What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[Linea_Norway]

Walked to work today. Brought eat homemade lunch to work as usual. Hung out the laundry 2 days in a row.

[1967mama]

Made bean burritos out of long-forgotten frozen black beans from the freezer (it's from tammysrecipes.com and is a family favourite)

Made a huge huge of iced tea for kids and teens.

Used up buns and cold meat from a birthday dinner last night.

Made a delicious chicken and cranberry salad from budgetbytes.com (every recipe I've tried from there is delicious)

[Trifele]

Stayed home all weekend and burned no fuel.  Worked hard on various trees and plantings that will eventually supply us with more pears, cherries, figs, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries.

Thanks for the recipe websites, 1967Mama!  I will check those out.   

[Irishtache]

In UK & Ireland, we have a large supermarket chain called Tesco. They also provide credit cards with loyalty points which can be redeemed against several suppliers, energy, travel, leisure etc. Anyway, I have previously tried to channel as much spending as possible through the CC to generate points. I have accumulated several hundred € in vouchers. While looking at using them against a cruise - I know 'Hedonistic Adaptation'..facepunch!!, I realised that €63 worth would expire tomorrow! I have let this happen before and they have re-dated them but last time they made it clear they wouldn't do it again. So, I went online and ordered vouchers to use against my electricity utility company - €62.50 of points = €125 off next electricity bill! Great, now about that cruise...

[Erma]

I fixed a chair. There were several loose screws and one was missing. I had exactly one screw in the right size and form so no need to buy more screws.

[Rural]

Last night I sorted out the latest stash of first-class airline toiletry kits from my husband. The moisturiser comes to work with me to stay in my desk drawer. The razors, toothbrushes, deodorant, etc, goes into the cupboard with the rest of the inventory. The zombies could come and I will still smell amazing.

...and I woke up the cat laughing at this. He is unamused, but I'm still giggling.

[10dollarsatatime]

My occasional kombucha splurge started to get out of hand... $3 bottle every couple of months... fine.  $3 bottle more than once a week?  Bad.  So bad.

I decided that if I wanted it that badly, I needed to start making it myself, as once you get into it, it costs pennies/bottle.  I did have to spend $ on the supplies (gallon jars mostly, super cheap black tea, and a bottle of plain 'buch in so I can grow a scoby) but the cost of my kombucha habit will drop dramatically once I get things going. 

I got into water kefir much the same way... I needed a healthier, cheaper fizzy drink. :)

[Inaya]

My occasional kombucha splurge started to get out of hand... $3 bottle every couple of months... fine.  $3 bottle more than once a week?  Bad.  So bad.

I decided that if I wanted it that badly, I needed to start making it myself, as once you get into it, it costs pennies/bottle.  I did have to spend $ on the supplies (gallon jars mostly, super cheap black tea, and a bottle of plain 'buch in so I can grow a scoby) but the cost of my kombucha habit will drop dramatically once I get things going. 

I got into water kefir much the same way... I needed a healthier, cheaper fizzy drink. :)

That's how I started culturing my own milk kefir. Even though I buy fancy milk, it still costs way less to make it myself. Plus many of the commercial brands add tons of sugar, so I avoid that as well.

[1967mama]

10dollars!

I just did exactly the same thing for the exact same reason! Three days ago, my friend's daughter walked me through the process and I started my scoby growing on Sunday. The sugar is sitting at the bottom since it wouldn't really blend in well. Does that sound right to you? I'm worried it won't grow. I'm doing it in the store bought bottle ... wonder if I should switch to a mason jar? I was paying $3.66 a bottle. Too much! I tried some homemade at my friend's house that was black tea and one bag of ginger peach tea. It was just fabulous!!

[10dollarsatatime]

10dollars!

I just did exactly the same thing for the exact same reason! Three days ago, my friend's daughter walked me through the process and I started my scoby growing on Sunday. The sugar is sitting at the bottom since it wouldn't really blend in well. Does that sound right to you? I'm worried it won't grow. I'm doing it in the store bought bottle ... wonder if I should switch to a mason jar? I was paying $3.66 a bottle. Too much! I tried some homemade at my friend's house that was black tea and one bag of ginger peach tea. It was just fabulous!!

Honestly, I don't know yet!  All the instructions I've read for starting a scoby using storebought 'buch say to boil the water first to dissolve the sugar.  I'm growing my scoby in a wide mouth quart jar, but purchased gallon jars for the actual brewing process.  I've also read that it will take weeks for the scoby to develop.  So... I guess wait another week and see if anything is happening?  I was picky buying my bottle, and found one that looked to already have a baby scoby forming.  Hopefully that will help.  If I end up not being able to grow one, I can usually find them online for around $10 from other brewers who have extras.

[GermanStache]

Understood. It reminded me of the German folk remedy for coughs, which translates as "onion sugar syrup".

It does not just translate like this it is just that. Chopped Onion and honey. Let it sit and stir often. Really good for coughs.

[Juslookin]

I did not succumb to Memorial Day sales and buy fancy tea leaves for brewed iced tea.  I am growing mint in my garden to flavor my water instead.

[1967mama]

*had long-forgotten split pea soup from the deep freeze for lunch with buns from Saturday

*thawed a bag of mixed beans (done in crockpot and frozen months ago) and made a turkey chili for dinner. Will add last of Saturday's buns plus a salad to round out the meal.

*refroze small bag of split pea soup and will freeze a bag of turkey chili for two couples in our acquaintance who are expecting babies - I love to give a hamper of frozen food to new parents! I would have loved to receive that!

*made smoothies for a snack with ingredients on hand for the kids and I this afternoon. Especially happy to use up 2 black bananas (sshh! Don't tell the kids about the bananas!)

*used gas fireplace to take the edge off the cold today instead of firing up the radiant heat system

*listening to Dave Ramsey on computer while I'm working in kitchen

[horsepoor]

10dollars!

I just did exactly the same thing for the exact same reason! Three days ago, my friend's daughter walked me through the process and I started my scoby growing on Sunday. The sugar is sitting at the bottom since it wouldn't really blend in well. Does that sound right to you? I'm worried it won't grow. I'm doing it in the store bought bottle ... wonder if I should switch to a mason jar? I was paying $3.66 a bottle. Too much! I tried some homemade at my friend's house that was black tea and one bag of ginger peach tea. It was just fabulous!!

Honestly, I don't know yet!  All the instructions I've read for starting a scoby using storebought 'buch say to boil the water first to dissolve the sugar.  I'm growing my scoby in a wide mouth quart jar, but purchased gallon jars for the actual brewing process.  I've also read that it will take weeks for the scoby to develop.  So... I guess wait another week and see if anything is happening?  I was picky buying my bottle, and found one that looked to already have a baby scoby forming.  Hopefully that will help.  If I end up not being able to grow one, I can usually find them online for around $10 from other brewers who have extras.

If you want a SCOBY let me know.  I have tons with two 2-gallon continuous brew systems and a SCOBY hotel on top of the fridge.

It is worth it to get some decent loose tea.  My kombucha wasn't very good until I got through all my cheap bagged tea and bought some loose tea.  I find a 50/50 mix of green and black makes a nice brew.

1967, I'd send you one too if you weren't in Canada. ;)

[10dollarsatatime]

10dollars!

I just did exactly the same thing for the exact same reason! Three days ago, my friend's daughter walked me through the process and I started my scoby growing on Sunday. The sugar is sitting at the bottom since it wouldn't really blend in well. Does that sound right to you? I'm worried it won't grow. I'm doing it in the store bought bottle ... wonder if I should switch to a mason jar? I was paying $3.66 a bottle. Too much! I tried some homemade at my friend's house that was black tea and one bag of ginger peach tea. It was just fabulous!!

Honestly, I don't know yet!  All the instructions I've read for starting a scoby using storebought 'buch say to boil the water first to dissolve the sugar.  I'm growing my scoby in a wide mouth quart jar, but purchased gallon jars for the actual brewing process.  I've also read that it will take weeks for the scoby to develop.  So... I guess wait another week and see if anything is happening?  I was picky buying my bottle, and found one that looked to already have a baby scoby forming.  Hopefully that will help.  If I end up not being able to grow one, I can usually find them online for around $10 from other brewers who have extras.

If you want a SCOBY let me know.  I have tons with two 2-gallon continuous brew systems and a SCOBY hotel on top of the fridge.

It is worth it to get some decent loose tea.  My kombucha wasn't very good until I got through all my cheap bagged tea and bought some loose tea.  I find a 50/50 mix of green and black makes a nice brew.

1967, I'd send you one too if you weren't in Canada. ;)

Thank you for the offer!  If I can't grow one, I'll let you know!

[Kwill]

Spending my vacation with family and friends. Other than transportation, I haven't spent much​. It's been beautiful. Quality time with elderly family members and with my parents and siblings and one dear friend who can't travel because of her small children. My great aunt treated me to lunch and dinner out, but other than that, I haven't gotten more than a few small snacks or drinks out. No hotels, shopping limited to souvenirs for hosts and one pair of good shoes on clearance. Plus I got a claimed a hand-me-down sweater, leggings, and a dress from my sister.

[jengod]

Found my preferred brand of formula in the markdown section ($21 off each canister), so bought all four and should be set until close to when it's OK to switch her to whole milk.

Decluttered a shelf of the kids' books and sold an out-of-print reader on Amazon. The $12.05 profit transfers directly to an investment account.

[1967mama]

horsepoor, that is so kind of you to say!  Your reference to your SCOBY hotel cracked me up!

10dollars, after reading your post this morning (and some internetting) on this SCOBY growing project, I decided to restart mine in a jar. I shook it until the sugar dissolved and added another 1/2 a bottle of fresh kombucha. I also switched to a jar. Now the waiting begins!

[alewpanda]

Still on house updates for future sale...

Found a new hand towel "loop" for the bathroom.  The original was less than attractive, and this one was 1.00 with all its hardware.  Got it to the goodwill register, and it was half off that day :D

Made a list of possible cosmetic work and repair work that will need to be done on the house to prep it for sale.  A couple we have questions on, so we are making an appointment with the realtor soon to find out what we should do in the next 6-8 months to be ready for showing.

Husband found cheaper source for the wood needed to rebuild or dilapidated back deck.  It may cut our expenses to close to half compared to the estimate from the big box store!


Also: packed lunches, breakfasts, and coffee so far this week.

Found lots of sales at the grocery store yesterday, so I stocked up on several items and still came in within a normal budget range for the week.

[jordanread]

horsepoor, that is so kind of you to say!  Your reference to your SCOBY hotel cracked me up!

10dollars, after reading your post this morning (and some internetting) on this SCOBY growing project, I decided to restart mine in a jar. I shook it until the sugar dissolved and added another 1/2 a bottle of fresh kombucha. I also switched to a jar. Now the waiting begins!

I am really interested to hear how this goes for you. Our SCOBYs reproduce like mad!!

[engineermom21]

* Had spinach, bacon, and red peppers about to go bad, so made a batch of egg muffins with them.  Yay for no food waste!

* Really wanted to go wander around Goodwill at lunch, but I don't need anything right now, so stayed at work instead (I just love the thrill of the hunt!)

* Put hold requests on some new books at the library.  I can wait a few weeks to read them for free instead of buying them on Amazon.

[nouveauRiche]

Local grocery store has a monopoly game- winning tickets must be redeemed by tomorrow. I had a bunch unopened game pieces so I spent this morning opening and sorting. I did not wn a million dollars but I won 8 different food items- walked to grocery store and walked back.

We won a $25 Fandango gift card which we will use to take kids to the movies.

[Trifele]

Found a "5% off one shopping trip" coupon for our local grocery store that expires today.  Used it at the grocery store to save $2.50 on some things I was going to buy anyway. I rarely use coupons because they almost never are for things I want to buy.  But from now on I'm going to hunt for these "X% off everything" coupons, because it's free money. 

[Dollar Slice]

I faced down a lot of temptations today... and got lucky a few times.

Work happy hour with the boss out of town, figured we'd all be getting our own drinks. I just had one soft drink and it turned out the new guy has a company credit card! Expensed.

Went to a concert at a nice venue, which would normally be $30, but I bought one of the limited annual passes in January (they were a screaming deal) so I didn't have to pay anything. Had a glass of tap water instead of buying a drink at the bar.

Met up with family at a somewhat fancy restaurant (very fancy by MMM standards - $25-$30 entrees) after the concert - I'd planned to arrive after dinner and would just join for a drink or coffee, but I was earlier than I expected and the restaurant was slow, so the food arrived 60 seconds after I did. The portions were really big and they all insisted on sharing their dinners with me (and still didn't manage to finish their meals). Steak, pasta bolognese, roasted mushrooms, salad, etc. I ordered a glass of wine so the waitress wouldn't hate me, but my mom paid for it ("it's almost your birthday!").

Didn't take any taxis or rideshares, just used my already-paid-for subway pass. (I did ~28 flights of stairs in the subway today. On fucked-up foot joints. I *really* wanted to take a cab. I am currently icing both feet.)

So basically I did a fancy dinner, drinks, concert, etc. without having to ever pull out my wallet! Not sustainable or repeatable, of course, since you can't always assume other people will buy you drinks and give you food, but I'll take it as a win for tonight. ;-)

[Linea_Norway]

Yesterday I went to the yearly meeting about our privately owned road. I walk downhill to the meeting for 40 minutes and askes someone if I could get a a ride back uphill, as everybody lives on the same road anyway.
Ate a piece if leftover selfmade pizza before going there.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Completed a quick survey to earn 200 frequent flyer points.

[jengod]

* Harvested apricots, zucchini and onions from the garden.

* Used saved liquids as the "water" in our overnight oatmeal: pear juice strained from making pear sauce, apple juice strained from making applesauce, hot "rinse water" poured into cottage cheese and jelly jar jars and shaken around to get use of the last bits.

* Reusable mug $0.10 discount.

* Picked up some NIB Nordic Naturals Baby DHA shared through our Buy Nothing group. Savings $13.50.

[alewpanda]

DH has construction minded friends coming over to help him frame out the deck.  At 7:00 PM last night, I realized I had nothing to feed that many people for lunch.  I swung through the store for buns, tomato paste and fruit, and I took out 4 pounds of ground beef from the freezer.  This morning I cooked up the beef and its all simmering now in the crockpot for sloppy joes.  I'll serve grapes, chips, and brownies on the side.  Plus sweet tea and water.  DH offered to simply order pizza, but a) my grocery run was less costly than two large pizzas, and the sloppy joe will no doubt have leftovers afterwards, and b) we have around 9ish months to eat up the freezer contents and sell it off before moving.  Ground beef galore in there!

[frooglepoodle]

I'm doing batched baking this morning to minimize the amount of time the oven is on - less gas used for the oven and hopefully no need to run the AC to cool the kitchen back down. As a bonus, hamburger buns are sitting near the oven while the cookies bake to speed their second rise.

Bike ride with our toddler in the trailer this morning. Free family entertainment and good exercise to boot since our neighborhood is hilly.

[Bracken_Joy]

Yesterday, my brother was coming through town and wanted to grab lunch. Since his GF hasn't seen much of the town but HAS stayed at my house, we opted to go out. First time in a long time for us, which is money savings #1. We went to a ciderhouse first, where it turns out they were under construction, BUT they gave us free tasters of everything that had on tap. We bought a bottle of cider for later as a thanks. Then we went to a restaurant nearby. Coincided with happy hour, so husband and I ordered only off the happy hour menu, only had one drink apiece, and just had some appetizers. So saved money over ordering a full meal.

Later we went to a potluck, and the hummus and pita chips we brought didn't end up getting opened (pizza is a much bigger draw it turns out, haha). So we brought those back home with us and will take them camping next week.

Biggest savings, but also totally done for 'life enjoyment' reasons instead of frugal reasons- we're going camping for our anniversary trip. I'm lucky enough to live in a place with some of the most incredible natural beauty on earth. Husband is taking a week of vacation from work and we'll disappear into nature for a while. This is a huge contrast to my BIL, who's SO demands a different excursion for every anniversary, always at a nice hotel, etc. Their last trip to city+show+restaurants+bars+shopping had to have cost a minimum of $1k for the weekend. Our trip will be the cost of gas to the mountains (which admittedly in the truck isn't the cheapest thing ever, but we're talking like $20-50 haha).

[GoConfidently]

Cancelled my weekly lawn service and dusted off the old mower. Lazy me is sad. Frugal me is happy.

[I'm a red panda]

Borrowed a new baby carrier from the lending library instead of buying a different one.

Made suck pads for it instead of buying (and considering selling them on Etsy...)

[mustachepungoeshere]

Cold-washed my sheets, which are now drying on the line.

Made dinner for friends last night, pulled pork and salad, cheap and easy.

I thought about trimming husband's hair today but he was filming for work last week and this week, and a hair cut will mess up the continuity.

[Bracken_Joy]

Relatives in town, had them come over for dinner and board games instead of going out. Bought a growler fill, using a gift card. Minimal cost layout.

[Linea_Norway]

I put leather fat on my el cheapo hiking boots. The should increase the life span of the leather, that had already started to take some damage from use.
My DH is sewing himself a new replacement goretex coat.

[wordnerd]

Switched from expensive name brand coffee to generic coffee from my grocery store. It's not quite as good, but it's good enough.

[wordnerd]

I also had a friend over for dinner last night instead of going out. I made some tasty pasta and a pear cobbler and probably only spent a few bucks total for a dinner for two.

[CutTheFat]

Friday: I worked through lunch as usual, ate a Kirkland protein bar (Quest knock off) at my desk.  Was starving by the time I left work.  I came home and mad a latte to take the edge off.  DD2 had a big graduation dance so I didn't even have time for food.  She found an amazing dress a couple weeks ago at Goodwill for $6.99, after looking at a few retail stores and not finding anything that she was happy with.  She absolutely loved the dress that she ended up with!  DD1 did her makeup and I did her hair.  She looked stunning!  The big group of friends met up at one of her friends house for pictures.  We dropped them at the school and were headed home at 7, starving.  We were about to head to a restaurant because we were both so hungry, when I was the voice of reason and said lets just go home and throw something together instead.  DH was on board and together we made a fantastic salad with left over chicken on top and spaghetti with clam sauce.  Delicious and we were able to eat faster than if we went out and it saved us $$.  We have a big vacation coming up at the end of June which makes it easier to make these kinds of money saving decisions.

Saturday:  I cut DH's hair as I do every other week.  DD2 had Softball pictures, DH and other parents stood behind the photographer and took pics on their phones.  We aren't ordering pictures.  We went to Ocean State for Tomato cages because our tomatoes were getting too tall and some were toppling over.  We picked out some flowers for our window boxes. Also got some anchovies an capers and roasted peppers for a great price.  Then DD also had 2 games back to back yesterday out of town, right at dinner time.  So we ate leftovers right before we left for the games.  We said no thanks to the mom who made a Dunkin run.   We had our Contigo thermos's with us and although I was hungry I resisted.  We were hungry when we got home but it was late and nobody felt like making a meal and we were out of leftovers.   I just made popcorn which hit the spot.

Sunday :  Planted the window boxes before the rain came.  Trimmed the pup's nails and took her for a walk.  I'm making a fantastic meal today with a leg of lamb that I purchased for $1.99/lb.  I'm actually thinking of heading back to that market today as I have a couple store coupons that 'd like o use and I'm wanting to get more lamb if they are still having this deal!  Will do food prep for lunches for the week as well as some meal planning for dinners. 

[Alf91]

Cut my kid's hair instead of going to barber. (savings ~$15-20)

Walked to/from event this morning instead of taking transit. (savings ~$3)

Price matched four items at grocery store (savings $2.64)

Purchased sale items at grocery store (savings $6.57)

[jengod]

* Canned five pints of applesauce. Borrowed my mom's apple peeler gizmo to make quick work of the apples. Had all the ingredients and canning jars in our household stockpile, so the biggest costs were the gas to run the stove and the water for the water-bath canner. (Savings about $10)

* Sold a lot of Agatha Christie paperbacks I picked up at an estate sale. (Profit about $18.)

* Made waffles for breakfast using home eggs. (Savings about $0.50, depending on where you buy your eggs.) Made zucchini-goat cheese skillet with homegrown zukes. (Savings about $0.50)

[rdaneel0]

Worked out in the park (instead of a gym or fitness class). Made refried beans from dried beans. Line dried laundry. Bought affordable gift for father's day.

[Dicey]

It was my turn to person the Library's table at the Farmers Market.  I didn't want to bring a purse and I only had big bills, so I mooched a Hamilton from DH. Oh, it was torture! Italian heirloom tomatoes across the aisle and organic strawberries next to us. I waited until the last 10 minutes and got 50% more tomatoes and double the amount of strawberries I would have gotten had I not waited.

Dinner tonight: using up the last batch of taco meat, so I can get another batch going now that there's room in the freezer again.

[Thinkum]

Went to the beach instead of museum, saved anywhere from $8-16.

Parked a little up the street for free rather than pay at the meter. Saved another $1.25-3 or so.

[Gerard]

It's too early for any local produce here, and the imported stuff at the grocery store was expensive and sad-looking, so I harvested and ate weeds as the veg and fruit part of my supper! Japanese knotweed, dandelion greens, goutweed.

[Linea_Norway]

Brought along sandwiches, water and cola on a long drive, so we didn't need to eat out.
Tanked cheapest fuel along the way.

[1967mama]

This weekend I:
*cut hair of husband and son
*took kids to a beach
*made waffles at home - we drove by a waffle place on the way home from the beach!
*went to 2 year end wind up BBQ's - brought chips and homemade iced tea to one and a loaf of homemade bread to the other
*bought ingedients for son to make homemade sushi for the family
*held off on grocery shopping day to catch a huge sale where you earned extra points. Will go again in the last sale day, doing next week's groceries a few days early. This will earn me $60 to use at the store!

Today, so far I:
*made a 20 cup batch of granola
*made another large jug of iced tea

[alewpanda]

- packed lunches and coffees
- sold a desk on a buy/sell site
- listed unused yoga balls for sale
- making dinner out of leftovers from the weekend tonight
- the final season of a favorite show is out on netflix.  we signed up for one free month and plan to binge it all so we can cancel at the end of the free month...lol!
- found a small dog crate in the neighbor's trash as I was walking the dogs.  I don't need it -- nor would it be big enough for us -- but I spent 10 minutes spraying it down with cleaning and hosing it, and I listed it for 15.00 on the buy/sell site!
- bought white hand towels on clearance that I am stashing for staging the house this coming winter/spring

[Bird In Hand]

I bought a refurbished Ooma on Amazon and just switched from Vonage.  Even with Ooma's Premier service, we'll be paying ~$30/mo less than we were with Vonage.

[CutTheFat]

I was kinda lazy this weekend and didn't make lunches.  So instead of getting a salad from the pizza joint by work, I got up early this morning to put a Greek salad together.   Since I didn't have any leftover protein cooked I used a can of tuna and it was delicious!  I have this recipe in the instant pot right now https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-tuscan-bean-soup/     

[Alf91]

Walked to/from work instead of taking transit (savings 3.80)