repainted the ceiling yesterday).
-For the painting: skipped the painters tape ($$$$$ and so much work) and just taking it slow and cutting in. Also bought nicer rollers and area cleaning them and reusing them
-Had the paint counter look at the old paint the last owners left (we need to do touchups). Said the paint was fine we just need to filter it. $0.98 cone filters later, and we're in business. Saved us the price and struggle of matching the old paint.
-Replaced the lighting ourselves (4 sconces, 2 chandeliers). Going to list the old fixtures online.
-Got together with the neighbors to take out a bush they hate on our shared property line. Borrowed a tool from another neighbor, used my truck and chain to pull out the stumps. Neighbor and I each drove a truck load of brush out to a local bark/soil place, $5 dump fee. Because neighbors were the ones who wanted to bush GONE (we mildly disliked it, they hated it), they paid for materials to fill the area back in. And chose beautiful nice loamy soil. They did a dry creek arrangement on their side. I can't wait to plant my side, but need to make a plan. Yay good soil.
-Liked a rug we got off overstock, and they still had 2 available. We're getting one more- I used a 12% off coupon, and it was discounted for labor day. Not quite as cheap as I got the first one, but only ~$8 more. These are helping me cover high traffic areas (aka, stained to hell) and get away with not replacing our wall to wall carpet for a couple years.

[choppingwood]

Saved us the ... struggle of matching the old paint.

What a productive weekend you are having!

If you do have to match old paint, take a sample in and places like Home Depot use a machine that tells them how to mix up the same color.  No struggle at all.

Sometimes the staff laugh at the sample I bring in, but I'm tough enough to take it.

[Bracken_Joy]

Saved us the ... struggle of matching the old paint.

What a productive weekend you are having!

If you do have to match old paint, take a sample in and places like Home Depot use a machine that tells them how to mix up the same color.  No struggle at all.

Sometimes the staff laugh at the sample I bring in, but I'm tough enough to take it.

I just meant that if the paints been on for a while, it can be hard to match. Light changes, batch of paint, etc. Hard to get it to work well, sometimes you have to go a shade lighter or darker for a good patch. =)

[mustachepungoeshere]

My husband wanted to take part in an event with a $1700 entry fee.

I thought that was steep just for a fun weekend, so he called the organisers and explained what he does for a living. Bam, free entry.

[Bracken_Joy]

Left the windows open overnight to air the paint smell out of the house. Woke up and it was 63 degrees inside. Instead of turning on the heat, I made a "nest" for the dog and then I mopped all the floors. I'm warm now, I tell you what!

Forgot to prep food for DH to take to work. Got up with him for work and made him tuna before he left. No need to buy lunch out.

[ChipmunkSavings]

* I sewed a button on a pair of shorts that I am planning to use for my next vacation. Saves me the expense of buying another pair.

* Biked to work. Saved the parking fee.

[kiwigirls]

Had some time to waste waiting for work to be done on my car.  I didn't have any errands to run and I don't like to window shop except in bookshops.  So I spent a very enjoyable half hour persuing the top 100 books section at the big bookshop in the mall.  I was, of course,  seized with the overwealming urge to buy myself a new book but then I thought better of it and whipped out my phone and recorded the names of the eight books I had liked the look of.   Have now come home and placed a hold on the titles at the library.   

[Rubyvroom]

I did not pay $120 for another month of yoga membership, instead opting to ride my bike to work in the morning hours I'm normally at yoga. I've biked to work 3 times now, 15 miles round trip, so I know it can be done!

This morning, my first day without the membership, we of course experienced a thunderstorm of epic proportions, so I did not get to bike to work. Instead of letting it get me down or wasting my morning, I still got up and just threw the yoga mat down in our living room and practiced away. I still saved money, and learned it's a lot less embarrassing to fall out of an arm balance in front of your cat than in front of class.  And the dog likes to stealth lick my face while in Shavasana -_-

[halseyskates33]

Have a pretty nasty sore throat and usually this would be my favorite excuse for comfort takeout, BUT not for this reformed spendthrift : )

Made a hash out of my leftover roasted veggies and three sunny side up eggs on top. I am full, and so is my wallet!

[horsepoor]

Drove a little farther out of town to buy hay for $5 a bale instead of $7 a bale.  Worth it for 40 bales, and I got a free workout as well.

[Loretta]

Took the bus to and from work today.  No car trips today. 

[MrsTuxedocat]

My friend gave me 14 tomatoes from her garden and I made tomato sauce. All the spices were from my herb garden too!