Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8021036 times)

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7700 on: December 12, 2016, 07:40:24 PM »
Saved $198 (compared with Aus prices) by putting in an Amazon order to be sent to my husband's hotel while he's in the US for work next week.

That time of year again.

This Amazon order saves me 70+ per cent compared with buying my preferred foundation, eyeliner and mascara here in Australia.

CloserToFree

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7701 on: December 12, 2016, 07:44:12 PM »
Treated myself to a rest day instead of paying people to pamper me

Thank you for posting this!  I often get caught in the trap of scheduling spa treatments and massages "to help me relax" -- only to find myself more stressed out by schlepping out to an appointment, finding parking, shelling out $100+ (plus tip), etc. I honestly think staying at home and just lazing around on the couch, doing a short yoga program, or taking a long bath would be so much more relaxing.  Next time I'm going to do that instead!

csprof

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7702 on: December 12, 2016, 08:14:37 PM »
In posting to someone else's thread about cell phone plans, I updated my spreadsheet / living chart blog post comparing cell phone plan costs vs. data used, and realized that I could switch my wife's plan from Cricket's $35/2.5gb to their $30/1GB plan.  (I'm on Fi, but she's got an iPhone).

Switched.  Wahoo!

Unfortunately, I shared this with two of my colleagues who looked blankly at me for being excited about saving $5/month. :p

Hrumph.

Also started leaving cellular data off on my phone unless I want it.  This turns out to have cut my data use about in half, which probably amounts to a whopping $0.15/day.

I'm still going to be happy about it.

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7703 on: December 12, 2016, 08:23:30 PM »
Made a simple chicken vegetable soup from bone broth I made yesterday.

Cooked another chicken from the deep freeze.

Started a Christmas puzzle on the table with the kids. We do this every year.

Daughter is making cream cheese mints with the younger kids tonite.




jengod

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7704 on: December 12, 2016, 09:37:43 PM »
* Made chicken fried rice to use up some shredded chicken.
* Canceled a domain renewal, this will save a $15 charge in January
* Sold $30 of clutter on eBay.

Mustacean

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7705 on: December 12, 2016, 09:50:40 PM »
Signed up for my company sponsored FSA. I elected to withhold $1500 for the year so this should save me $225 in taxes in 2017.

NV Teacher

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7706 on: December 12, 2016, 09:58:28 PM »
I baked the whole bag of potatoes yesterday.  When they are about 90% baked I turn off the heat and leave them in the oven for another 15-20 minutes to finish cooking.  I like to bake them all at once and I then peel and grate or dice the leftovers to put in the freezer. 

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7707 on: December 12, 2016, 11:24:59 PM »
Made vanilla out of cheap vodka on sale today. I have 3 big canning jars going now.
I make vanilla too. I'm lazy though. I split the beans and drop them right into the vodka bottles. Is there an advantage to using canning jars? Last year, someone gave me a bottle of dark rum. I did the same thing with that and it is delicious. Yummy vanilla for the price of a few beans? Yes, please.

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7708 on: December 13, 2016, 01:29:30 AM »
I split the beans and drop them right into the vodka bottles. Is there an advantage to using canning jars?

You can use canning jars if you don't want to take a slurp of the vodka before adding the beans <wink>.

It will overflow in the bottle but not in the jar. ☺️

nessness

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7709 on: December 13, 2016, 11:07:39 AM »
I was really tempted to toss my stainless steel pot after accidentally leaving a pot of chili on the stove overnight, resulting in a 1/2" layer of charcoal stuck on the bottom. But after a ton of scrubbing and several rounds of boiling water with baking soda, it's almost as good as new!

Lunasol

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7710 on: December 13, 2016, 11:09:43 AM »
I tried on cocktail dresses for my work christmas dinner but couldn't find anything that I liked and fit my budget, so I was able to borrow one from my friend :)

4alpacas

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7711 on: December 13, 2016, 11:13:39 AM »
Made vanilla out of cheap vodka on sale today. I have 3 big canning jars going now.
I make vanilla too. I'm lazy though. I split the beans and drop them right into the vodka bottles. Is there an advantage to using canning jars? Last year, someone gave me a bottle of dark rum. I did the same thing with that and it is delicious. Yummy vanilla for the price of a few beans? Yes, please.
Yum!  I never thought about doing it with rum.  We do it with vodka, but I'll have to try rum.

Instead of buying candles to scent the house with a Christmas-y smell, we simmer water with different things in it--cinnamon sticks, orange peels, vanilla, etc.

Felt the urge for something sweet last night, so I made brownies using items on-hand (http://www.jamieoliver.com/news-and-features/features/purely-fruit-sweetened-brownies/).  I had to substitute a combination of cocoa powder and butter for the baking chocolate.  The brownies were perfect with my tea last night, and I had a few for breakfast this morning. 

My DH and I felt like we didn't have anything in house for dinner, but I managed to pull together a pasta dish with a butter-ish sauce (butter, garlic, pasta water) and broccoli.  I made enough for lunch today. 

rachellynn99

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7712 on: December 13, 2016, 11:33:48 AM »
We are having a Women's Christmas dinner tonight at church, and it's potluck style. Instead of buying something special I made a nice chocolate cake with a peppermint glaze from stuff that I had. Packed my husband lunch today. Fed the kids and my husband breakfast from home before they left. I'm off work until Jan 9th for Winter break, so me and the little one are just hanging out here. Reading Christmas books, lounging around, baking, playing outside etc. My husband needed gas today, which was budgeted and planned for. I've got three bags of "stuff" to go to the Goodwill next time I make it to town.

alewpanda

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7713 on: December 13, 2016, 11:44:44 AM »
-- Made an end of the year charitable donation this past week
-- sold an unused board game on a facebook buy and sell site
-- Received bread, salt, and wine at a secret sister party (It's a Wonderful Life themed -- I won the prize)
-- Used the rest of my amazon swagbucks credit for a secret sister gift
-- Found a penny and a quarter on the ground while walking the dogs this morning
-- sold a network router on ebay
-- turned down heat a few degrees
-- making egg salad this week for easy, cheap meals and to use up some of the eggs and bread before next weeks travels

Lagom

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7714 on: December 13, 2016, 12:30:01 PM »
Eliminated a $5.99/month recurring iTunes expense today. I had noticed it popping up from time to time over the past few months (my wife and I only recently merged finances), but assumed it was just my wife splurging on a game or app every so often. It was not enough to really set off alarms until I noticed it for the fourth time today and finally connected the dots to realize this was a recurring charge. Turns out my wife had subscribed to the New Yorker quite some time ago and forgotten to cancel. She is not one to comb through the checking transactions and had never noticed. Hooray for another $84/year towards the 'stache!

JLee

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7715 on: December 13, 2016, 03:12:24 PM »
I flew to Calgary last Wednesday (returned yesterday) and when I arrived at the airport, found that my flight had been rescheduled to the previous day and nobody had notified me about it.  The airline found another way to get me there (~6 hours later than originally planned) and a 32 minute phone call with Chase (I booked through Ultimate Rewards) yielded nothing (basically 'you're getting to your final destination so we can't do anything for you').

I complained via Twitter.

Same-day, the airline paid for my dinner.

Today, someone from Chase's travel department called and apologized for the inconvenience, saying Chase accepts full responsibility and my reservation is the one that made them aware of a communication glitch that was not passing airline adjustment notifications through.

She refunded my entire flight cost (points/cash) and gave me another 10,000 UR points for my hassle...so my Twitter complaint was worth $445!

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7716 on: December 13, 2016, 03:23:56 PM »
I flew to Calgary last Wednesday (returned yesterday) and when I arrived at the airport, found that my flight had been rescheduled to the previous day and nobody had notified me about it.  The airline found another way to get me there (~6 hours later than originally planned) and a 32 minute phone call with Chase (I booked through Ultimate Rewards) yielded nothing (basically 'you're getting to your final destination so we can't do anything for you').

I complained via Twitter.

Same-day, the airline paid for my dinner.

Today, someone from Chase's travel department called and apologized for the inconvenience, saying Chase accepts full responsibility and my reservation is the one that made them aware of a communication glitch that was not passing airline adjustment notifications through.

She refunded my entire flight cost (points/cash) and gave me another 10,000 UR points for my hassle...so my Twitter complaint was worth $445!

Excellent!

Gerard

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7717 on: December 13, 2016, 03:29:41 PM »
Made breakfast and lunch of "Everything Left In The Airbnb Fridge". Surprisingly good chicken-onion-mole-sour-cream tacos.
Found a free shuttle bus to the airport.
Put back a paleta when I found out it was $2.17.
Gonna have supper at the airport lounge.
Total expected spend today: $3 for a bus from the airport at the other end.

Kitsune

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7718 on: December 13, 2016, 05:39:14 PM »
Ordered a replacement stroller wheel (35$) so that we can continue to use the same stroller (which is AMAZING and we love it, barring the broken wheel), instead of buying a new stroller (300+ - replacing the stroller we have would be 480$)

The people at the store we had to go to to order the wheel were very puzzled - "but NO ONE fixes these things! Why not just buy a new one??'. Um, because 445$ difference for a perfectly and impeccably useful piece of plastic???

frooglepoodle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7719 on: December 13, 2016, 07:55:18 PM »
Meatless dinner (on sale veggies and lentils cooked in the Instant Pot and served over rice) since DH wasn't home.

Accepted hand-me-down play food from a friend whose kiddo has outgrown it. Not sure if it'll be another Christmas gift or if we'll save it for another occasion.

Took kiddo for a long walk and and stopped at the library for coloring and reading new books.

Found a free workout plan to start instead of paying for one.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7720 on: December 14, 2016, 12:32:11 AM »
I just ordered a cash return credit card. My husband already has the same card and it gives him 3% back on every internet purchase.  This card let's you choose what kind of return you want. I think I will choose to get back 2% on every purchase. But it seems strange for me to pay for the grocery shopping with a credit card, as I am only used to use my debit card.

misshathaway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7721 on: December 14, 2016, 06:38:37 AM »
I flew to Calgary last Wednesday (returned yesterday) and when I arrived at the airport, found that my flight had been rescheduled to the previous day and nobody had notified me about it.  The airline found another way to get me there (~6 hours later than originally planned) and a 32 minute phone call with Chase (I booked through Ultimate Rewards) yielded nothing (basically 'you're getting to your final destination so we can't do anything for you').

I complained via Twitter.

Same-day, the airline paid for my dinner.

Today, someone from Chase's travel department called and apologized for the inconvenience, saying Chase accepts full responsibility and my reservation is the one that made them aware of a communication glitch that was not passing airline adjustment notifications through.

She refunded my entire flight cost (points/cash) and gave me another 10,000 UR points for my hassle...so my Twitter complaint was worth $445!

Inspiring!

Orvell

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7722 on: December 14, 2016, 07:27:31 AM »
Patched my winter boots! So far no melting snow has touched my sock-clad feeties. $5 in fancy glue is wayyy better than a new pair of good boots. \o/

Just Joe

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7723 on: December 14, 2016, 08:13:11 AM »
We did the standard morning carpool and coffees made at home.

Decided to do a big repair on our other car rather than replacing the whole vehicle. Why replace a whole vehicle when only part of it is broken? I can do the repair myself. Cost = hundreds.

4alpacas

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7724 on: December 14, 2016, 10:33:41 AM »
We did the standard morning carpool and coffees made at home.

Decided to do a big repair on our other car rather than replacing the whole vehicle. Why replace a whole vehicle when only part of it is broken? I can do the repair myself. Cost = hundreds.
That seems like more than a small thing!  Awesome!

I did the usual make tea at home, pack snacks, pack lunch from leftovers.

I've also started make a simple dinner of pasta and frozen vegetables with a butter, garlic, and red pepper flake sauce.  We need to get groceries, but the meal is enough to keep us from getting take-out.  Also, it's helping us eat down the enormous amount of pasta we have stockpiled (whole wheat pasta overload!).

NV Teacher

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7725 on: December 14, 2016, 01:09:10 PM »
Each year I like to give my students a small gift at the holiday time.  This year I made a booklet with puzzles, mazes, jokes, word searches, and a few how to draw pages.  I printed them at school, added a 25 cent box of glitter crayons, and wrapped them with red bulletin board paper.  Fast, easy, fun, and best of all inexpensive.

Kwill

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7726 on: December 15, 2016, 12:26:38 AM »
Made rice for breakfast this morning and moved some leftover curry from the freezer to the fridge. Between the leftover rice and the curry, my dinner prep is done. I have to run the rice cooker with a transformer, so I plugged in my handheld vacuum that also needs the transformer to charge at the same time.

I put milk and butter and jam and ground coffee in the freezer before leaving on a long trip, so I was able to keep the fridge turned off while I was away. Just got home last night, and it was nice to at least be able to have milk in my coffee this morning, even if I did have to melt it a little.

JHoward

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7727 on: December 15, 2016, 03:52:15 PM »
I have saved a bunch of money on impulse purchases since Thanksgiving by factoring in the "cost" of having to listen to Christmas music playing in the store/restaurant. I wanted to buy a sandwich on the way home from work earlier this week but I could hear "Jingle Bell Rock" playing from outside the door and decided dinner could wait until I got home. I didn't even approach the coffee shop on my way back from a doctor's appointment today because I didn't want to get some stupid Christmas song stuck in my head for the rest of the day. I've been similarly efficient in stores - in and out without any random browsing - because while I already hate the background music in almost every retail setting, having every store playing the same 10 stupid songs makes it just about intolerable.

Since the holidays are also a time for giving thanks, let me express my gratitude to the internet for the fact that despite working a number of crummy jobs on the path to the decent one I have now, none of them were in retail.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7728 on: December 15, 2016, 04:24:55 PM »
Made sure not to park under any trees during our ice storm. Glad I did. Lots of trees down, and a neighbor got their car crunched. Saves hassle and insurance deductibles.

Trying to Christmas shop well ahead of time this year, and wrap ahead of time. Give me a little more time to hunt bargains, and reduce the chance of overcompensating with expensive last minute gifts because of guilt. Wrapping ahead of time means I can find wrapping paper at less expensive places, rather than running out and buying it for a markup at the corner store on christmas eve. *cough* not that I've ever done that or anything...

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7729 on: December 15, 2016, 04:57:07 PM »
... reduce the chance of overcompensating with expensive last minute gifts because of guilt.

You get me!

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7730 on: December 15, 2016, 06:56:32 PM »
... reduce the chance of overcompensating with expensive last minute gifts because of guilt.

You get me!

I'm glad I'm not the only on! Isn't it the WORST? You spend more, and the person appreciates it less, because let's be honest, they're shots in the dark and really not customized to the recipient. I much prefer when I plan and buy early, and I know it's just perfect for them. But gifts really are not my "thing", so it does not come easily to me! Best thing I ever did was starting to keep an evernote of gift ideas throughout the year. For other people AND for me, because when people ask "what do you want?" I never used to have an answer.

PMG

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7731 on: December 15, 2016, 08:48:04 PM »
I am visiting "home" for a few days and staying with my friend.  Tonight I spent $11 on groceries and cooked dinner for her and I with plenty of left overs for both of us.  It's a nice way to say thanks for her hospitality but also saves us both money over eating out. 


Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7732 on: December 15, 2016, 09:05:52 PM »
I split the beans and drop them right into the vodka bottles. Is there an advantage to using canning jars?

You can use canning jars if you don't want to take a slurp of the vodka before adding the beans <wink>.

It will overflow in the bottle but not in the jar. ☺️
Hmmm, I had to think about this, because I don't actually drink the vodka. I always have 2 Costco 1.75 liter bottles going, so if there's not enough headroom, I must just pour a little off into the older bottle. I go through a lot of the stuff, and it tastes better the longer it steeps, so it's not quite as nuts as it sounds. I'm also happy to note that the cost of vanilla has skyrocketed, but price of the vodka and vanilla beans has remained constant, which is odd, but it happily makes me feel even more frugal. Win!

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7733 on: December 16, 2016, 02:21:04 AM »
Received an unexpected $700 payment (a bonus of sorts).

The rest of the team is excited to spend it on Christmas shopping. My (minimal) shopping has been finished for weeks.

Erma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7734 on: December 16, 2016, 08:23:38 AM »
Used two gift cards I got at work for my last two birthdays for houshold items. I got all the items on sale, so I could replace some of our old and disgusting things. I would never have shopped there without the gift cards, I think it is much too expensive. I even looked at selling them, but would only hav gotten around 50% of the value in cash.

10dollarsatatime

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7735 on: December 16, 2016, 09:22:23 AM »
The company we get shirts from at work brought us a smoked turkey early this week, with strict instructions that it should be consumed within 5 days.  So yesterday, we all gathered around the table and ate as much of it as we could with crackers, cheese, and mustard.  There was more than half remaining when we couldn't eat anymore.  So last night I shredded it, distributed bags to my present crew, and brought the rest home since it wouldn't last the weekend.  I ended up with 6 cups of meat and a carcass that I threw in the instant pot with assorted veggies for broth.  I think I'll end up with around 14 pints when all is finished.

Grabbing a brother today to make dump runs with trailer loads of the pine tree that fell on my house the day before Thanksgiving.  Saved who knows how much over hiring someone to come break it down and haul it off.  Will still have the trunk and larger branches.  Will offer them up as free firewood.

horsepoor

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7736 on: December 16, 2016, 10:23:52 AM »
Teleworking today and burning wood from our property to keep warm while watching it snow outside.  Not using gas to get to the office, or risking an accident on the icy roads.

Yesterday I picked up a spiral sliced ham @ $1.39/#.  This morning I diced some up with leftover veggies for a breakfast hash, put the bone and surrounding meat in the Instant Pot and will add onions, carrots and lentils later for a cheap, easy dinner later.  The rest of the ham will get portioned out and frozen for future use.

Planning to work out at home instead of driving through snow to the gym later today.

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7737 on: December 16, 2016, 10:54:05 AM »
DianeC: Where do you buy your vanilla beans? I'm booking for a new source :-) I, too, go through a lot of vanilla. I have three large canning jars at various stages right now. I hate it when I use one up and don't have more marinating!

4alpacas

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7738 on: December 16, 2016, 11:22:39 AM »
DianeC: Where do you buy your vanilla beans? I'm booking for a new source :-) I, too, go through a lot of vanilla. I have three large canning jars at various stages right now. I hate it when I use one up and don't have more marinating!
I bought about 50 beans through Amazon.  I thought I got a decent price, but I can't remember what I paid (it's been a while because I don't go through beans quickly).

snorrie

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7739 on: December 16, 2016, 03:27:44 PM »
I've been reading this forum for a while now, and I like the idea of this thread as a motivator... Today I:

- Ran an errand in another city and got to ride back with a friend, thus saving me the price of a return train ticket
- Spent the evening at home with said friend instead of going out for a drink
- Did not tag along out of social obligation to go and see a movie that I wasn't sure I wanted to see

All in all, a good day.

frugalfelicia

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7740 on: December 16, 2016, 03:38:29 PM »
-saved 3 plastic bags to reuse
-walked/took the bus home with groceries that were heavy enough I could have talked myself into a cab
-bought groceries at the Asian food store (chicken 1.19/lb, 6 peppers for 1.00, pears 0.59/lb, cabbage 0.88, etc)
-hung up the laundry to dry instead of using the dryer

HappierAtHome

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7741 on: December 16, 2016, 05:36:12 PM »
Finally submitted a health insurance claim for a dentist visit... from August. Better late than never!

This weekend I'll go through a heap of medical receipts to gather up everything I *might* get rebates for, so I can submit those too.

Kitsune

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7742 on: December 16, 2016, 06:22:18 PM »
Ground pork went on sale at Costco (which is already cheaper than the local grocery store sale prices around here).

14lbs are now in the freezer, spiced like spicy Italian sausage, and in 1lb bags (for spiced sausage and spinach risotto, fennel and sausage pasta, sausage and lentil and kale soup, etc). Total $ spent for the base for 14 meals: 24$.

7lbs are simmering away on the stove, ready to be put into pie crust and frozen for holiday tourtières (traditional Quebecois holiday food). 1 tourtiere = 3$, add a salad and feed 4 people a festive meal.

Worth the work. :)

1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7743 on: December 17, 2016, 01:56:01 AM »
- soup for lunch from bone broth made yesterday and a loaf of homemade bread

- reading book from interlibrary loan called "Money Secrets of the Amish" - its good

- grocery shopped on maximum points day

- trying to keep heat a little lower in this cold snap


frugalfelicia

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7744 on: December 17, 2016, 03:38:21 PM »
-picked up all the good deals at Giant Tiger (cheese 3.44, rack of ribs 5.00, carrots/onions 0.88, frozen fruit 2.88)

-took the plunge and bought store brand tea (100pk for 1.99) instead of Tetley - will try it in the morning and see how it is

snorrie

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7745 on: December 18, 2016, 12:20:58 AM »
I work in a clothing boutique and we had this beautiful leather jacket that was calling my name since the start of the week. Tried it on (it looked amazing) and then noticed it had a huge tear in the lining. So I will save money by one of the following:

- not getting it because there is a tear in the lining
- getting it half-price because there is a tear in the lining and I will try and fix it.

Not very mustachian of me, but jackets are my weakness. Especially in leather.

On the other hand; I save money every day by bringing leftovers for lunch and biking to work.

Erma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7746 on: December 18, 2016, 05:38:45 AM »
Found the ugly produce section in the grocery store and bought 1 kg of potatoes for around 1 CHF.

We also used the second half of a board which was left after a kitchen projectbto build a clothes folding table in the basement.

frugalfelicia

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7747 on: December 18, 2016, 07:54:25 AM »
-picked up all the good deals at Giant Tiger (cheese 3.44, rack of ribs 5.00, carrots/onions 0.88, frozen fruit 2.88)

-took the plunge and bought store brand tea (100pk for 1.99) instead of Tetley - will try it in the morning and see how it is

Tried the tea this morning, it's fine. Will save me a whopping $8 over the course of the year!

Bracken_Joy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7748 on: December 18, 2016, 09:09:20 AM »
In talking to my dad, realized we've been filling our propane canisters all wrong. I guess he's friends with an amerigas guy, who said the practice now is to fill the trade out containers no more than 3.5-4lbs in the 5lb tanks. And it's $19 for the exchange most places. My dad put me on to where we can fill at gas stations for $1.99/lb. So that'll be $10 instead, and we'll actually be getting more propane!

And just because we're persnickity nerds, we weighed our newly exchanged tank vs his recently refilled tank. Ours is much lighter. Double whammy on losing money there.

Metric Mouse

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #7749 on: December 18, 2016, 12:08:22 PM »
In talking to my dad, realized we've been filling our propane canisters all wrong. I guess he's friends with an amerigas guy, who said the practice now is to fill the trade out containers no more than 3.5-4lbs in the 5lb tanks. And it's $19 for the exchange most places. My dad put me on to where we can fill at gas stations for $1.99/lb. So that'll be $10 instead, and we'll actually be getting more propane!

And just because we're persnickity nerds, we weighed our newly exchanged tank vs his recently refilled tank. Ours is much lighter. Double whammy on losing money there.

Just don't forget the upfront cost of a propane tank.