What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[Hirondelle]

I'll be working in a different city next Mon + Tue. It's halfway my current place and my parents and as I can claim travel costs for the work days I'll visit my parents over the weekend and get costs of the way back refunded as a work related travel expense :D

[FrugalAussie]

- Resisted icecream ALL day.  Saved $4

Does this work in the long run?

I often notice that if I have something on my mind that I want to eat, that I keep thinking about for days, until I buy it and eat it... :-(

Lucky for me, the craving did pass.  Actually icecream gives me a tummy ache so, for once, logic and good health choices trumped my desire for instant gratification. Not craving sweets today so all is good, until the next time ;)

[4alpacas]

We're in the process of eating down on refrigerator and freezer, so we have spent very little $$ on food this month.  Ate breakfast at home, packed my lunch and a snack, made tea at home, drinking water out of my refillable bottles.

[BuildingmyFIRE]

Dropped off my husbands 13 year old car to have tires replaced.  Walked the 2.7 miles back home rather than call a Lyft or Uber.  Extra benefit: exercise taken care of for the day!

Aaaannnnd walked back the 2.7 miles to pick up the car when the tires were replaced. 

[jengod]

Walked to volunteer at my son’s school and pick up a prescription.

Found $0.26 along the way

Line dried a load of laundry

Picked three lemons off our tree to use for cleaning and cooking

Composted all our food waste

Watered a potted fruit tree with gray water.


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[Mele]

Made a delicious open faced sandwich out of leftover pork, topped with handmade mozzarella from raw milk source.  Low on veggies, just had cabbage and carrots so I whipped a yummy lime-honey slaw with cilantro and it worked great.  (It would have been very easy to call my husband on his way home from work and ask him to pick up salad mix....and then $24 later, he'd come home with two plastic bags fulls of random shit). 

Hung laundry.

Picked up free peanut butter from my Buy Nothing group.  My preschooler eats a PB sandwich every single day, so 4 extra jars will help the budget.

Leftovers for the adults today for lunch (as always).

Breakfast was instapot steel cut oats but instead of milk I put in whey leftover from cheese making.  Made oatmeal slightly sour, but the kids didn't notice when I added some honey.  Next time, I'll do half whey / half milk and see if it helps.

[Off the Wheel]

I'm still in the 'big things' stage of taking control of my money, so a few wins:

- Decided to expense the company for my larger than normal phone bills over the past few months... will get $400+ back.
- Returned something purchased on Amazon for the first time, $40 back!
- Also ate home-cooked meals all day again. :)

[Linea_Norway]

Walked to work and will walk back in the afternoon.
Washed my hair at work.
Brought my own lunch from home (as usual, apart from that I forgot it yesterday).

[Hirondelle]

Had pubquiz at work yesterday that included food/snacks/drinks. Even though I only ended up eating soup, nuts and beers (rest of the food was gone by the time I finished my lab work, meh) I didn't eat dinner anymore once I got home. So I had a free night out AND saved money on dinner.

[Shelley]

* Used soap to shower that is left over from our holiday in December.
* Put a plug in the sink to catch and reuse hand washing water.
* Planned a meal for dinner with less meat (1 chicken breast for four, swapped out tofu -http://www.planbuycook.com.au/cook/coconut-noodle-soup/#more-2573)
* Left the air conditioner off till after lunch time.
* DH had to go to the doctor to get a blood test referral to check his low iron and high cholesterol were improving. We made sure to get all the advice on how to go off his medication etc and told the doctor to ring us as we didn’t want to come back in and pay another fee for results.
* Let my daughter take our one car to work rather than driving her to save on the back and forth driving.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

A couple of day's worth:
-Got a few things taken care of at the same time at a doctor's appt (flu shot, TB test for school volunteering & xray). Avoids repeat trips.
-Charged electric car for free at work
-Free breakfast/snacks/lunches
-Got home late last night (12 hour day) & avoided takeout. Waited until I got home to eat the remainder of leftovers everyone saved for me

Pretty regular week so far

[Rightflyer]

Finally figured out how to cut my own hair.

No.2 up the sides to the temple/No. 6 over the top then No. 4 to blend.

Surprisingly, it doesn't look bad.
(Not sure any one really notices or give a shit really.... as long as it looks tidy.)

[lexde]

Enjoyed 2 hot hazelnut cappuccinos from the break room for free.

Went to the grocery store for my lunch and only bought two big chicken tenders ($2.80) instead of a meal, totally satisfied, although packing lunch would have been better.

[Dianalou]

Brought lunch from home (somehow homemade pizza dough got better leftover ... that rarely happens)
Drank my coffee at work with reusable Keurig cup (the guilt of those throw away pods ...)
Finished taxes and will get $20 off Turbotax if I file soon and 7.5% back from ebates, not shabby
Tracked down three orders on ebates that hadn't credited to my cash back yet, about $3

[mountain mustache]

Rode my bike to work, then home. Then walked to the dentist to have a tooth pulled(didn't exactly save money there haha!)

[jengod]

* Spread another five gallon bucket of worm castings over the raspberry bed. Eyeballing it, I *think* this is a $20 value? It's made from household food waste and garden prunings, so yay for making something from nothing.

* Accepted my mom's gift of a padded bedcover for my toddler.

* Watered potted plants and herb bed with graywater.

* Eating down those leftovers.

* Cleaned and repaired ($20) our used jogging stroller in hopes of keeping it on the road for the foreseeable future.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Free meals at work
-Created yet another meal out of leftovers. The kids had leftover taco fixings, and the adults had leftover kebabs & rice. I might make pizzas out of the very last smidges of both dinners. I find naan pizzas are a good way to use up the last of everything.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Gave a spare 12-month Qantas Club membership (worth $800) to a colleague for a bottle of whisky.

[Shelley]

* borrowed a sander from the neighbour to do our floorboards rather than buying one
* cooked with less meat (added two cans of beans to 500g of mince to make 8 dinners with rice or baked potato)
* cooked an apple crumble for dessert in the oven at the same time as I cooked the potatoes to go with the chilli, saving gas.
* washed with left over holiday soap again as we have since December. Thank you Hawaii hotel for resupplying every day!
* my daughter needed paintbrushes for craft as we had thrown hers out, but after searching through my supplies I found a set, so I didn’t have to buy any. Previously I would have just put it on my shopping list.

[mustachepungoeshere]

- Valentine's Day is Ash Wednesday so no fancy dinner for us.

@marty998, that means Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday, the one day of the year we acknowledge our baptism pancakes, begotten, not made.

[Bracken_Joy]

-Walked to the grocery store. Gorgeous sunny out, and I found a route that lets us take quiet side streets almost the whole way!
--Passed a relative on the way over. We helped set up a ladder so they can paint part of their house. They're going to loan us their pressure washer. This'll save us the $50-100 rental cost from home depot.
--Massive sale on chocolate at the grocery store thanks to valentine's day. Husband and I keep fancy chocolate on hand and have a little square each day. It was 30% off (they never go that low on the stuff we like) so we bought 10 bars =)
--On the way back home, passed another neighbor. Chatted for a moment, and she gave us some irises! Which is perfect, since the weekends plan has some major landscaping already penciled in. I had planned day lillies for the spot, but the irises will totally fulfill the same idea. And free!

Man, talk about a good trip!

[Jenny Wren]

Yesterday and today:

* Free entertainment - went on a 7 mile hike, straight up then straight down so it was also a hell of a leg workout.

* Packed a lunch to eat at the top -- made a vegan sandwich out of leftover roasted peppers, sweet potatoes and hummus. OMG, most delicious sandwich I have ever had. Who woulda thunk sweets on a sandwich were so yummy?!?!?!

* Cheap don't wanna cook dinner: Spaghetti with jarred sauce and a salad.

Today:

* Having friends over for a board game night. I'm making scratch pizza and we are supplying booze in the form of white Russians made from our DIY Kahlua. A very cheap evening of entertainment. It's been a month since we have gone out for entertainment with friends, we've been opting for in-house options instead!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Free car charging, breakfast & lunch at work
-Repurposing leftovers for dinner
-Tomorrow, using a gift card (gift from an employer) to treat myself to a 90 minute massage at a fancy pants spa for my birthday. SO excited!

[JLee]

I realized that I could return $255 in parts I bought to repair my car (which incidentally just proved I had a different problem) and spend less than that to completely replace the problematic system with a modern version.

For the gearheads, converting an early 90's igniter/coil/wires setup to coil on plug. $50 for four coils, $10 for four connectors, $8 for ECU wiring pigtails, $70 tach adapter, ~$50 in wire (buying way more than I need because I have other uses for it), and $11 in crimp connectors (I already have wire loom/tape/etc to build the harness). $109 vs $255, and a superior solution anyway!

[Bracken_Joy]

-Husband is doing a minor (for him) repair for the neighbor, but it requires a $250 part. We ordered it on our amazon card, so we'll get the rewards points (5%). Plus, neighbor usually throws in a bottle of something tasty as a thanks. Today he sent husband home with Halibut, King Salmon, and venison jerky. Not a bad deal for a short period of work for hubby and good neighbor relations.
-$1.99/lb asparagus. We got 3 massive bundles. I'm going to gorge myself silly, like I do every time it goes on sale. (Already ate 1 whole bundle)
-Talked about the supplements my RE has me on to my acupuncturist. She signed me up through a subscriber web portal she has. I'll be able to get all my stuff for 15% off now.

[Off the Wheel]

- Parked in the lot that's $5 cheaper but 10 minutes further away
- Ate leftover leftovers for lunch
- Had frozen pirogies instead of ordering the pizza I wanted for dinner

[marty998]

- Valentine's Day is Ash Wednesday so no fancy dinner for us.

@marty998, that means Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday, the one day of the year we acknowledge our baptism pancakes, begotten, not made.

@mustachepungoeshere I remember this.... your family goes berserk with pancakes that day don't they??

I can't believe I just had to google what "shrove" means. Apparently it's the past tense of "shrive".

To shrive is to hear a confessional and to absolve of sins. A priest shrives, and one can be shriven!

[mustachepungoeshere]

- Valentine's Day is Ash Wednesday so no fancy dinner for us.

@marty998, that means Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday, the one day of the year we acknowledge our baptism pancakes, begotten, not made.

@mustachepungoeshere I remember this.... your family goes berserk with pancakes that day don't they??

I can't believe I just had to google what "shrove" means. Apparently it's the past tense of "shrive".

To shrive is to hear a confessional and to absolve of sins. A priest shrives, and one can be shriven!

@marty998, dude, Catholic school wasn’t that long ago!

Fr John would be very disappointed! (Is he still alive...?)

[Linea_Norway]

Walked to work and will walk back later.
Brought lunch from home as usual.
Will be eating a leftover meal from the freezer tonight.

[mustachepungoeshere]

I purloined (with permission) a cable clip from Marty last weekend to sort out my phone charger at work.

I didn't want to buy a whole packet to use just one clip, and he always has them hanging around for Christmas lights.

[onthedollar]

Claimed cab fees to and from home to work.
DIDN'T buy a drink during lunch (saves me $2 every day I don't!)

But... I'm heading out to dinner with a friend, so that's probably this week's savings blown 😂😂

[Imma]

I had several free coffees today.

I spent a few hours in court today (for work). I had my first cup of coffee while still in the office, then I went to the courthouse and drank coffee from the free vending machine there. It's not just free, it's a really fancy machine that offers 5 types of coffee in 3 different strenghts and 3 types of hot chocolate and there's a water cooler as well. I really don't get why everyone walks in carrying cups of take-out coffee.

[Megs193]

- I'm trying to use up some ingredients in my pantry and fridge so I made hummus, granola and bagels.
- no Starbucks so far in February!
- I ran out of my regular coffee at home but remembered I had 4 bags in the pantry that I bought for $2 a bag.  It's not as good as my favorite brand but it's ok and I'm going to drink it until it's gone.
- I have had a cup of tea every afternoon because I have sooo much in my pantry

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Used gift card for fancy pants spa/massage. May have gone anyway, as it's my favorite birthday treat, but free was the best way!
-Avoided ordering lunch or picking anything up on the way out, and had soup from the freezer for a late lunch when I got home.
-Drove electric car for errands not in walking distance
-Ate leftover naan pizza for breakfast this morning.

[Brother Esau]

Canceled my SiriusXM account. Was getting kind of stale anyway. $220/yr.....buh bye

[Brother Esau]

Ate leftover naan pizza for breakfast this morning.

love our home made naan pies. what do you put on it?

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Ate leftover naan pizza for breakfast this morning.

love our home made naan pies. what do you put on it?

We use leftovers. :-) So, typical options are:
-Pesto with grilled chicken, grapes & parmesan
-Marinara w/peppers & meatballs or thinly sliced beef kebabs
-Marinara w/pineapples & ham

Just anything that needs using up. So quick & easy!

[FrugalAussie]

Ate leftover naan pizza for breakfast this morning.

love our home made naan pies. what do you put on it?

What are home made 'naan pies'?  I'm curious.

[FrugalAussie]

We brought a one year gym membership for both of us this year.  We've been going often so thrilled to calculate that each session costs about $2.  Full price aqua aerobics is $12 so, for us, the upfront cost has been justified.  Also, feeling much stronger and more flexible.

 

[mustachepungoeshere]

Ate leftover naan pizza for breakfast this morning.

love our home made naan pies. what do you put on it?

What are home made 'naan pies'?  I'm curious.

Two countries separated by a common language.

Pies as in pizza, not pies as in steak and kidney.

[Trifle]

Got lunch free at work yesterday courtesy of a new vendor.  That's rare where I work, so it felt like a treat.

Realized that I have not bought lunch yet this year (have brought from home every day until yesterday).

We have also eaten homemade dinner every day this year so far.  No take out or restaurants.  2018 is off to a good start.

[Brother Esau]

Ate leftover naan pizza for breakfast this morning.

love our home made naan pies. what do you put on it?

We use leftovers. :-) So, typical options are:
-Pesto with grilled chicken, grapes & parmesan
-Marinara w/peppers & meatballs or thinly sliced beef kebabs
-Marinara w/pineapples & ham

Just anything that needs using up. So quick & easy!

brilliant! thanks for the ideas.

[Brother Esau]

Ate leftover naan pizza for breakfast this morning.

love our home made naan pies. what do you put on it?

What are home made 'naan pies'?  I'm curious.

Two countries separated by a common language.

Pies as in pizza, not pies as in steak and kidney.

pizza pies!!

[Trifle]

Ate leftover naan pizza for breakfast this morning.

love our home made naan pies. what do you put on it?

What are home made 'naan pies'?  I'm curious.

Two countries separated by a common language.

Pies as in pizza, not pies as in steak and kidney.

pizza pies!!

You either buy or make naan, and then use it as a pizza crust.  Naan is also great toasted in the toaster, btw

[Jenny Wren]

Yesterday:

Took my 12 year old son on "a day of adventure" instead of our usual froyo or bakery visit. We went to a state park we had never visited that is a 1.5 hour drive away (we have an annual state park pass, so no day use fee). I packed plenty of snacks and a lunch. We went on a long hike, explored the remains of a 100 year old homestead (the old dumping grounds were the most interesting find!), and had 3 hours in the car where we had long and interesting talks about everything from the nature of hydrogen bonds to his worries about moving, and on to his emerging change of heart about girls. Well worth the small amount of gas the Prius used for the adventure!

Best part? At bed time yesterday I got a huge hug and a request to do Friday adventures as a thing instead of Friday sweet treat dates. The cost may even out with gas factored in, but the value for money spent will be much higher, which I say is a money saving victory! :D

[Linea_Norway]

I went to an event today, where the entry fee is sponsored for me by the club. I only needed to buy my own train tickets, but I bought a weekly ticket that DH can use the rest of the week to work. I received free lunch and free tea and cake. I did not spend 1800 or 2500 USD on a microscope that was sold there. (One of my facebook friends there ordered two, because it was nice to use for his kids...).
I did however order a brand new not-commercial book about the subject, but it was a cheap book (20 USD) compared to many alternatives on the market.

I did join people there for drinking beer in the city later at night. Went home and made dinner from what was in the house.

I walked to and from the train station, about 2 km each way, with a very steep uphill home.

[Brother Esau]

Closed my Chase Sapphire card to avoid the $450 annual fee coming up next month. Made sure to cash out the few remaining points and bought a Marriott gift card with the remainder of my unused travel spend.

Applied and accepted for the American Express Blue Cash card for my next CC hack.

[Off the Wheel]

- Wandered along my favourite shopping street in the sunshine, and didn't go in anywhere (window shopping is just as good!)
- Decided to take a book out from the library rather than buy it
- Didn't buy some DIY beauty things I've been eyeing, since I don't have firm applications yet and might buy too much/never use them

[Bracken_Joy]

-Bought an incredible squat rack for our home gym for $80. Old, but very solid steel and good welds. Very, very heavy, haha. Unloading it was an adventure, but we got it done!
-Did lots of youtube time and a couple articles and pruned my own japanese maple. It was neglected by the previous owner, and I was honestly a little terrified to do it! I had no idea how easy the dead wood is to identify until I started. Not sure how much I saved over hiring it out, but I'm sure it was a chunk!
-Hitting valentine's sales for cheap delicious fruits and veg that are normally spendy- asparagus and fresh strawberries. Also did a big dark chocolate stock up last week.
-Been roasting our own almonds and trying different spices etc for tasty work treats. Our favorite so far has been shoyu+sesame oil.
-Going to use some very mushy bananas for 2 ingredient cookies =)

[Gerard]

Lucked into deals on lemons, mussels, and chick peas. (I've been combining my grocery shop with my birding walk, so I'm at the store more often and find the deals.)

I hit my monthly bandwidth-thing limit at home, so I stayed late at work and streamed the Raptors game there!

Donated a fridge to our grad student room.