What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[frooglepoodle]

Prepping freezer-to-crockpot meals today. I'm pregnant and tired but don't want to be eating frozen pizza every night of the week.

One of the recipes calls for cream of mushroom soup so I'm starting by making a batch of condensed cream of mushroom soup instead of using canned. Because I got the mushrooms and cream on manager's special and used homemade chicken broth, it comes out a bit cheaper than canned too in addition to being free of preservatives.

We bought a reel lawnmower. There were none left aat Lowe's except for the one on display, so we got that one for half price.

[Dollar Slice]

Stocking up on convenience foods before my surgery... whatever non-perishable or not-quickly-perishable stuff I can get to save myself trips to the store later. Used a $50 off $100 coupon (plus a few $1 off per item coupons) for my first Freshdirect delivery. I don't even know where I'm going to put all that food in this tiny apartment. :-P

[Jaayse]

I'm living in a hotel right now while transitioning for my job, and I did my laundry tonight.  Instead of doing a second dryer session for the items that were damp after the first go around, I took them back to my room and hung them up to dry.   It only saved .50 but every little bit counts!

[Jaayse]

Double post... Sorry!

[martyconlonontherun]

Had a large canvas painting we had from vacation that needed to be framed. I shuttered at the thought of going to an art dealer to frame it so went to Goodwill and found the world's ugliest stitched piece of art and embarrassingly bought it. Took it home; ripped out the art so only the wooden frame remained and staple gunned my stretched canvas to it. Ready to be hung.

[Imma]

Our grocery store has big discounts on pantry staples this week. We stocked up on staples (only the ones we actually use of course) then found out the discount wasn't applied to one brand of products. I was already nearly out of the store but I went back to customer services and was refunded €2,50. My s/o nearly died of shame. We carefully plan the purchase of these staples so we only have to buy them on discount, so I want to make sure we actually get that discount.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Similar to Imma, our grocery store had a huge sale on pantry staples (organic tomato sauce, in a 32 oz jar, only basic ingredients) for $.57/each. I stocked up. Plus, a stock up on Kraft Mac & Cheese (yes, I know, the health!), for the kids, but $.27/box because it was a Star Wars edition. The kids will be thrilled. Also, $.57 for a really high end organic pesto. I can't make it for that cheap. I grow my own basil, but the rest of the ingredients are pricey. Some organic jams for $.57, and parmesan cheese for $.27. It was crazy. Will go back tomorrow, as I didn't want to empty the shelves.

Did get overcharged by $3.59, so will need to go back for a price adjustment. That's what I get for not watching the register closely.

[Gone_Hiking]

The offspring broke his arm.  DH's first instinct was to take the kid to emergency room.  I suggested urgent care instead; the fracture was not open and the kid did not seem to be in imminent danger.  I called a couple of places, found one that took our insurance and had an x-ray machine, and within 10 minutes we were there.  The copay was a quarter of what a copay for emergency room would be, we walked out after an hour with the arm in a sling, the x-rays on a DVD, and a referral to specialist for arm resetting and cast.  This being Saturday evening, the urgent care nurse even contacted the specialist and arranged for an appointment on Monday.   A couple of phone calls saved us money, time, and a lot of misery that would be awaiting us had we gone to the emergency room.

[Goldielocks]

Going to go buy more cheap canning grade tomatoes and make even more salsa today. My goal is to put up enough for the year. Given how much we eat mexican, this is a LOT of salsa. Like, a pint a week of red and green each. I'm about 1/3-1/2 the way there for red, 1/4 the way there for green. =o

Question -- do you slip skins off the tomatoes prior to salsa?   I am thinking about trying a batch, even though I need to buy tomatoes, but hesitate if I need to skin them...

[Bracken_Joy]

Going to go buy more cheap canning grade tomatoes and make even more salsa today. My goal is to put up enough for the year. Given how much we eat mexican, this is a LOT of salsa. Like, a pint a week of red and green each. I'm about 1/3-1/2 the way there for red, 1/4 the way there for green. =o

Question -- do you slip skins off the tomatoes prior to salsa?   I am thinking about trying a batch, even though I need to buy tomatoes, but hesitate if I need to skin them...

Yep. Core and peel. For large batches, the boiling water/ice water system is the only one that is time efficient. And it's much easier with 2 people. I set a large pot with boiling water on one side, then a bowl of ice water (mainly ice, a little bit of water- it melts quickly) on the other. Drop them (cored with an X cut in the bottom) in the boiling water, and wait until the skin shrivels or splits- about 20-30 second for slicers, or ~30-35 seconds for paste tomatoes. Pull them out with a slotted spoon and drop them in the ice water, 1-2 minutes. Then it passes to the second person to peel the skins off. To do 25lbs took us probably 2 hours to core and peel.

There are oven ways you can peel them, but that handles WAY smaller batches than a gigantic produce box full, haha.

[Imma]

We moved the computer / tv / playstation corner from one end of the living room to the other end. Boyfriend is a tech geek and always wants to connect everything asap. He was already halfway out of the door to run to the store to buy 4 new 10 meter ethernet cables when I figured we could also buy an ethernet switch (at the price of 2 10-m cables) and connect that with a few short ethernet cables we had lying around. €20 saved!

[Kwill]

Used an old US gift card for coffee at UK Starbucks. I'd heard that was possible but never tried it before. Didn't save money in an absolute sense, but it was nice to have the coffee seem free.

Almost ordered kitty cat wall decals from Amazon.com for my niece, but the shipping was going to be around $6 or $7 -- as much or more than the cost of the stickers, depending on which ones I'd gotten. I checked Walmart.com and found something similar for slightly less and with free shipping or slightly faster shipping for $0.99.

[FrugalAussie]

Made rice crispy treats instead of buying them prepackaged.  Wow you get a lot of treats for $3!

My problem is I then want to eat them all, NOW!

I had similar success (only used half quantities) when I made Onion Bhajias, using this recipe http://scrumpdillyicious.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/madhur-jaffreys-onion-bhajias.html
Total cost estimated at about $1 for 15 small ones.  SO asked me to bring out the emergency stash of chips, it's a joke as I can't be trusted with chips. My response, "you don't need chips when you can have onion bhajias". They turned out very well and only took about 15 minutes to make.  I had all ingredients on hand, some from the garden (curry leaf and coriander), as we are going on a long weekend holiday with some other people soon and I've volunteered to cook us an Indian dinner so I wanted to trial the recipe. Offering to cook a meal is a strategy to keep us out of the pricey restaurants for at least one night. Even cooking for six (a vegie curry with rice, poppadoms, home made lime pickle and onion bhajis) with everyone drinking their own booze, we will easily save ourselves $100 as eating out where we are going is super expensive.

[Kwill]

I made dinner from the freezer and cupboard again, and I used up some old carrots that looked pretty bad until they were trimmed and scraped. There is enough left for lunch tomorrow plus extra rice for a few more meals.

[Bracken_Joy]

Was VERY tempted when I went to ikea last weekend to get some wood slat storage boxes for my pantry. Decided, since I know we're going back up next week, to wait and measure and decide before getting any. Spent the day reorganizing my pantry. Looks like I'll only need 1 or 2, even I even opt to get them. Had I guessed, I would have bought 4.

Calling tomato canning season at: 37 pints red salsa and 18 pints diced tomatoes. Tomatillo salsa canning will take another few batches, I'm only at 17 pints and we go through a ton of it. Hoping this lowers our grocery bill in the next year- salsa was one of the 'constantly on the list' items that meant I ended up at the grocery store frequently.

Cooled off, so I opened up the house and put flannel sheets on the bed. Here's to hoping the weather cooperates and I can be sans climate control for the rest of the month!

[chasingthegoodlife]

Boiled a few eggs (laid by our own chickens) while eating breakfast for a cheap  work lunch.

Worked out a meal plan to use all our perishable food and as much as we can from the veggie garden  before we go away.

Comparison shopped travel insurance - saved $50.

[chasingthegoodlife]

Boiled a few eggs (laid by our own chickens) while eating breakfast for a cheap  work lunch.

Worked out a meal plan to use all our perishable food and as much as we can from the veggie garden  before we go away.

Comparison shopped travel insurance - saved $50.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Realized my husband's HSA from an old employer was charging him $1.50/month for paper statements. Went online & remedied that. Also, finally admitted that we're paying $4.99 in fees/month (no longer with the employer), and it is in fact worth it to swap the money over to existing employer HSA. Haven't sucked it up enough to do the paperwork for the latter change, however. In the meantime, saving that $1.50! :-)

[FrugalAussie]

Calling tomato canning season at: 37 pints red salsa and 18 pints diced tomatoes.

WOW! Can I have your recipe for red salsa please? We are just coming into tomato season in the southern hemisphere.  Ta.

[Bracken_Joy]

Calling tomato canning season at: 37 pints red salsa and 18 pints diced tomatoes.

WOW! Can I have your recipe for red salsa please? We are just coming into tomato season in the southern hemisphere.  Ta.

Gladly! I've been using one of Oregon's extension service canning recipes =)
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fch/sites/default/files/documents/pnw_395_salsarecipesforcanning.pdf

The first ~9 pints were slicer tomatoes, so I used the slicer tomato recipe. The rest have been paste, and I've used the paste tomato recipe =)

For tomatillos, I use this recipe: https://www.freshpreserving.com/tomatillo-salsa---ball-fresh-preserving-br1032.html

[twistedfirestarter]

Pleased I finally have something to share on here.

Taking a flight, made sandwiches to avoid buying food at the airport.
Before I left I ran down the items in the fridge to avoid waste.
Made 14 portions of carrot and coriander soup and 8 jars of tomato sauce from veg in the garden.

[Linea_Norway]

I had to travel to the main city today for an exam. I combined that with a trip to the embassy to order a new passport. I set one stop on the tram without ticket (not well done, but buying a whole ticket for one stop is so expensive), walked the rest of the route to the embassy and later walked back to the train station, where I bought a new ticket home. I walked through a long, fancy shopping street, full of temptations for other people: nice clothes, handbags, bakery stores, coffee shops and café-s. I didn't buy anything, but a box of C-vitamins that I needed. Not even a cake to celebrate that I passed the exam.

What am I glad for that I don't work in the city anymore and see these temptations on a daily basis. In the past I have many times been addicted to buying candies on my way home, at the train station. That is of course not good for my health and body weight. Today I was not tempted.

[peppermint]

Packed lunch, took the bus to work, made my own coffee and tea.

[Thinkum]

Walked a couple of miles to run errands rather than to use the car.

Ate lunch at home before we left so we would not be tempted to eat while out and about.

[Sun Hat]

I installed a few pieces of baseboard molding that had been missing since a reno over a year ago. It would have been difficult/$$ to get a carpenter to come out for a job that would have taken them 10 minutes, so I did it myself. Two hours, many scrapped pieces and a bloody thumb later, I have complete trim!

[Teachstache]

Invited my dad over for a birthday dinner tonight instead of taking him out to eat. Made chicken jambalaya using previously purchased ingredients and the Crock-Pot. Had a gifted bottle of red along with it. Ate outside on our patio.

[marielle]

Technically hasn't saved me money yet, but will in the future. I just got back my oil analysis for my car, and they suggested I could do an interval of 8k miles. I had being already doing 5k despite the manual suggesting 3k (I knew this was bullshit but didn't want to push it too much).

Also today I brought extra food to work so I wouldn't order food at league tonight (pool) which can go pretty late. This was a very bad spend month thanks to moving earlier than I planned because of my asshole landlord and a vet visit.

[4alpacas]

Free breakfast from the food giveaway table at work (fruit this morning!)

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Price matched flights and noticed they had dropped. Requested & received a credit of $52 for future travel.
-Remembered to use a Groupon for a restaurant before it expired. Sidenote - remembered why the four of us (2 adults, 2 kids) never go out to eat. Crazy expensive. Curbed my appetite for future dining out.

[Bracken_Joy]

-Used up a tea I got over 2 years ago. Slowly but surely, getting through our tea collection! Set myself a goal over a year ago that I wouldn't buy any more herbal teas until I used everything we already had. Well on my way!

-Husband needs a headset since he's been on so. many. work. calls. We had a $20 one in our amazon cart, but searching around the house yielded an old headphone set with a speaker that came with his phone last year. Sounds great. $20 saved!

-Sticking to a meal plan this week and using food we already had or came from the garden.

-Switched for a heavier blanket on the bed. No climate control either direction for the last week =)

[marielle]

-Used up a tea I got over 2 years ago. Slowly but surely, getting through our tea collection! Set myself a goal over a year ago that I wouldn't buy any more herbal teas until I used everything we already had. Well on my way!

I need to do this. Any tips? The only thing I can think of is making a bunch at once and just having iced tea in the fridge. But my roommate is moving in soon so that might be valuable fridge space I need. I don't have a kettle so right now it's a matter of getting up at work and microwaving a cup at a time. Doesn't make sense to buy an electric kettle when I technically have a viable alternative but I guess I could add it to the christmas list when the future in-laws demand to buy me something.

[4alpacas]

-Used up a tea I got over 2 years ago. Slowly but surely, getting through our tea collection! Set myself a goal over a year ago that I wouldn't buy any more herbal teas until I used everything we already had. Well on my way!

I need to do this. Any tips? The only thing I can think of is making a bunch at once and just having iced tea in the fridge. But my roommate is moving in soon so that might be valuable fridge space I need. I don't have a kettle so right now it's a matter of getting up at work and microwaving a cup at a time. Doesn't make sense to buy an electric kettle when I technically have a viable alternative but I guess I could add it to the christmas list when the future in-laws demand to buy me something.

I like to make big batches of tea in a pot on the stove.  Boil water, add tea (bags or loose), then empty into tea receptacles (I like to use mason jars to have individual servings).  I also make my own tea blends when I do big batches.  I'll toss in a pomegranate sample tea bag with a bunch of Earl Grey. 

[marion10]

You don't need a kettle to make tea- boil water in a saucepan.

[marielle]

You don't need a kettle to make tea- boil water in a saucepan.

Of course, but since I spend most of my waking hours at work an electric kettle would be nice! The tiny microwaves do the job, but it's not convenient so I make tea less often.

[Bracken_Joy]

You don't need a kettle to make tea- boil water in a saucepan.

Of course, but since I spend most of my waking hours at work an electric kettle would be nice! The tiny microwaves do the job, but it's not convenient so I make tea less often.

I have no tips on that front- when I'm at work, tea isn't happening generally (nurse). At home, I use our kettle.

For black and green tea, we do iced tea pretty often, and go through those quickly. (No coffee after noon, but tea is okay). Herbal tea I tend to do hot, in the evenings. Part of why I go through it so slowly. It's for when I'm wanting to feel indulgent but non alcoholic in the evening =)

[marion10]

Ahh...that makes sense. Tea in a microwave never tastes as good to me- tough call.

[marielle]

There are some pretty decent kettles you can get for around $20 on amazon. I turned my entire office into them when I started here and my coworkers got some cheap ones that work great. I've found it a great investment to get me to drink more water during the day.

Yeah, there's even one for $13, but I'm just being cheap. September was a very bad spend month. I think I'll put it on my christmas list.

Does drinking tea count as drinking water? I guess if it's herbal tea...

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Moved money from a very, very low interest account to a municipal bond, which is now tax advantaged.
-Found a dime on the ground
-Favorite thing I've done lately . . . at soccer this weekend, saw something buried in the dirt, behind where the parents sit. It was a really dirty sweater that had fallen off of someone's chair quite a while ago, gotten left behind, & then walked over until it was ground in the dirt. I felt bad that it would go to the trash, so decided to take it home, throw it in the wash, & donate it to Goodwill. Ran it through the wash 2x, and it's perfect! It's a Banana Republic cardigan in my size, and I'm wearing it today.

[Kwill]

Put the cheesecake back (on sale for £2.50) and bought a slice of walnut cake (£1.30) instead. I was sad to let go of the cheesecake, but I know the walnut cake will last me just as long because the pieces are more filling. Cholesterol is also a factor. Sitting here now drinking some decaf tea with milk, having just finished a piece of cake, and I am almost convinced I am as happy as if I'd had the cheesecake.

Other than that, just doing the bike thing. I've now been without a car for almost 20 months.

[Alfred J Quack]

Picked up a nearly new washer because my SIL is moving in with her BF. Then posted an ad with the old one for free on the condition that they take the new one upstairs and the old one downstairs themselves.
Free movers who get payed with something they needed :)

[FrugalAussie]

Gladly! I've been using one of Oregon's extension service canning recipes =)
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fch/sites/default/files/documents/pnw_395_salsarecipesforcanning.pdf

Thanks Braken_Joy, AWESOME resource!

[Bracken_Joy]

-Woo! I noticed my traditional IRA had juuuuuuuuust inched above the $10k mark, so I converted to admiral funds! From a 0.15 expense ratio to 0.04. I didn't think that would happen until next year with more contributions, I was seriously over by like $2!

-Jumped through the hoops of submitting paperwork to get paid for a long drive for work. They make it SO ANNOYING, I imagine so people don't submit the bonus form >.< Anyway, a frustrating 5-10 minutes for $25. (Well, okay, 2 hours driving for $25 also I suppose)

-Helping relatives save money =) Guest room will host people the next few nights. Although this will mean I'll turn on the heat, sigh. I had planned on going the rest of the month without! Flex my 'frugal badass' muscles when it's still sunny a little bit most days.

Gladly! I've been using one of Oregon's extension service canning recipes =)
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fch/sites/default/files/documents/pnw_395_salsarecipesforcanning.pdf

Thanks Braken_Joy, AWESOME resource!

You're welcome! I'll be curious how it turns out for you. Their recipes are always spot on for me, but then, I'm using very similar produce to them! Same soils and probably same varieties and all =) I'll be interested to see if it turns out well with non-Oregon use.

[horsepoor]

-Helping relatives save money =) Guest room will host people the next few nights. Although this will mean I'll turn on the heat, sigh. I had planned on going the rest of the month without! Flex my 'frugal badass' muscles when it's still sunny a little bit most days.

I'm afraid I'll have to turn on the heat today too. DH and I don't care when it's 60 in the house, but my dad's visiting this weekend and he's skinny and prefers Florida weather.  This is about the shortest period I can remember between turning off the AC and turning on the heat. :(

Savings - scrounged up some random bits for lunch instead of choosing to go out for lunch.  Almonds, 1/2 cup of chili and a jar of peaches is sort of a weird lunch, but I'll appreciate the fancy seared ahi we're having for dinner that much more.

Returning a soft side cooler I ordered from Amazon that was bigger than I expected. 

Made peace with not enrolling in an equine anatomy course.  Will do it another year since I already traveled to World Cup and also attended a biomechanics class this year.

[Bracken_Joy]

-Helping relatives save money =) Guest room will host people the next few nights. Although this will mean I'll turn on the heat, sigh. I had planned on going the rest of the month without! Flex my 'frugal badass' muscles when it's still sunny a little bit most days.

I'm afraid I'll have to turn on the heat today too. DH and I don't care when it's 60 in the house, but my dad's visiting this weekend and he's skinny and prefers Florida weather.  This is about the shortest period I can remember between turning off the AC and turning on the heat. :(

I swear we keep identical climate control schedules! Windows opened vs not included, haha. And yep, I've got californians coming! I don't think my current habit of opening up overnight and waking up to a 62F house would make them happy ;) haha.

I'll try to minimize the use though, by closing up now, using the oven for lunch, doing some laundry, etc, and see where I can get the house from that before I turn it on.

[fluffmuffin]

Two things I'm proud of today:
1. I walked to work! It's not feasible to do every day, but I'd like to be better about doing it when I can.
2. Cracked a full month without having the AC on. It's mostly due to an unseasonably cool August (August in VA is not usually bearable without AC, no matter how much of a badass you are) but my BF has sucked it up a few hotter days to help make this happen.

[Imma]

-Helping relatives save money =) Guest room will host people the next few nights. Although this will mean I'll turn on the heat, sigh. I had planned on going the rest of the month without! Flex my 'frugal badass' muscles when it's still sunny a little bit most days.

I'm afraid I'll have to turn on the heat today too. DH and I don't care when it's 60 in the house, but my dad's visiting this weekend and he's skinny and prefers Florida weather.  This is about the shortest period I can remember between turning off the AC and turning on the heat. :(

I swear we keep identical climate control schedules! Windows opened vs not included, haha. And yep, I've got californians coming! I don't think my current habit of opening up overnight and waking up to a 62F house would make them happy ;) haha.

I'll try to minimize the use though, by closing up now, using the oven for lunch, doing some laundry, etc, and see where I can get the house from that before I turn it on.

Haha, that's about my normal winter indoor temperature ;-) . But I'm in a cool climate so we're used to it, and both my s/o grew up in badly heated homes. We also find dressing for the cold is much more effective than turning the heat up. We keep moving during the day, when we sit down at night we put on a sweater and use a blanket if necessary.

[Bracken_Joy]

-Helping relatives save money =) Guest room will host people the next few nights. Although this will mean I'll turn on the heat, sigh. I had planned on going the rest of the month without! Flex my 'frugal badass' muscles when it's still sunny a little bit most days.

I'm afraid I'll have to turn on the heat today too. DH and I don't care when it's 60 in the house, but my dad's visiting this weekend and he's skinny and prefers Florida weather.  This is about the shortest period I can remember between turning off the AC and turning on the heat. :(

I swear we keep identical climate control schedules! Windows opened vs not included, haha. And yep, I've got californians coming! I don't think my current habit of opening up overnight and waking up to a 62F house would make them happy ;) haha.

I'll try to minimize the use though, by closing up now, using the oven for lunch, doing some laundry, etc, and see where I can get the house from that before I turn it on.

Haha, that's about my normal winter indoor temperature ;-) . But I'm in a cool climate so we're used to it, and both my s/o grew up in badly heated homes. We also find dressing for the cold is much more effective than turning the heat up. We keep moving during the day, when we sit down at night we put on a sweater and use a blanket if necessary.

I'm not going to tell my guests just to get up and walk around though. For me, that crosses from frugal to cheap. Keeping the house cold for me and my husband? Frugal. Making my guests miserable to save $0.15? Cheap.

[horsepoor]

I'm not going to tell my guests just to get up and walk around though. For me, that crosses from frugal to cheap. Keeping the house cold for me and my husband? Frugal. Making my guests miserable to save $0.15? Cheap.

Agreed.  It was 59 indoors when I got home at noon, and I'm not sure it's going to break 50 outside.  I cranked the thermostat to 65 for my dear old dad; it's the least I can do considering he you know, helped put me on this earth and get through college and whatnot.  I suppose instead of ahi tuna steaks and fancy beer, I should feed him ramen and PBR too.

Usually 62 is where we keep the thermostat in the winter, and find it pretty comfortable.  DH l was keeping it in the high 50's while I was on detail last winter. 

[jordanread]

I'm not going to tell my guests just to get up and walk around though. For me, that crosses from frugal to cheap. Keeping the house cold for me and my husband? Frugal. Making my guests miserable to save $0.15? Cheap.

Agreed.  It was 59 indoors when I got home at noon, and I'm not sure it's going to break 50 outside.  I cranked the thermostat to 65 for my dear old dad; it's the least I can do considering he you know, helped put me on this earth and get through college and whatnot.  I suppose instead of ahi tuna steaks and fancy beer, I should feed him ramen and PBR too.

Usually 62 is where we keep the thermostat in the winter, and find it pretty comfortable.  DH l was keeping it in the high 50's while I was on detail last winter.

Holy crap!! I just figured out a fundamental thing that results in some differences. I read these comments and immediately thought "My guests are way better than yours". Honestly though, I think you are probably more considerate people than I am. I mean, it's no secret I'm a jerk, but the thought of adjusting the thermostat for a guest never even occurred to me. I mean, they are guests...Come winter, if the house is over 55°, I think something is wrong. Come spring, fall, or summer, when the house is over 60°, I wish I had central air. :)

[Thinkum]

More of the same...taking a lunch with us as we walked a few miles RT to run some errands, rather than using the car.