What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[Linea_Norway]

As always nowadays I ate lunch brought from home today and will do for the rest of the week.

When in the car driving back from our mountain cabin, we often tend to eat at a pizza restaurant. Yesterday though, we brought along sandwiches, a half-eaten pack of cookies and a half finished bag of crisps. Also brought a bottle of water. So we saved eating out on the route.
We also fill up the petrol tank on Sunday evening, a very cheap day at Norwegian petrol stations. We waited until we found the cheapest station along the route. I used my new member card to get a reduction on the petrol price.

[Well Respected Man]

We had a family-oriented event yesterday that ended right before dinner time, but instead of caving to a shopportunity, I made a batch of crockpot chili using up the last of the ground beef from the freezer. This will also be tonight's dinner. Made cole slaw from $0.17/lb. St. Paddy's Day cabbage.

[Vicster]

I signed up for free audio books at library...just downloaded first one, brilliant after cancelling audible subscription other day that was costing £7 per month, this all free :) :) :)

Overdrive is the app - if you google it has ebooks etc from local libraries

[Tyson]

My car insurance company (Geico) offered me $20 off per month on our car insurance if we switched our home insurance to them, too.  So I switched and it turns out the new home insurance is $500 cheaper per year, too.  And better coverage.  Yay to shopping around!

[mustachepungoeshere]

My car insurance company (Geico) offered me $20 off per month on our car insurance if we switched our home insurance to them, too.  So I switched and it turns out the new home insurance is $500 cheaper per year, too.  And better coverage.  Yay to shopping around!

Awesome saving!

[BabyShark]

This was technically yesterday but the cashier and Wegman's forgot to scan my coupons so I waited three minutes in line at customer service to get my $7.20 back.  Not a huge win, but a win nonetheless!

[Bracken_Joy]

Rode my bike to the library even though I was *sure* it would rain. (I have waterproof panniers, the book would have been fine). Exercise, no car use, and it didn't rain after all!

[Tyson]

My car insurance company (Geico) offered me $20 off per month on our car insurance if we switched our home insurance to them, too.  So I switched and it turns out the new home insurance is $500 cheaper per year, too.  And better coverage.  Yay to shopping around!

Awesome saving!

Thanks! 

Also, I just finished with the tax appointment and we're getting about $3k back this year.  Going straight to our Roth IRA. 

Well, except for a small amount to put curtains in our basement.  Not a huge $$ but it will help with our energy bill because the basement is consistently the coldest room in our home.  So I guess I'm spending money now in order to save money in the future :-) 

[1967mama]

In the last few days I:

*cut four boys hair with our human hair clippers

*adult kids clipped our poodle's coat with our dog clippers

*made a child chili and homemade bread for company. Hearty and homemade meal was well received and sent home 1/2 a loaf of bread with them to enjoy the next day. Daughter made a triple batch of banana cake for dessert - two went into the deep freeze

*trying to be diligent in eating leftovers and also using up fresh produce

*green onions bought three weeks ago are still producing new shoots in a glass of water. Change water daily. This is like magic to me!

Edit: terrible autocorrect fixed!

[Dollar Slice]

I went above and beyond at work on Friday, Saturday and today to fix a work emergency, so my boss treated me to the caffeine of my choice in the morning and took me out for dinner and drinks after work. I'm really hoping we get a snow day tomorrow because I feel like I'm about to slip into a coma after working that hard and then having a big dinner with alcohol. But yay! Free food.

*made a child and homemade bread for company.

I've heard of a lot of different reasons to have kids, but making a child for company is a new one on me ;-)

[10dollarsatatime]

Saved myself and some random guy money...  Got rid of the tree in my back yard that had fallen over. Saved myself the compost fees, and saved random guy from buying firewood.

[PJ]

My car insurance company (Geico) offered me $20 off per month on our car insurance if we switched our home insurance to them, too.  So I switched and it turns out the new home insurance is $500 cheaper per year, too.  And better coverage.  Yay to shopping around!

Awesome saving!

Thanks! 

For anyone reading along who thinks this option isn't available to them too, because they are renters, listen up!

Living in Toronto, and especially as a relatively new driver when I first got my own insurance, my auto insurance was astronomical.  But when I added tenant's insurance (contents insurance, basically - which is very cheap) on with the same company, it got me a multi-policy discount.  In other words, I added a whole second policy, and my overall bill went down!  The cost savings on my car insurance outweighed the cost of my tenant's insurance.  So check into that, renters, if you haven't already set your insurance up this way.

*made a child and homemade bread for company. 

I've heard of a lot of different reasons to have kids, but making a child for company is a new one on me ;-) 

LOL!

[SingleMomDebt]

Bought a new front screen phone parts pkg ($75) to DIY fix instead of buying a used replacement phone ($300+).

Fixed my previous notepad this way too. And I gain new skills in the practice.

[1967mama]

I went above and beyond at work on Friday, Saturday and today to fix a work emergency, so my boss treated me to the caffeine of my choice in the morning and took me out for dinner and drinks after work. I'm really hoping we get a snow day tomorrow because I feel like I'm about to slip into a coma after working that hard and then having a big dinner with alcohol. But yay! Free food.

*made a child and homemade bread for company.

I've heard of a lot of different reasons to have kids, but making a child for company is a new one on me ;-)

Wow! Autocorrect fail! This was supposed to be a chili! bwahahahahha

[PJ]

I went above and beyond at work on Friday, Saturday and today to fix a work emergency, so my boss treated me to the caffeine of my choice in the morning and took me out for dinner and drinks after work. I'm really hoping we get a snow day tomorrow because I feel like I'm about to slip into a coma after working that hard and then having a big dinner with alcohol. But yay! Free food.

*made a child and homemade bread for company.

I've heard of a lot of different reasons to have kids, but making a child for company is a new one on me ;-)

Wow! Autocorrect fail! This was supposed to be a chili! bwahahahahha

I was wondering about cannibalism ... I mean, you've got a big family, right?  Who'd miss one or two?

[1967mama]

I went above and beyond at work on Friday, Saturday and today to fix a work emergency, so my boss treated me to the caffeine of my choice in the morning and took me out for dinner and drinks after work. I'm really hoping we get a snow day tomorrow because I feel like I'm about to slip into a coma after working that hard and then having a big dinner with alcohol. But yay! Free food.

*made a child and homemade bread for company.

I've heard of a lot of different reasons to have kids, but making a child for company is a new one on me ;-)

Wow! Autocorrect fail! This was supposed to be a chili! bwahahahahha

I was wondering about cannibalism ... I mean, you've got a big family, right?  Who'd miss one or two?

Oh my gosh, I'm killing myself laughing here! Oh dear!

[PJ]

I went above and beyond at work on Friday, Saturday and today to fix a work emergency, so my boss treated me to the caffeine of my choice in the morning and took me out for dinner and drinks after work. I'm really hoping we get a snow day tomorrow because I feel like I'm about to slip into a coma after working that hard and then having a big dinner with alcohol. But yay! Free food.

*made a child and homemade bread for company.

I've heard of a lot of different reasons to have kids, but making a child for company is a new one on me ;-)

Wow! Autocorrect fail! This was supposed to be a chili! bwahahahahha

I was wondering about cannibalism ... I mean, you've got a big family, right?  Who'd miss one or two?

Oh my gosh, I'm killing myself laughing here! Oh dear! 

Does that mean someone else will serve you up for dinner tomorrow night?  ;-)

[HappierAtHome]

Rode my bike to the library even though I was *sure* it would rain. (I have waterproof panniers, the book would have been fine). Exercise, no car use, and it didn't rain after all!

I am so happy and pleased for you that you're getting good use out of the bike!! :D

[Linea_Norway]

I wrote down what outside lights we have on the car garage. Those are lights that go on automatically when it gets dark. My husband doesn't want to turn them off completely, as there are no street lights in the neighbourhood. By they are currently using 46W each. I have found similar LED lights online that only use 4W. The LED lights are now on the shopping list and waiting for a combined trip to the cheapest store that sells them.

[4alpacas]

I went above and beyond at work on Friday, Saturday and today to fix a work emergency, so my boss treated me to the caffeine of my choice in the morning and took me out for dinner and drinks after work. I'm really hoping we get a snow day tomorrow because I feel like I'm about to slip into a coma after working that hard and then having a big dinner with alcohol. But yay! Free food.

*made a child and homemade bread for company.

I've heard of a lot of different reasons to have kids, but making a child for company is a new one on me ;-)

Wow! Autocorrect fail! This was supposed to be a chili! bwahahahahha

I was wondering about cannibalism ... I mean, you've got a big family, right?  Who'd miss one or two?

Oh my gosh, I'm killing myself laughing here! Oh dear! 

Does that mean someone else will serve you up for dinner tomorrow night?  ;-)

You're both ridiculous!  And I love it!

Today I packed my lunch with a bunch of food that I bulk cooked over the weekend. 

I also have been reading books from the library instead of buying used on Amazon.  This is HUGE for me because I read a lot.  I kept thinking, "it's only $4-$5."  However, it was adding up to about $20/month, and I only read the books once anyway.

I'm drinking leftover tea.  I tossed it in the fridge on Sunday, so I'm drinking it iced instead of hot.  Luckily the weather here has really warmed up (80 yesterday), so the iced tea is perfect. 

[PJ]

I went above and beyond at work on Friday, Saturday and today to fix a work emergency, so my boss treated me to the caffeine of my choice in the morning and took me out for dinner and drinks after work. I'm really hoping we get a snow day tomorrow because I feel like I'm about to slip into a coma after working that hard and then having a big dinner with alcohol. But yay! Free food.

*made a child and homemade bread for company.

I've heard of a lot of different reasons to have kids, but making a child for company is a new one on me ;-)

Wow! Autocorrect fail! This was supposed to be a chili! bwahahahahha

I was wondering about cannibalism ... I mean, you've got a big family, right?  Who'd miss one or two?

Oh my gosh, I'm killing myself laughing here! Oh dear! 

Does that mean someone else will serve you up for dinner tomorrow night?  ;-)

You're both ridiculous!  And I love it!

[alewpanda]

Brought lunch, and in the process of cooking dinner/packing lunches yesterday, I got dinner for last night, lunches for today, and most of the needed food for tomorrow's lunches made too.

Drinking water from my water bottle and coffee from my thermos.

Windshield got a chip in it while on the highway yesterday.  Our local glass place put it in a few months ago, and with each replacement you get one free chip repair.  I'm hoping this one will be repairable! 

Saved a touch of electricity by dropping the temp an extra degree yesterday, not using the space heater like we sometimes do, and simply reading/nintendo switch playing in bed under the covers for the evening...

Got up late this morning.  Sent a package of oatmeal with the husband for his breakfast instead of him stopping for coffee and a donut.

Electric company came to mark trees for trimming/cutting down in our neighborhood.  Bad news: previous owners managed to plant nearly all the trees in the backyard directly under the lines, and they are all tall growers.  Good news: several were needing taken down anyway due to storm damage/blight, so now they will be taken down for free.  Also, while most of our backyard trees will be chopped down, we will be given vouchers for new ones that we can choose and position wherever on our property.  I'm hoping to use them more for privacy/sun protection, rather than simply replanting shorter trees under the lines again......

[Linea_Norway]

Electric company came to mark trees for trimming/cutting down in our neighborhood.  Bad news: previous owners managed to plant nearly all the trees in the backyard directly under the lines, and they are all tall growers.  Good news: several were needing taken down anyway due to storm damage/blight, so now they will be taken down for free.  Also, while most of our backyard trees will be chopped down, we will be given vouchers for new ones that we can choose and position wherever on our property.  I'm hoping to use them more for privacy/sun protection, rather than simply replanting shorter trees under the lines again......

Do you have a stove or a fire place? Then you can cut the cut down trees and use them as fuel.

[Tyson]

My nephew is visiting for the week because he loves to ski.  We're saving money by having a friend give him lessons and going to the 'cheap' mountain (Loveland) instead of the expensive mountain (Vail and most others). 

Oh, and he loves tacos so we made tacos at home with the flat bottom hard shells that stand up on their own.  Way cheaper than going out and he enjoyed the heck out of them. 

[tc_traveler86]

Well, pantry-anarchy continues- No spend day because we are snowed in! 
Given that most of my kitchen is packed, and I have started giving away staples food options today are.... eclectic.
Really, really, really hope it stops snowing soon as our Ubox is supposed to be shipped out tomorrow :(  At least this has forced me to really clean the current place.  Seems silly since we are already loosing the security deposit (we are breaking the lease to move cross country, but the landlord won't charge us for the months we aren't living there), but the landlord is a solid guy, so scrub away I will.

[Poundwise]

The big accomplishment of the week was replacing my Macbook display, which cracked when I tripped over the power cord. It was still sort of usable, but extremely annoying to have a 4 inch spider web shaped black area at the top, plus flickering lines running all across and down the screen.  Getting it fixed at a local store would have been something like $650, but I ordered a used display online for $200 which looks like new.  I had some setbacks installing it, as I didn't have the right size Pentalobe screwdriver (but found a tiny flathead which worked in most of the screws) and then one screw wouldn't come out so I had to go to the Apple Store where they "loosened" it for me as a courtesy... but I had to pay $3 for mall parking.

Then I had to find a window of time where my kids wouldn't disturb me while I took my laptop apart. But thanks to iFixit's excellent instructions, I now have crystal clear window to the world again!

This is amazing! Broken electronic devices scare the heck out of me, but I will have to try iFixit the next time something breaks.

Thanks!! It really was not too hard, but you do need some fine motor control. If you are just starting out with electronics, it might be a good idea to get exactly the equipment they specify.  I was too cheap to pay $3 for a plastic "spudger" in this case, so I used a part of a plastic toy that seemed it would do the trick; plus I was too impatient to buy a Pentalobe screwdriver... but if I had to do it over again (never, knock on wood!) I would spring for the right screwdriver instead of trying to improvise.

I've been moaning about my broken fridge here for weeks or months, and today I saved on a repairman by finally installing a new thermostat.  It took less than 30 minutes, and it works!! Little did the person who lovingly gave me an Amazon Echo, know that with the return credit, I would buy used refrigerator parts.  I don't buy tech-- I AM tech!  (beating chest)

[jengod]

Made six more servings of baby food.

Saved $20 by buying a converter cable instead of replacement earbuds for my phone.

[1967mama]

alewpanda:Can you choose fruit trees with your tree vouchers? That would be amazing!

Today I:

*Made a curry with leftover BBQ pork loin (no children were harmed in the making of this dinner!)

*Made a double loaf of french bread from refrigerator dough and started another batch of dough on the counter

*Returned library materials on time and also had a book come in that I put on hold months ago

*Sat in the car and waited for husband to get xray rather than paying for parking and going in with him. Ran library errand while I waited too.

*Watched a library movie with kids for a fun spring break night - It was "The Secret Life of Pets" and its pretty funny, actually.

(***now carefully proofing my contribution before hitting Post***)

[LindseyC]

My parents are snowbirds and are gone from Ontario to Florida for about three months every year. I tried out Viber this year to talk to them over my WiFi and it had been working quite well. In total it cost me approximately $11 to talk to them every third day for about an hour. The bonus of using Viber, is it allows me to have a very low budget phone plan, which saves me significantly more throughout the year. I'm glad I tried it out.

I logged in and got my free samples from Sample Source yesterday. This service always saves me a bit because I use the small toiletries when I go car camping. I also usually get some pretty good coupons that I can either use, or giveaway to friends if I don't use the specific product. Then there are just some great samples that are treats, like chocolate!!

[Linea_Norway]

Our double bed has been falling apart twice recently. The supporting leg under the middle of the bed sometimes loosens and then the supporting beam comes down. Not nice when you want to sleep.
I measured the height of the support leg and put a log of almost the same size under it as a backup support. This weekend my husband will make a better fitting solution with some wood that we have in the garage. Then we don't need to buy a new bed. It is over 20 years old now.

[Metric Mouse]

Bought a couple ammo cases on sale from my favorite supplier. Saved huge money buying in bulk on sale.

[I'm a red panda]

Requested baby socks on Buy Nothing group. 
Ended up with 3 bags (from different people) of toddler socks, but I can hang onto them until I need them.


I have to say though, our Buy Nothing group moderator is driving me crazy. She's decided we should have theme days. So every day she posts a theme and then asks all day long for people to post things with that theme. Do other groups do that?  I don't care if it is pet supply day or bedding day.  If people have things to offer, they will offer them. If people need things, they will ask for them.  Why are we trying to meet themes?  Is this like a declutter challenge of hers?  And daily? (As opposed to weekly...)- she's going to run out of ideas!

[alewpanda]

alewpanda:Can you choose fruit trees with your tree vouchers? That would be amazing!

Today I:

*Made a curry with leftover BBQ pork loin (no children were harmed in the making of this dinner!)

*Made a double loaf of french bread from refrigerator dough and started another batch of dough on the counter

*Returned library materials on time and also had a book come in that I put on hold months ago

*Sat in the car and waited for husband to get xray rather than paying for parking and going in with him. Ran library errand while I waited too.

*Watched a library movie with kids for a fun spring break night - It was "The Secret Life of Pets" and its pretty funny, actually.

(***now carefully proofing my contribution before hitting Post***)

I was given some paperwork on the tree options, and at least one booklet has mention of a crab apple tree, although I've never eaten crab apples....

But, the booklets only included the trees that both nurseries have to offer towards the voucher.  I'm getting our voucher for the larger of the nurseries, which the electric company lady told me has more options that shown in the booklet.  So, maybe! 

Although I will need to make sure the fruit is dog safe I guess.... or plant it outside of my fence...lol.

[Poundwise]

Crabapples can still be useful!  Not only do they have lovely flowers, but you can make jelly with the crabapples, and also they are excellent pollinators for eating apples, which usually require planting another tree of a different variety nearby, or they will not set fruit.

See one of my current favorite gardening books:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grow-a-little-fruit-tree-ann-ralph/1120698048?ean=9781612120546

[1967mama]

*Sbux gc I received allowed me to surprise my daughter with a London Fog at work today.

*Dropped off some stuff for my friend at her mom's house - she lives an hour from me but her mom is 10 minutes and I was over there picking up my son

*Got a chicken going in the crockpot - not sure what to have with it yet but got this part going so that we have a cooked protein to work with at 5:00 tonite.

*Giving away a basketball hoop we were given. We have two now. Not frugal but feels nice to share the love!

*Cutting up fruit for snacks for my crew this afternoon

[Step37]

Crabapples can still be useful!  Not only do they have lovely flowers, but you can make jelly with the crabapples, and also they are excellent pollinators for eating apples, which usually require planting another tree of a different variety nearby, or they will not set fruit.

See one of my current favorite gardening books:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grow-a-little-fruit-tree-ann-ralph/1120698048?ean=9781612120546

We made lots of crabapple sauce last fall (with the hand-crank sauce maker that takes out the seeds and skin after the apples are softened) and it's delicious! It's a beautiful bright red colour and quite tart, but can of course be sweetened. Sadly running out of frozen supplies already so planning to make more next year. We also make jelly with the crabapples, which is yummy, but I find the sauce more useful. Mix with yogurt, use in baking, add sugar and eat for dessert...

[nessness]

I accidentally saved $12 yesterday  by forgetting my wallet when I went to get my oil changed yesterday. I get discounted oil changes at the dealership where I bought my car, and when I got to my appointment and told the guy I'd forgotten my wallet he agreed to waive the cost. Having a newborn baby with me probably helped. Not having my wallet also eliminated the temptation to get something from the vending machine.

I made chickpea curry in the crockpot yesterday and have enough leftover for today, so that's another win!

[4alpacas]

Drinking free tea at the office!  Usually, I make my own, but I'm giving the free tea bags a whirl.
Ate leftover rice for breakfast. 
Packed my lunch with remnants from our kitchen.
Went for a walk with a friend this morning instead of going to a spin class (I do love spin.  The classes are just ridiculously expensive.)

[Inaya]

Trying to not buy groceries (except produce and milk and oats) until most of the food in the kitchen is used up.

[Erma]

We fixed our bed. The frame was distorted and the grid? was at an angle. That was very uncomfortable to sleep. A lot of screws and three metallic things fixed the problem

[Rural]

Husband replaced a leaking fuel line in his truck, no small undertaking since he had to drop the tank.

[horsepoor]

Well, I tried to replace the bathtub faucet.  The diverter is toast, so I can't shower.  The first faucet didn't fit because the pipe has an adapter totally corroded onto it.  Returned the first one and tried another one today, and promptly broke it trying to get it to fit the adapter.  So $30 almost literally down the drain.  I want to gut this bathroom and put in a walk-in shower within the next year, so I'm just going to find a rubber plug to plug the pipe and it will be a shower only until I'm ready to remodel.  All in all, cheaper than having a plumber out, despite the wasted part.

Ate home-canned soup for lunch and made a cheap rice-based dinner with ingredients we're trying to eat down.  DH forgot to stop and get salad on the way home, so inadvertent bit of savings there.

Shopped around a bit online today while one a conference call and found the summer breeches I wanted for almost $25 less, and got my riding gloves cheaper from the same site as well.  Total saved, about $60.

[Linea_Norway]

Tja, yesterday we went to a concert and ate out in the main city. The small tribute I made was walking 2 km down our steep road to the train station, so that we in the evening could drive back uphill with my DH's car.
We did not buy any drinks in the concert hall where it is super overpriced. We were of course not allowed to bring own drinks. We also had standing tickets instead of seats. And as it was a goodbye concert from a Norwegian group, they had lots of other famous Norwegian artists as guests, singing there own songs in German (singing in German that is the point of this group). Good value for money therefore.

[Linea_Norway]

Today we washed our 2 racing bikes and an extra pair of wheels really well. Tomorrow we will photograph them and put them out for sale. Good to get some money for bikes we don't use anymore. And it will reduce the number of bikes in the house from 7 to 5.

[PJ]

Today we washed our 2 racing bikes and an extra pair of wheels really well. Tomorrow we will photograph them and put them out for sale. Good to get some money for bikes we don't use anymore. And it will reduce the number of bikes in the house from 7 to 5. 

Well done, Linda_Norway.  I know that as you look ahead to retirement, you've been pondering around downsizing and storage of all your outdoor equipment.  Reducing the amount of stuff you have now, to only those things that you're actually using/going to use, will help you get a much better picture of how much room you actually need for storage.

[Linea_Norway]

My husband installed the second half of the new breakes on the car. He installed the first half in autumn, but the second half didn't fit yet. Now it does hopefully. He is now about to drive off the steep hill and find out. ;-)

[snapperdude]

He is now about to drive off the steep hill and find out. ;-)

I hope that means something else in Norway than it does here.

[Linea_Norway]

He is now about to drive off the steep hill and find out. ;-)

I hope that means something else in Norway than it does here.

I have no idea about any other than literal meaning of these words. I mean them literal.
Our house is at the top of a hill with only steep roads down. Not any good quality roads, but roads nevertheless. The breaks worked fine.

[snapperdude]

He is now about to drive off the steep hill and find out. ;-)

I hope that means something else in Norway than it does here.

I have no idea about any other than literal meaning of these words. I mean them literal.
Our house is at the top of a hill with only steep roads down. Not any good quality roads, but roads nevertheless. The breaks worked fine.

I was talking about "down the hill" versus "off the hill".

[jordanread]

I bought a cheap hose reel, since I ruined cheap hoses regularly. I paid something like $15 for. Well, as is the case with cheap things, the seam started leaking over the past couple days, and getting worse. So I pulled it out, through some caulk I had on the seam, wrapped it in plumber's tape I had, and wrapped that with duct tape I had. It's working great now! No leaking water.