Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 7468931 times)

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10100 on: November 25, 2017, 10:22:04 PM »
Speaking of salads... I bought stuff to make a bunch of salads this week and I forgot to buy walnuts, which I like to put in this particular salad. I had 10 minutes to kill today and there happened to be a grocery store a block away, so I popped in to see if they had a good price on walnuts. They were an OK price (for Manhattan) so I picked up one of the 1 lb bags. And then it rang up for $7 less than the price tag. Awwww, yeah! The cheapest walnuts I ever bought. I think it makes them taste even better.

Sunnysof

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10101 on: November 25, 2017, 11:22:29 PM »
Visited our local toy library to borrow toys and have some fun. We decorated a beautiful Christmas tree there, so the kids fulfilled their wish to decorate a tree, without having to buy one. (We do have a smaller one but it's very quick to decorate, so not as much fun to put up).
We also went to a repair cafe for the first time where I got my pants mended for free. It was so cool and frugal! People fixing small appliances, sewing, furniture repair...I'd love to be able to offer a repair skill but can't think of one. Maybe I could polish shoes?
Also baked bread for the first time in a long while. Need to cut down costs on my current bread consumption.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10102 on: November 26, 2017, 04:11:54 AM »
Agreed with DH that we both just bought a new tool each (iPad and DIY packraft material) and therefore don`t need to give eachother another Christmas present.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10103 on: November 26, 2017, 05:45:51 AM »
-ordered holiday cards from Vistaprint for a mere $50 for 250 2-sided postcards (go to marketing materials --> postcards --> small postcards if you want to do this too) - they arrived today and look amazing, I'm so pleased.  Best of all no need for envelopes and we can use cheaper postcard postage for our list of about 150 ppl (had to get 250 bc choice was btw 100 or 250).  (In past years I've spent as much as $400-500 just on the cards/envelopes alone...worthy of major face punching)

Came to this thread to say I resisted buying holiday cards even though I love them, and then I saw your post. Now, I'm getting 50 postcards for $11 (rather than 25 cards for $40 on another site). So, counterintuitively, this thread ended up costing me money, but I'm pretty excited about it. Thanks for the tip!

Sorrynotsorry for derailing your resolve :)  I felt the same way - I had made up my mind to give them up because not worth the $$, but I just didn't realize I could get them for so cheap.  I really enjoy giving and receiving paper cards so I'm chalking this one up to spending money on things we truly value, which is consistent with Mustachianism, right? ;-)

I like sending and receiving card as well, but I only send about 25 cards now. Most people don't really like them anymore and I don't send cards to people I know will throw them away five minutes after they get them. The majority of my cards go to elderly relatives now. My fiance think it's a bit silly to send a card to a great aunt or uncle you're not really close to and only see once a year at a family gathering, but I know they will be so happy receiving them. A great uncle actually told me once that he sends birthday and christmas cards to everyone in the entire family and his wife's family (must be hundreds of cards every year.....)  and that I'm the only one in the youngest generation who always sends one back. This small, €2 and 5 minute gesture on my side makes this old man's day.

I try to make cards myself for the people I know will appreciate them (elderly people and crafty friends) and I try to buy some kind of charity card for the other people.

Botany Bae

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10104 on: November 26, 2017, 09:14:12 AM »
Thanks to this forum, I decided to check out our libraries movie selection when I was online reserving some books. It had been about 5 years since we checked out a movie, and back then the selection was awful (mainly kids cartoons and really old documentaries) and you couldn't reserve movies. They've updated both movies and hold policy! I got on the hold lists for many new releases from the past 1.5 years we've wanted to see but have never showed up on Netflix. They'll be trickling in every couple days over the holidays -- perfect cold weather family entertainment!

We also cut costs on our weekly date night. Dinner out and pub afterward to the tune of at least $50. Instead, we ate fancy tofu wraps and coffee at a local natural foods deli that has live music on Saturdays ($10) and then came home for drinks and several loud and rousing games of darts (about $5 for the half six pack of fancy microbrews. The other half is for next Saturday). I even threw together a bar snack tray from some nice cheese, olives, and pretzels that were already in the house.

Much fun, we made plans to host similar nights with slightly better food at home for friends once a month to scratch the "get out, drink, and socialize itch."

Entertainment  is our biggest family money leak, so these two discoveries/plans are huge!

Mrs Hen

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10105 on: November 26, 2017, 01:08:35 PM »
In the last few days:

We used a discount railcard to get train tickets for a visit to the in-laws. 

While on the train (saving fuel, depreciation and stress), I crocheted a string bag using a load of string I found in a box.

Resisted the call of the restaurants near us and ate out of the freezer.

Spent nothing on Black Friday. Took advantage of a free delivery offer on Saturday to order a couple of Xmas gifts.

Made it to 3 weeks without smoking.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10106 on: November 26, 2017, 01:19:26 PM »
I'm prepared for facepunches, so here goes. . . When I travel internationally for work, I hire someone to clean the house the week I'm gone. It reduces stress for my husband, and saves me from coming back, insanely jet lagged, to a messy house. However, I spent the weekend deep cleaning the house, and it's clear I'm not getting my money's worth. So, texted our cleaning lady today to cancel the service. Will find other ways to work around this when I'm traveling, but it will also be just sucking it up more. Now that I'm starting off with a super clean base, I feel like I can stay on top of it more. Which is good, since I have a trip coming up on Saturday.

And, Dicey - yes, raw sprouts! He's a crazy man with the vegetables. I've never tried the riced cauliflower. We usually buy it at the produce stand, as we can get it for under $2. I love the Costco salads - particularly the kale one. My family makes it for holidays, etc, but my husband is a purist. No dressing, no nuts, no dried fruits. For the "dressing", it's lemon juice, a tiny dash of olive oil, & salt & pepper. (I tracked our grocery shopping, by category, for a year, and we spend 47% of our healthy budget on produce. I guess that's good?)

Goldielocks

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10107 on: November 26, 2017, 02:48:28 PM »
I'm prepared for facepunches, so here goes. . . When I travel internationally for work, I hire someone to clean the house the week I'm gone. It reduces stress for my husband, and saves me from coming back, insanely jet lagged, to a messy house. However, I spent the weekend deep cleaning the house, and it's clear I'm not getting my money's worth. So, texted our cleaning lady today to cancel the service. Will find other ways to work around this when I'm traveling, but it will also be just sucking it up more. Now that I'm starting off with a super clean base, I feel like I can stay on top of it more. Which is good, since I have a trip coming up on Saturday.


First, your DH should be paying for the cleaning when you are out of town, even if you arrange it yourself.
   
We had joint everything and I was sole income when I started to pay for housecleaning help, and I had the same issue you did.  (And I would have loved to have DH do it or pay for it, but the money was "ours").   Getting help was an excuse for my DH to do even less, not me, then when I went to set up the spare room for company, and straightening up a few areas, I realized how NOT clean the cleaning service was.  Good bye service.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10108 on: November 26, 2017, 02:57:39 PM »
I'm on the other side of this debate. My fiance is away from home very often, and while I normally do most of the domestic chores on my own (it's only the 2 of us and we don't own a large home) he pays for a cleaner when I am working overtime. She and I usually clean together, so I know she's doing a good job and we're always done very quickly.

Even if we'd pay the cleaner together it'd still be value for money, because she works faster than I do and I earn more per hour than she does, but I think it's the right thing for him to pay for the service. He's the one not being able to do his part of the chores. Just because I'm home a bit more than he is, doesn't mean I should spend all my time at home doing domestic work. My mother and MIL are shocked by this point of view, but thank god we're not living in the 1950s anymore.

Botany Bae

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10109 on: November 26, 2017, 03:54:53 PM »


Made it to 3 weeks without smoking.

This is amazing, great job! I wouldn't consider it a small thing to save money, but a huge momentous thing that makes every part of your life better ;)

I quit just shy of three years ago, so I speak from experience when I say you are awesome!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10110 on: November 26, 2017, 03:58:42 PM »
I'm prepared for facepunches, so here goes. . . When I travel internationally for work, I hire someone to clean the house the week I'm gone. It reduces stress for my husband, and saves me from coming back, insanely jet lagged, to a messy house. However, I spent the weekend deep cleaning the house, and it's clear I'm not getting my money's worth. So, texted our cleaning lady today to cancel the service. Will find other ways to work around this when I'm traveling, but it will also be just sucking it up more. Now that I'm starting off with a super clean base, I feel like I can stay on top of it more. Which is good, since I have a trip coming up on Saturday.


First, your DH should be paying for the cleaning when you are out of town, even if you arrange it yourself.
   
We had joint everything and I was sole income when I started to pay for housecleaning help, and I had the same issue you did.  (And I would have loved to have DH do it or pay for it, but the money was "ours").   Getting help was an excuse for my DH to do even less, not me, then when I went to set up the spare room for company, and straightening up a few areas, I realized how NOT clean the cleaning service was.  Good bye service.

My husband does a tremendous amount around the house, so the cleaning service doesn't really have an impact on that. And, we have shared expenses, so the money is coming out of the joint account either way.

But yes, super clear to me after really digging in this weekend that the cleaning service wasn't adding enough value to justify it.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10111 on: November 26, 2017, 04:01:43 PM »
I'm on the other side of this debate. My fiance is away from home very often, and while I normally do most of the domestic chores on my own (it's only the 2 of us and we don't own a large home) he pays for a cleaner when I am working overtime. She and I usually clean together, so I know she's doing a good job and we're always done very quickly.

Even if we'd pay the cleaner together it'd still be value for money, because she works faster than I do and I earn more per hour than she does, but I think it's the right thing for him to pay for the service. He's the one not being able to do his part of the chores. Just because I'm home a bit more than he is, doesn't mean I should spend all my time at home doing domestic work. My mother and MIL are shocked by this point of view, but thank god we're not living in the 1950s anymore.

We both travel, but I'm gone longer (international vs domestic) & have a slightly different division of chores. When I'm home, I handle most of the inside, standard chores (laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc). My husband has a ton of his own chores, and is constantly working on the house (we have a fixer upper), handles all of the yard work, the pool maintenance, etc. When I'm gone, he picks up all of the stuff that can't wait (laundry, cooking, kid transportation, homework, etc), but doesn't get to all of it. The workload is quite full with two of us, but things have to give when one of us is gone.

Mele

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10112 on: November 26, 2017, 07:35:10 PM »
My crazy goal is to get through December on $100 groceries.  (We have a well-stocked pantry, so this should be totally feasible). 

Today I walked to the store (1 mile) with bouncy 7 year old.  Bought macaroni noodles and fulfilled husband's request for pumpkin cookies (he likes Albertsons better than mine, BOO).

Then I made a yummy dinner of leftover ham, green beans, and butternut squash mac and cheese.

The pasta dish was so delicious!  And it had some awesome ingredients:

--I added 1/4 cups of the cheese from the leftover grated cheese packets a guest ordered with pizza a few days ago.  Saved 1/4 cup of 'real' cheese
--Butternut squash was from my garden
--raw milk from new fresh milk source, super cheap!
--Sauteed onions came from a jar of caramelized onions I made last summer when, while traveling on the freeway, I stopped to pick up 12 stray onions (we live in onion country for sure).  This yielded several jars of rich, delicious carmelized onions that I can occasionally add to a dish and which give it a yummy depth.  For free!

Botany Bae

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10113 on: November 26, 2017, 09:06:24 PM »
Mele: That butternut squash mac n cheese sounds intriguing! I have an extra one on the counter right now, hmm....

Stuck around the house today, hiding from the cold and rain. DW ventured outside between rain showers to fix a piece of flashing the wind tore off the eaves on the back of the house. I busted out the sewing machine and mended younger son's holey jeans, two towels that were starting to fray, and a busted seam on a cushion cover. I also made a pen quiver from supplies I had to hold a couple of pens to the cover of my planner, thus successfully satisfying my urge to buy the expensive quiver I saw online.

horsepoor

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10114 on: November 26, 2017, 09:38:09 PM »
Dug up and transplanted volunteer strawberry plants.  I'm hoping they'll work as a ground cover between the asparagus.

Also planted shallots.  WholePaycheck had giant red shallots when I went before Thanksgiving, so I selected some of the smallest ones to see if they'll sprout and grow. 

Picked a homegrown cabbage and threw the outer leaves to the chickens.  We'll have slaw instead of salad one night this week.

Also, not sure what we did differently, but our power bill was about $10 less than usual this month.

ETA:  how could I forget that I canned 20 pints of turkey stock?  I always do this and we ran out several weeks ago and bought some of the organic stuff in cartons at CostCo.  Forgot how horrid and salty it is, and that a $2 quart of stock really drives up the price of a pot of soup. 
« Last Edit: November 27, 2017, 07:20:42 AM by horsepoor »

kaypinkHH

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10115 on: November 27, 2017, 06:50:12 AM »
Thursday: Celebrated American Thanksgiving with friends at Swiss Chalet, found a black friday coupon to save me and Mr.HH monies on a "night out".
 
Friday: Spent 1 hour+ on black friday at the mall, but only to haggle for a new cellphone plan. There are no cheap phone plan options here, but Mr.HH and I have hacked the system to get 2 "plans" for a total of $70. Normal plans here are $70 each minimum. Muhahaha. The kiosk girl was impressed with our skills.

Mrs Hen

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10116 on: November 27, 2017, 09:27:28 AM »


Made it to 3 weeks without smoking.

This is amazing, great job! I wouldn't consider it a small thing to save money, but a huge momentous thing that makes every part of your life better ;)

I quit just shy of three years ago, so I speak from experience when I say you are awesome!
Thanks!

All these things really add up. I thought I was pretty frugal already, but now I'm really thinking about how I spend, I've saved over £300 in November. AMAZING!

Today I did my weekly grocery shop, and it came to £8.01.  For the WEEK. Should have bought a smaller apple to get it under £8.00

Also downloaded a free pattern for another string bag.  Guess what people are getting for Xmas.

Set up electronic payments so that money goes into savings accounts on 1st December

frooglepoodle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10117 on: November 27, 2017, 02:05:25 PM »
I've been deleting all the Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday emails that have been flooding my inbox without opening them. I'm sure some of them would save me money on things that I may end up buying eventually, but I'll save more money by not buying things I don't need. :-)

I've cut my caffeine intake way back, largely by drinking half-caff coffee. Mixing the unremarkable $2.99/can decaf grounds from Aldi with nicer coffee still makes a pretty decent tasting cup of coffee and cuts the cost per cup as well.

Made a freezer inventory and meal planned for the next two weeks with an eye towards eating it down.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10118 on: November 27, 2017, 05:37:42 PM »
Same as usual:
-Ate free breakfast, lunch & snacks at work
-Charged our electric car for free at work
-Serving leftovers for dinner (turkey enchiladas, made from leftover Thanksgiving turkey, of course!)

Botany Bae

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10119 on: November 27, 2017, 09:44:17 PM »
- I only left the house to go to class. Packed my lunch, coffee and water to enjoy on campus between classes.

- Served a dinner of turkey noodle soup (made from the turkey carcass) and homemade rolls. I had leftover veggie loaf and butternut squash since I don't do meat :)

- Was seriously tempted to go out for coffee tonight, just to get out of the house. Put on my PJs, fired up my favorite (free) Spotify playlist, made some tea, and did some much needed studying instead.

- Remembered to rinse the sprouting seeds and to start soaking some chickpeas to roast. These are two of my favorite thrifty winter salad toppings!

Step37

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10120 on: November 27, 2017, 11:34:04 PM »
Canceled the sports channel/package now that the Canadian football season is over. This saves around $10 per month.

Gerard

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10121 on: November 28, 2017, 06:04:19 AM »
Canceled the sports channel/package now that the Canadian football season is over.

Based on the Grey Cup highlights I saw, you got a pretty good final game out of it.

Next year, CFL streams reddit!


Mrs Hen

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10122 on: November 28, 2017, 11:50:47 AM »
Reloaded gift cards for stores I use regularly using a workplace scheme which gives discounts.  £100 credit costs me £96.  Will try to remember to do this in the future.

Hung the washing on the airer to dry.  I'm not sure I should count this, as I don't own a drier!

Made stewed apples with sultanas and cinnamon last night, and had them on my porridge this morning.  Yummy!!!!!

Took lunch and dinner to work.

Botany Bae

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10123 on: November 28, 2017, 08:43:02 PM »
Today's main accomplishment: I made the best burritos I have ever made, and it was an accident!

There were three slices of veggie loaf leftover from Thanksgiving. It's mainly made of beans, chickpeas, and tofu, so I mashed it up with some leftover rice I puller from the freezer. Added a Hatch green chili, handful of cheese, and some Mexican spices. So delicious!

I can now mix up the veggie loaf ingredients (no need to bake it as a loaf) but season it for burritos, then freeze it in meal size portions for a very quick dinner. Love having easy freezer ideas!

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10124 on: November 28, 2017, 10:40:38 PM »
- Carpooled to work today
- Made a batch of kombucha

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10125 on: November 29, 2017, 05:27:17 AM »
In the last couple of days;
sold my barely used weight vest for $25. Didn't pay much more than that for it a few years ago. Was just taking up space.
Sold my 24kg iron kettlebell for $50. I think I paid $60 three years ago. I can't use it in my unit as I'm worried about the tile floors. I'll eventually get a rubber coated one but can work on other things for now (like, in the gym at work).

Got a store credit refund for a shower curtain rail at the hardwear store. $52.18. I worked out I can hang the curtain from ceiling hooks instead and it will be a better conformity to my odd shaped ceiling. Using this shower curtain (its not 100% neccessary) will only save a little water going on the floor, but will make a bigger difference in how much hot water I use through the mixer tap year round (as I'll feel warmer in the smaller space), and also reduce the amount I need to use the exhaust fan (which is right above the shower). Worth it long term.

Put a couple more small items on gumtree (Aus craigslist).

Got a free couch! It will do for a couple of years. Stopped me from spending $600 on the ideal Ikea couch I wanted, for now.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10126 on: November 29, 2017, 07:36:06 AM »
I feel like I'm on repeat, but here goes:
-Got a free book off of the "free" table at work. Will use for international flight next week
-Ate free breakfast, lunch & snacks at work yesterday
-Charged my laptop at work vs at home
-Made dinner out of leftovers
-Arranged for a carpool on Friday for the middle school dance for my son. Gas/time savings is great, but mostly because I'm usually almost asleep by the time it ends. I'm an early bird :-)

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10127 on: November 29, 2017, 07:47:01 AM »
DH walks home from work, and I usually meet him halfway. If I've been out running errands, I will drove up the hill to get him. Yesterday, I was about 12 minutes too early to pick him up, so I stopped at the new Goodwill near our home. I found a lovely dress coat. It was not his size, but it looked right. I put it back on the rack, and picked him up from work. He agreed to go right back to GW with me to try it on. It fit perfectly, so $12.99 got us a beautifully made wool dress coat for him that looks brand new. It's gonna look great with his (thrifted) tuxedo. Score!

Note - This new GW is much more expensive than other local thrifts, so I don't go there often. Lucky timimg!
« Last Edit: November 29, 2017, 09:26:29 PM by Dicey »

MoneyMouse

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10128 on: November 29, 2017, 08:42:32 AM »
This was yesterday, but I had a few impromptu meetings with my dad. We shared a coffee (which we got 50% off with a coupon) and after work we shared a drink special and a single little appetizer.

It was fun. It felt more special than if we'd gotten one of our own, each, and we saved money and calories. Our waitress kept asking if we wanted anything more - it was quite cute.

Mrs Hen

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10129 on: November 29, 2017, 01:25:09 PM »
Spent nothing.

Unplugged the clock/radio in the guest bedroom.

Took breakfast and lunch to work.  This is becoming a habit now.

Step37

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10130 on: November 29, 2017, 03:47:16 PM »
Booked a flight to Austria to see friends. However, my mom's desperate to find me a present for the holidays, so she offered to give me the flight as a present (it's a dirt cheap flight) :D

It's a pity it won't be a surprise present, but I told her explicitly I didn't want any stuff as I don't need anything, so I'm glad she wanted to do it like this.

The BEST kind of gift! Well done.

Botany Bae

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10131 on: November 29, 2017, 09:22:37 PM »
Trying to stay motivated!

-Assembled dinner from the pantry. Chucked a packet of dry spaghetti, half a block of cream cheese I found in the freezer, and some home canned tomato sauce from this summer together with a few veg to create an amazing creamy tomato pasta for dinner. One more day of avoiding the grocery store!

-Made a fresh batch of ginger ale and oat milk. Also started more sprouts so we have an ongoing supply of tender greens for salads.

-Asked my professor where I could order some supplies my kid needs for a science project. Prof "donated" them from his lab so no need for us to order them. (Minor things, like nutrient agar mix, not expensive lab equipment!)

-Spousal unit needed some toiletries. We walked the mile to the store instead of driving. Bought only the two items we went in for. We did stop for coffee and conversation at Starbucks, but we brought our own cups for the discount and only got the smallest (eg: least expensive) drip. It's been over two weeks since we were in a coffee shop, which has to be a new record for us!


1967mama

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10132 on: November 29, 2017, 11:00:17 PM »
*Trying to hold out for Christmas gift cards for Starbucks by buying myself some nice Stash Christmas tea that was on sale

*Made a loaf of refrigerator bread

*Made a roast in one crock pot and baked potatoes in another for dinner since I knew it would be a busy day

*Ordered my groceries online - this is turning out to be cheaper, for the most part, although the store that offers delivery is a little more expensive.

*Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals were found for things I was getting the kids for Christmas

*Dusted off our juicer and made some delicious green juice with apples, oranges, kale, spinach, arugula, turmeric and ginger. Soooooo good.


Kitsunegari

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10133 on: November 30, 2017, 06:24:24 AM »
Not today technically, but next week:
Childcare sent an e-mail telling parents that next Friday "Santa" will come to the crèche, so please prepare a present that he will deliver to your child. Now, my child is 1. She doesn't know what's happening, and she won't remember it. So I'll wrap one of the toys she already likes in paper from a present I received, and that will make the deal.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10134 on: November 30, 2017, 07:20:26 AM »
-Sent a rebate for $100 for our new pool pump. The new pool pump was purchased to cut down on our hugely expensive electrical bills. The pump is from the previous owners, and is really old. Technology has made a lot of improvements, which will cut down on the costs. The pump was expensive, but will pay for itself in reduced energy costs in about a year. So, the $100 rebate is a nice upfront reduction in cost from our energy company.
-Ate breakfast, lunch & snacks at work, for free
-Planned leftovers for dinner, but ended up staying late at work, so my husband threw together different options. Should have done a better job of communicating the plan. That said we didn't eat out. We all sort of had different dinners, but no eating out happened, at least.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10135 on: November 30, 2017, 07:28:07 AM »
I changed by cell phone subscription to one that costs 1/4 less and has half the data. Since I had the previous subscription I have never used up the whole 1 GB data per month. And I transfer the leftover from last month to the next. So from today I have only 0,5 GB per month, plus leftover from last month. DH just changed to a subscription that has 5 GB so I can occasionally use his data when we are away from home.

kaypinkHH

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10136 on: November 30, 2017, 08:31:42 AM »
Not today technically, but next week:
Childcare sent an e-mail telling parents that next Friday "Santa" will come to the crèche, so please prepare a present that he will deliver to your child. Now, my child is 1. She doesn't know what's happening, and she won't remember it. So I'll wrap one of the toys she already likes in paper from a present I received, and that will make the deal.


I love this so much!

Mrs Hen

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10137 on: November 30, 2017, 01:50:41 PM »
Felt really tired this evening after three morning shifts, and wanted to get a takeaway so badly.  Had a stern word with myself about the food I had bought already, dragged myself into the kitchen, and really enjoyed my Sausages and mash for dinner.

Spent nothing.

Noticed dividends had built up in my ISA (UK tax free investing account). Bought more funds in time to get a bigger dividend in January.  Snowball is starting to move a little.

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10138 on: November 30, 2017, 02:56:30 PM »
Had leftovers from the freezer for dinner.
Am going to make my s/o a birthday cake tomorrow, bought ingredients from Aldi. Noticed that our Aldi has extended their opening times and will now also be open during evenings and on Sunday. This allows us to go to Aldi much more often!


Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10139 on: November 30, 2017, 07:37:06 PM »
Not today technically, but next week:
Childcare sent an e-mail telling parents that next Friday "Santa" will come to the crèche, so please prepare a present that he will deliver to your child. Now, my child is 1. She doesn't know what's happening, and she won't remember it. So I'll wrap one of the toys she already likes in paper from a present I received, and that will make the deal.
I love this so much!
Me, too. ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ I loves me some practical practicality. ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

fuzzy math

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10140 on: November 30, 2017, 08:04:25 PM »
Had a really stressful day at work (after 2 straight weeks of stress), convinced myself I was going to hit the coffee cart at lunch because I COULDN'T TAKE IT ONE MORE MINUTE.

Talked myself down from the ledge, and used that work angst to imagine saving $4 extra towards my retirement as the ultimate "HAHA I hate you, job!" . Survived the last 3 hours and went home to make my latte.

Step37

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10141 on: November 30, 2017, 08:07:54 PM »
Unusually, failed to make a plan for dinner. Husband assumed we had enough leftovers (he didn’t realize I’d taken half of them for lunch). I was ready to stop for a grocery store pizza on the way home (truly not a bad option), but he cooked some rice, thawed some cooked black beans, and we had really tasty rice and bean bowls!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10142 on: December 01, 2017, 08:35:44 AM »
Pretty standard:
-Ate free breakfast, lunch & snacks at work
-Charged my car for free at work
-Unexpectedly had a couple of kid free hours with my husband. Pondered going out. Instead, made cocktails at home, had some laughs, and ate leftovers by candlelight
-Found two more things to list on eBay

Kwill

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10143 on: December 01, 2017, 11:04:39 AM »
I made a packed lunch for myself for the first time in awhile. I've got to pack a bit more or something with more protein next time; I was a little lightheaded by the end of the day and used 30 minutes leave to go home early and eat. I just need a little more practice. New Year's resolution is to pack lunch daily in 2018.

ixtap

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10144 on: December 01, 2017, 11:16:42 AM »
I made a packed lunch for myself for the first time in awhile. I've got to pack a bit more or something with more protein next time; I was a little lightheaded by the end of the day and used 30 minutes leave to go home early and eat. I just need a little more practice. New Year's resolution is to pack lunch daily in 2018.

In the meantime, I am using trail mix to get me through the transition.

Kwill

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10145 on: December 01, 2017, 12:05:26 PM »
I made a packed lunch for myself for the first time in awhile. I've got to pack a bit more or something with more protein next time; I was a little lightheaded by the end of the day and used 30 minutes leave to go home early and eat. I just need a little more practice. New Year's resolution is to pack lunch daily in 2018.

In the meantime, I am using trail mix to get me through the transition.

That's a good idea. I have a bag of trail mix, so I should at least take it to work.

GardenBaker

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10146 on: December 01, 2017, 12:12:22 PM »
I found a recipe online for this pasta dish I really wanted for dinner tonight. The original recipe would've required me to go buy 3 items at the grocery store. I've decided I'm going to improvise with what I have in the fridge and pantry and hope it works out. The items I needed were going to cost at least $10; so that's $10 saved today on top of what I saved from eating breakfast at home and bringing a sack lunch to work.

ManlyFather

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10147 on: December 01, 2017, 12:21:35 PM »
Had a really stressful day at work (after 2 straight weeks of stress), convinced myself I was going to hit the coffee cart at lunch because I COULDN'T TAKE IT ONE MORE MINUTE.

Talked myself down from the ledge, and used that work angst to imagine saving $4 extra towards my retirement as the ultimate "HAHA I hate you, job!" . Survived the last 3 hours and went home to make my latte.

This brightened my afternoon quite a bit, thanks for sharing!

Mrs Hen

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10148 on: December 01, 2017, 03:06:59 PM »
Today I walked to the doctors rather than take the car.

The last payment for my car went out of my account, and cancelled the direct debit straight away (bought the car on interest free finance before I'd discovered MMM.  No plans to replace it any time soon!). £211 per month extra to go into savings - hurrah!!!!

Filled up the car, but otherwise, no spending.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #10149 on: December 01, 2017, 04:48:46 PM »
-Ate breakfast & lunch out of the freezer stash today
-Avoided going shopping for an outfit for a work event. I leave tomorrow & don't feel great about any of the options. I'm presenting an award during a televised event. Everything I have is "okay", but not great. In reality, I don't feel great because of my weight, so a new outfit isn't going to help that. Gave myself a pep talk & worked out instead of blowing a bunch of money on a one time use outfit.
-Dug up $25 (USD equivalent) of money leftover from other business trips. Had no idea I had that much. Will spend this & get reimbursed from work.
-Paid off our car. We took out a loan in order to secure the best price, and were required to keep the financing for 90 days. All done & paid off!
-Making tacos for dinner, using prepared taco meat (freezer).