What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[1967mama]

Cooked a batch of black beans in InstantPot that had soaked overnight

Cooked up 1/2 a box of sausages from deep freeze and scrambled eggs for lunch. Fed the family nicely.

Drinking lots of tea at home.

Half way through reading a library book on personal finance.

Making humus for afternoon/Appie snacks and then pizza for New Year's Eve with the fam. Bought two bottles of non-alcoholic grape juice

*Fixed iphone typos

[jengod]

Unclogged a sink without calling a plumber.

Replaced two shower heads with low-flow models while I was on a plumbing rampage.

Cleaned some existing low-flow faucet nozzles and shower heads with vinegar to remove built-up calcium deposits from our very hard water.


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[Kitsune]

Made "luxurious" NYE dinner tonight for myself, Husband, and child: raclette. All in all, with all of us stuffed on melted cheese and fresh vegetables and excellent charcuterie, we spent a grand total of... 15$. I love luxury when it comes at that price. ;)

Also planned tomorrow's NY family dinner. Appetizer: arugula, pear, goat cheese, and blackberry salad with balsamic. Main course: roast pork loin in garlic, with roasted caramelized vegetables and potatoes, and a side-salad (all of us are craving vegetables). My parents are bringing wine, my sister is bringing dessert. Total cost to feed 8 people 2 main courses of a 3-course dinner: 23$, or slightly less than 4$/person.

Food is my love and my downfall, but really, this is surprisingly reasonable for holiday meal costs.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Emailed a company to get an extension on a $50 gift card that expired a few days ago.

It was only dated with the expiry month so I didn't realise it had lapsed, but the company gave me an extra 30 days.

[Squirrel away]

I have lots of food in the house and I'm trying to eat less so I will draw up a meal plan for the next week.

Lots of tea stocked up too so I will try to drink only tap water and tea during the day.

[Gerard]

Also bringing along small containers of fish sauce, sesame oil, hot sauce, coconut oil, teas and nuts that I have on hand to minimize what I have to buy while I'm away from home.

Make sure that fish sauce is really really really well packed and protected. Don't ask me how I know.

[horsepoor]

Also bringing along small containers of fish sauce, sesame oil, hot sauce, coconut oil, teas and nuts that I have on hand to minimize what I have to buy while I'm away from home.

Make sure that fish sauce is really really really well packed and protected. Don't ask me how I know.

Oh yeah.  I sealed the bottle with electrical tape, and they'll all be bubble wrapped inside a zip loc bag.  I can only image how impossible getting that stench out of fabric would be.

[MrsTuxedocat]

- Stayed home for NYE and drank a bottle of wine that I had already purchased.

[rachellynn99]

Prepared breakfast and lunch at home. Dinner will be at home also tonight.

Gathered eggs from our chickens.

[frooglepoodle]

Hiked at a state park - free for New Years Day. We could have hiked closer but it was one I'd been wanting to visit. We packed PBJ sandwiches for lunch.

NYE dinner was short ribs, squash, spinach, rice, and a bottle of sparkling wine someone else had brought to brunch months ago. We had flourless chocolate cake for dessert and we're asleep by 10, it was awesome.

Later we'll be putting up some simple shelves to keep things out of our toddler's ever-growing reach and organize my craft area that is taking over the craft/office/laundry room.

[1967mama]

*we were invited to a lovey brunch at some friend's house and they insisted we bring nothing for the potluck! Brought some homemade craisin granola and regifted some tea as a hostess gift

*printed a coupon for berries that was in my
Inbox

*using up as much fridge food as possible before shopping

*planning bean burritos for dinner tomorrow - pulling wraps from the freezer for this that were bought on sale and beans I did in the InstantPot yesterday. Easy filling: Mix equal parts beans, cooked rice and grated cheese + salt/pepper/cumin. 1/2 c filling per wrap. Bake uncovered 25 minutes. So delish!

[Matt (Semper Fi)]

Cancelled my wife's long-term disability insurance that has cost us almost $200.00/month, since we found out she can get it through her employer for free.

[Dollar Slice]

I need very particular shoes (which, though expensive, have turned out not to wear well) due to a medical condition, and I finally broke down today and ordered another pair because the previous ones are starting to hurt where the lining/padding has disintegrated. I checked a zillion websites and tried all different combinations of coupons and sales before finally figuring out a combo that would save me $36. I couldn't get that price in my first choice of color, but I still like the color I got better than my last pair.

Now I have to figure out if there is some preventative measure I can take to keep them from wearing out in that same spot so quickly...

[mousebandit]

I'm trying out an overnight oats recipe, and did meal planning, so when I'm working out of town the next few months, with 4 kids in tow, I will be able to save $$$ on food. 
I also scrutinized my mint transactions, and found a monthly charge I didn't even know about, so I can get rid of it. 

[soccerluvof4]

We took our younger 2 to a indoor soccer game which we do once or twice a year. I was able to get tickets for less than half price and they got a free-t-shirt. We stopped at the dollar store on the way down for snacks so saved a boat load there and i parked about 6 blocks away and saved the 25$ on parking plus got alot of extra steps in for the day! realistically cost me a 1/3 or less than most people that go to the game.

[Kwill]

Just got home from Christmas travels yesterday and managed to make dinner and breakfast from items in the pantry and freezer. Dinner was actually around 1 am this morning so it counts for today. I was so tired and jet lagged I went to sleep soon after walking through the door.

I had also walked home from the station instead of taking a taxi. It wasn't entirely intentional -- I was expecting to find a bus. Apparently buses don't run on New Year's and taxis charge double, but there weren't any signs explaining that.

[Mezzie]

Opened a Vanguard account because it has lower fees than where I currently have my IRA. It'll be a few days before I can do anything with it, but it's a step in the right direction.

[Bracken_Joy]

Kicked off Uber Frugal January (thanks frugalwoods!). Did a snow shoeing trek with DH. Did not buy coffee for the drive home. Only money spent so far in the past 2 days is gas for the car.

Made plans to eat down fridge and freezer.

[SingleMomDebt]

I did not succumb to going out for breakfast because I was out of a particular staple item.

[Kitsune]

Was planning on going to an old friends party next weekend, despite the drive and expense, aise we use to be very close and I miss them and I'm not going to reliably see them after giving birth. Last night, said friend, and their roommates/new friends, ganged up on someone in a FB argument because that person claimed that biological sex existed as a more-or-les-general binary (lots of men, lots of women, some intersex people making up a percentage of the population). Apparently acknowledging the existence of biological sex is bigoted and transphobic and generally worth fighting? (Note: the person was very clear that sex =\= the social construct of gender or most things socially associated with gender. The argument was over whether biological sex EXISTED. Like... there's open-minded, and then there's brainless?)

I... decided that I live 2 hours away, and I'm NOT interested in driving 4 hours, including gas and wear and tear on the car, in order to spend an evening with people who will call other people names in response to a statement like "biological sex differences exist". I let Old Friend know I wouldn't be going, best of luck, also I'm very busy these days and won't be seeing them much, cheers. 40$ gas not spent. Wine party contribution not needed. An evening and 4 hours of driving not spent.

I've decided that, instead, I'm going to spend 2$ on mulled cider ingredients and spend that time sitting in front of the fireplace with my husband, enjoying the peace and quiet before the second child comes along next month. Somehow, that seems a lot better than spending $ to spend time with Tumblr activists. Ugh. Escape achieved. 60+ dollars not spent. Time is miiiiine. Nonsense is avoided. Good lord, welcome 2017.

[I'm a red panda]

Canceled my Walmart Beauty Box subscription. It's only $5 quarterly, and the samples are fun - but I just don't need them.

[10dollarsatatime]

Made a big frittata using up older eggs.  Ate a quarter of it, and froze the rest in portions for my upcoming whole30.
Made both clarified butter and ghee from bulk costco butter.  So much cheaper than buying the stuff.

[Bracken_Joy]

BIL came over to work with DH at our house, rather than going into the client site- saves on gas. I served up leftover chili, along with sides of brussel sprouts and rice for a cheap lunch.

[Linea_Norway]

Came back from a visit to a relative who wanted to empty his house. Drove back with a car full of a good sewing machine, zippers, fabric en enough wool for a sweater. And a surf board.

[4alpacas]

Defrosting curry for lunches this week (bulk cooked several weeks ago)
Making brown rice in the instant pot
Cooked large breakfast instead of going out to eat
Had lunch at a friend's house instead of meeting at a restaurant for lunch
One for a walk with a friend and had tea instead of spending money going out

Went to the grocery shopping
- used a coupon for a free item
- baking cookies as a gift

[1967mama]

*Used a gift card for lunch at a restaurant with a friend. I chose the restaurant (wink). Drank only water and tried to keep my
Meal on the cheap side.

*Made bean burritos for dinner - did the beans from dry in the InstantPot a few days ago.

*Decluttering like crazy

*Eta: made a quick batch of peanut butter cookies while the oven was hot!

[horsepoor]

Stayed home all day, raked snow odd the wood stack and carried more firewood up to the house.  It's been so cold, with teleworking I've already burned through more than we used all last winter, so the stack under the deck is almost totally gone.

[frooglepoodle]

Went grocery shopping and only bought the items on my list - no snack foods, no beer or wine, no impulse items. $80 and we're good for the week with pantry items and things we already had on hand.

In the kitchen:
Made a double batch of meatballs for dinner and frozen half after browning. The bulk of the work is already done and it's another easy thing in the freezer for a night when I don't feel like cooking.
We discovered sourdough waffles as a means of reducing food waste, since they use the "discard" unfed sourdough starter and I can substitute 50/50 whole milk and whey (strained from homemade yogurt) in place of buttermilk.
Another batch of homemade yogurt is in the Instant Pot tonight. Milk was on sale at Aldi for $1.25 this week so the cost savings over store bought is even greater than normal.

Worked out at home.

Removed a name tape from a worn out uniform shirt of DH's and sewed it to a pair of pants that needed one.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Used up the last of the NYE leftovers.

Defrosted some frozen lasagne sheets to make pappardelle for dinner.

Filled a water bottle and carried it with me while out running errands today.

More cold-wash, line-drying. (I can't believe how much washing I've done these Christmas holidays. Between travelling, having guests, having people over for NYE... thank goodness for hot, dry weather.)

Business as usual tomorrow. Back to work...

[Luckyvik]

Stayed at home all day and had a no spend day. Thoroughly enjoyed it.


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[Linea_Norway]

Yesterday: walked to the local shop (in total 5 km) for a some food that fitted into my backpack. Didn't spend anything extra.

[HappierAtHome]

As well as my normal things, today I steered a social event in a more frugal direction by offering to cook dinner for it, and I picked up a nappy bag from my Buy Nothing group. That group is saving me a bundle on baby stuff!

[YoungGranny]

I biked to work today for the first time ever. I know it's a super small thing but I'm so fricken happy about it.

[Matt (Semper Fi)]

I biked to work today for the first time ever. I know it's a super small thing but I'm so fricken happy about it.

Nice work, Granny!  Keep it up!

[1967mama]

*Cooked all morning: 2 pans of buns, a 9x13 of cinnamon buns and 2 cookie sheets of granola.

*Drinking weird tea from my stash - not buying any till it's all gone

*Bought a 25lb bag of oat flakes for cheap

*Looked for an alternate recipe online when one of my ingredients was off. Dinner crisis averted!

[mustachepungoeshere]

*Cooked all morning: 2 pans of buns, a 9x13 of cinnamon buns and 2 cookie sheets of granola.

*Drinking weird tea from my stash - not buying any till it's all gone

*Bought a 25lb bag of oat flakes for cheap

*Looked for an alternate recipe online when one of my ingredients was off. Dinner crisis averted!

First day back at work, I feel like I've done nothing productive all day, and I am just in awe of your buns!

Well... you know what I mean. :D

[I'm a red panda]

Didn't put the trash out today. That saves a few bucks.  We rarely need to put it out weekly, I'm so glad we figured out we could pay by the week instead of using the yearly stickers!

[frugalfelicia]

Picked up a few books and movies at the library. One of the books is on apartment gardening!

Took the seeds from a squash I was cooking, dried them out, and going to save to plant next year if I get a community gardening plot.

Sold some stuff online, yay.

Used a gift card I got for Christmas to see the new Star Wars movie.

Walked to/from getting groceries (tuna 99 cents, butter 2.88, eggs 1.88)

[merlin7676]

Put an extra $25 into my index fund, $30 extra into my savings account, and up my 401K by 1%.

[1967mama]

*Cooked all morning: 2 pans of buns, a 9x13 of cinnamon buns and 2 cookie sheets of granola.

*Drinking weird tea from my stash - not buying any till it's all gone

*Bought a 25lb bag of oat flakes for cheap

*Looked for an alternate recipe online when one of my ingredients was off. Dinner crisis averted!

First day back at work, I feel like I've done nothing productive all day, and I am just in awe of your buns!

Well... you know what I mean. :D

Yeah I know what you mean (wink). It was a very productive day, yes, but I don't work outside the home. I should be working hard, not eating bonbons and watching tv all day. Haha!

[Bracken_Joy]

Went for a walk in the snow.

Continuing to kill the fridge leftovers. Sausage and eggs for lunch, with a side of brussel sprouts. Did more soup and charcuterie for dinner last night.

Added an item to my amazon wish list, and will let it sit at least until February before we decide to buy it. (An alarm for our chest freezer).

Packing christmas lights wrapped around pieces of cardboard. This is frugal because I remember a couple years growing up where lights were so tangled, my parents bought new ones just to avoid untangling them. =o I don't want to repeat that pattern!

[Toffeemama]

Made mayo and bread, saving a trip to the store.  Today I'm loading up my trunk for one big donation to Goodwill, decluttering the house and getting it all dropped off in one go next time I'm running errands.

[Kitsune]

Husband took Toddler to the used-goods store to find a hockey helmet (she's young enough that there's no hockey collisions to worry about for helmet damage, so used is a good option). Savings: 50$.

My kid has my sense of balance, though. Which is to say: good luck teaching her how to balance on skates, and yay helmets!

[lemanfan]

I normally eat out quite a lot, at least many lunches and a couple of dinners a week.  Trying to keep January a resturant-free month.  I like cooking, and this forces me to try some new things. :)

[andreamac]

I had a bunch of prepaid visa gift cards with only a dollar or two on them remaining. Went and added loaded them to Amazon so I wouldn't forget about them. 11 bucks gained that normally would of gotten lost. Had second no spend day in a row and hope to keep the ball rolling.

[PMG]

I've been working on refreshing my wardrobe on a tight budget. My need for nice but comfortable shoes was getting desperate. This morning I was looking at leather loafers online but just couldn't pull the trigger. This afternoon when I dropped off some things at goodwill I found two brand new pairs!  Born brand and bed:stu. I'd never heard of the second brand but the leather feels so nice and they are so well made I wasn't surprised to find similar new shoes above $100. It feels like such a splurge to get two new pairs at once. They will last for years and the 3.99 price can't be beat!

I got home from three weeks of travel last night and didn't have any food to take to work today, so I let myself be hungry for a couple hours until I fixed some pasta and spinach when I got home.  This evening I sorted the past prime veggies in the fridge and made a big batch of ginger garlic stir fry. Im going to be able to avoid grocery shopping for a week or two.

[1967mama]

I got through my whole Mustachian to do list today!

*Made 5 loaves of whole wheat bread for the freezer

*Made a huge vegetable beef stew for dinner with 4lb of stew beef from my freezer

*Organized kids sports gear and clothing for upcoming activities - wanted to do well in advance to give myself time to borrow from friends or find at thrift stores and not have to pay full price at the last minute.  Turns out we have verything we need! Yay!

*Completed and mailed health care reimbursement forms

*Drinking blueberry tea from my stash. It's not terrible! I'm trying to drink it all before I buy any new tea

*Decided to leave up our Christmas village on the mantle for another month. Now it's a winter village! It's very homey and cozy in my front room with this addition to the decor.

*Took a photo of my Mustachian to do list this morning on the forum - was super motivating to keep checking back since I'm a visual person

[pancakes]

My hospital appointment was running late and went longer than I expected. I was hungry by the time I got out and normally under those circumstances I'd buy some food on my way home. Instead I came straight home and made myself some lunch with things we already had.

I didn't end up eating too late and didn't spend $10 out. I also know to pack a snack next time.

[Metric Mouse]

Added an item to my amazon wish list, and will let it sit at least until February before we decide to buy it. (An alarm for our chest freezer).

Lots of freezer thefts in your neighborhood?  Or is that where you keep your valuables? An alarm would totally help me cut down on my 3 a.m. ice cream binges. :D

[Bracken_Joy]

Added an item to my amazon wish list, and will let it sit at least until February before we decide to buy it. (An alarm for our chest freezer).

Lots of freezer thefts in your neighborhood?  Or is that where you keep your valuables? An alarm would totally help me cut down on my 3 a.m. ice cream binges. :D

Hahaha. Nothing so exciting! It alarms if the temperature rises too much for too long, so you don't lose a freezer full of meat. We buy by the half cow and hunt and fish, so it would be a tragedy of epic proportions to lose a whole chest freezer worth. I can delay the purchase though because the freezer is in the garage and is honestly almost a warming box right now it's been so cold!