What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[lazycow]

Dried 2 loads of washing on indoor clothes racks as the weather was foul.
Made white chocolate and raspberry muffins for school lunches.
Only left the house to walk the dogs with my son. Which was lovely for all of us!
Husband is away so we are having baked potatoes (son) and baked sweet potato (me) with whatever toppings we have on hand. Sadly, no sour cream,  but Greek yogurt is a good substitute.

[Imma]

Friday night after a long day in the office I went home really tired and had to cook for myself as my s/o was away. I picked up one of those artisanal pizzas from the grocery store that come with a bagged salad. When I opened the bag at home I was met by a really foul smell, but the pizza was perfect. So I walked back to the grocery store the next day and got a refund. Free pizza! I don't often eat readymade food a lot but when I do, about once a month, I usually pick up one of those pizza's because they taste similar to homemade.

I got some really cheap butternut squash on Friday as well and will use them to make my favourite soup (with onion, garlic, ginger and ras el hanout) which will be my work lunch for the rest of the week.

[trashtalk]

Replaced a burned-out CFL lightbulb with an LED from our stockpile.

Harvested apples and oregano from the yard

[Imma]

I returned a thermos I bought about 3 months ago because it started leaking recently. It's apparantly a very odd thing to return a faulty item as they had to call the manager and she didn't really know how to handle it either. She eventually suggested exchanging it for a new one but that took about 5 minutes of thinking and discussing. Hopefully I just had bad luck and this one will last me longer. These days I always return faulty stuff because I just hate spending money on something that's designed to fail within a short period of time.

We had chili sin carne today for dinner and there's just enough leftover for my s/o for lunch tomorrow. I'll get a free lunch at work.

[zygote]

I got a free salad at sweetgreen for lunch because they're previewing a new store near my work.

I used to get it for lunch every day before MMM (yiiiiiikes). I miss it, because salads I try to make for myself just aren't the same. But they're certainly good enough for how much less they cost.

[Raenia]

Had a work event with food this afternoon, lots of food left over, so I brought home an unopened half-gallon of apple cider (after stuffing myself with treats, of course).

Went to the library to pick up a book I've been wanting to read, but didn't want to buy.  It's been on hold quite a while, but I've been (im)patiently waiting!

[Linea_Norway]

I bought a Kindle book on Amazon, which was not cheap (not Mustachian, but my library doesn't have it). But then I got a credit to buy more non fiction books. I bought two cheap, free books. And for each book I got a new small credit. Therefore the third book was also free.

Only, a Mustachian people problem appeared. The last book gave me a half a dollar credit and I didn't find any books that cost half a dollar. And I don't want to spend an extra half dollar to buy a one dollar book.

[tomita]

I just got a rate hike for Rogers (internet in Canada) and was determined to move to the competition , actually contacted them and had a firm quote.
I called Rogers to cancel and they got me an even better deal (better than competition), having my homework done put me in a position of strength.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Used Walgreens rewards earned from wearing a FitBit I already had around. Bought two bottles of body wash for nearly free.
-Used up a free container of sunflower butter in protein balls
-Sent our property tax check in by the date, in order to earn a 3% discount
-Bought a few discounted ready to eat items for when my parents visit. More expensive than making things from scratch, but significantly cheaper than the alternative, which is eating out.
-Husband replaced the brakes himself on our car. After factoring in parts, I'd say we saved a few thousand dollars on the markup/labor.

[Imma]

Used rewards points from the grocery store to get a €5 discount on our purchases.

[nancyfrank232]

Hmmm...this one sounds unethical also.

Why? Starbucks gladly gives customers ice water or hot water for free

[11ducks]

Hmmm...this one sounds unethical also.

Why? Starbucks gladly gives customers ice water or hot water for free

If you aren’t buying anything, technically you aren’t a customer. You are just saving yourself money by taking from someone else.

[11ducks]

Resisted the urge to stop for a sweet treat, made something at home instead.

Identified a list of skills to develop, working on my first two for free
Academic writing: found a free online course
Public speaking: got two library books on the topic

Over the past few months I’ve developed a bit of an energy drink problem (not ideal, but I do long, intense multi-hour workouts starting early, and I’ve found these really help). After spending $20 over the past two weeks at the service station on these awful things, I bought a multi pack from
The grocery store instead- still not healthy, but at least cheaper.

[nancyfrank232]

If you aren’t buying anything, technically you aren’t a customer. You are just saving yourself money by taking from someone else.

Would it qualify if I bought a scone and then asked to get a large cup of hot water?

[11ducks]

If you aren’t buying anything, technically you aren’t a customer. You are just saving yourself money by taking from someone else.

Would it qualify if I bought a scone and then asked to get a large cup of hot water?

For me, I would think that is fine?

[slappy]

If you aren’t buying anything, technically you aren’t a customer. You are just saving yourself money by taking from someone else.

Would it qualify if I bought a scone and then asked to get a large cup of hot water?

Well then you wouldn't be saving as much money! ;)

[slappy]

Hmmm...this one sounds unethical also.

Why? Starbucks gladly gives customers ice water or hot water for free

If you aren’t buying anything, technically you aren’t a customer. You are just saving yourself money by taking from someone else.

Exactly what would you be taking from someone else? The water? That seems minimal enough to not be a consideration.

[mm1970]

My work shoes (aka my old running shoes) have finally given up the ghost.  They have holes.  I was thinking that I'd need to buy a new pair of shoes.

But I looked through my small pile of old running shoes, and found a pair that will work.  Basically, they need to be presentable AND have enough cushion for walking 2 miles.  They only need to work until my current pair of running shoes dies, in about 4 months..

[mountain mustache]

Brought home 2 pounds of organic baby greens, and 1 pound of organic arugula that the restaurant near my work was giving away! It was from our local farmer, and probably about $20 worth of free produce, because his stuff is $$$. That is a week (at least) worth of dinner salads, woohoo!

[msbutterbean]

Last week I declined the free holiday turkey that my company provides (I'm a vegetarian), and today the H.R. guy gave me a check for $20 to spend on whatever I plan to serve instead. Not really something I was responsible for doing myself, but it definitely made me smile.

[Linea_Norway]

For the first time since ages I walked to work again, and will walk back this afternoon. My motivation was that I wanted to catch up with my podcasts, and that my trousers were sitting a bit tighter lately.
I had a bit of a painful knee for a couple of days, but I didn't feel it when walking. I feel it mostly when I am sitting. So I hope the walking will do it good.

[Omy]

Got paid $150 to attend a focus group for 2 hours - and they provided a lovely appetizer bar so no dinner costs. Got a free taco from Taco Bell World Series promotion yesterday. Though that may "cost" me in other ways...

[horsepoor]

I'm driving 7 hours to attend a workshop this weekend.  I have the cooler packed so I should only need to go out to eat 1-2x over 4 days (one night I'm meeting an old friend for dinner).  The workshop will hopefully pay for itself over time by giving me skills to do at least part of some horse stuff I've been paying for monthly.

[MissNancyPryor]

Feeling proud of myself!

I grew a pumpkin in the garden this year, sowing 3 seeds taken from a pumpkin someone else bought for Halloween in 2018.  From the seeds I got 100% germination but only one good sized fruit from the 3 vines, a beauty about 15" diameter.

I carved it Wednesday to put out last night for Halloween, then roasted the seeds.  Today I am roasting the flesh and will freeze the pureed pumpkin in 2-cup allotments so I can do pumpkin pie, breads, muffins, and soups.  2 cups seems to be the standard need for most recipes so that is a convenient portion and I think I will get maybe 10 cups of puree for the freezer when done. 

Cost:  $0

I am absolutely doing this again.  A unexpected benefit is that the pumpkin was so incredibly crisp and easy to carve, it made me realize just how long those store bought pumpkins have been sitting around by the time we buy them in October.  A lesson learned is to start more seeds to see if I can get additional pumpkins either to give away or process for the freezer.  I now have heirloom organic seeds to start next year's patch from this 2nd generation grow.   

So fun!     

[Arbitrage]

Someone smashed the driver's side mirror of the family car while she was parked on the street at a kid's birthday party.  Presumably just hit it with their own mirror while driving too close, without the common decency to even leave a note.

That in itself certainly didn't save us money, but I found a used replacement off of eBay for $70 and did the repair myself rather than paying $400 to the dealer (plus wasting time and gas driving there). 

Got to add a new skill to my toolkit, too!

[lemanfan]

Saw a book that I wanted. Checked price new.  Not to bad.  Checked used books at various sites.  No luck.  Found it a distant library but still within my own country, so I remoted ordered it to my own library, which is free of charge in my neck of the woods.  Score. :)

Also planning for some refurnishing and design change of my home office.  Need to plan, almost bought a laser distance meter to assist, since they are on sale at a local store.  But wait, one of my friends has one.  Borrow please?    :)

[Trifele]

I had to make a trip yesterday involving multiple airline connections which resulted in a long travel day.  Ticket was paid for with miles, and I packed my own food and drank water from the airport drinking fountains.  Total cost for the whole trip -- $6 in fees on the points-bought ticket.

[Imma]

Found some apples that were getting brown and wrinkled, so I baked an apple cake using only ingredients I already had at home. As a bonus the heat from the oven warmed up the house. It was a little chilly but not enough to turn the heating on, now it's nice and cosy and the house smells like apple cake.

[Dicey]

Hmmm...this one sounds unethical also.

Why? Starbucks gladly gives customers ice water or hot water for free

If you aren’t buying anything, technically you aren’t a customer. You are just saving yourself money by taking from someone else.

Exactly what would you be taking from someone else? The water? That seems minimal enough to not be a consideration.

Assuming no purchase:
Cup
Water
Energy to heat the water
Staff to heat and serve water
Space where water is heated/served i.e. rent
Cost of keeping place clean
Other overhead such as stocking and maintaining bathrooms
Napkin (if used) + dispenser + staff to source and fill dispenser and napkin
Permits
Insurance
ETA: Lid, if taken

Sure, your portion of these costs is minimal, but it ain't free.

[PMG]

Hmmm...this one sounds unethical also.

Why? Starbucks gladly gives customers ice water or hot water for free

If you aren’t buying anything, technically you aren’t a customer. You are just saving yourself money by taking from someone else.

Exactly what would you be taking from someone else? The water? That seems minimal enough to not be a consideration.

Assuming no purchase:
Cup
Water
Energy to heat the water
Staff to heat and serve water
Space where water is heated/served i.e. rent
Cost of keeping place clean
Other overhead such as stocking and maintaining bathrooms
Napkin (if used) + dispenser + staff to source and fill dispenser and napkin
Permits
Insurance

Sure, your portion of these costs is minimal, but it ain't free.

I agree this is unethical for the reasons Dicey lists, but I would take it further. I'm not directly familiar with Starbuck policy, but when I see this in local shops often it is implied, if not stated, that free water is for customers with a blind eye toward, or direct generosity toward those in need. I see those in need being the homeless, or someone near or at rock bottom. If so many frugal people take free water that the cost becomes too much for the business, then they will no longer offer it and those truly in need will no longer receive.  There are so few places where homeless people can spend time and be treated with respect. During a hot summer free water could be life saving.  Taking away from someone truly in need is unethical to me.

At the same time, I've heard people use that same argument to avoid shopping second hand. That is silliness!  The market for second hand goods is saturated and so much goes into the landfill.  I feel some moral obligation to slow the stream by shopping second hand! 

Our world is really messed up. 

[Trifele]

Yesterday I bought a beautiful fleece vest for my brother's birthday at the thrift store -- looks like it's never been worn -- for $8.  He's a thrift shopper himself, so he loves that it's second-hand. 

[abbuyt]

Going to take my friend to a movie tonight. I will use my points for both our tickets which will save $20.00.

[MyAlterEgoIsTaller]

I had an umbrella on my wish list because mine broke recently.  At today's free product lunch they were giving out free umbrellas (in addition to the usual free lunch and free continuing education points that I need for maintaining my professional license).  I like when stuff I need magically provides itself, and it's a better umbrella than I would probably have bought...even though it's orange and has advertising on it.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Drove electric car for work, & charged for free.
-Used all of my international travel miles accrued from work trips to book flights for four to Whistler over ski break. I ended up paying about $300 for the taxes, fees, & a thousand or so miles I was short.
-Made dinner out of leftovers (freezer)
-Stocked up on gift cards for a restaurant we frequent (particularly when I travel, my husband takes the kids). While dining out it & of itself isn't a money saver, this is a planned for expense as part of my travel, and it's great to be able to save a bit on our yearly spend.

[Dollar Slice]

Achieved a 50% discount on something I wanted to purchase online (replacement jeans because I'm down to one good pair). Stacked a discount code, a discounted gift card (after searching 4 different sites), and free shipping by picking up in-store (which I can reach with my transit pass).

Bonus: should be more eco-friendly/less packaging waste to have the jeans delivered to their store than individually shipped to me.

[John Galt incarnate!]

This morning I bought some 4-pound  bags of sugar for $1.50 which is 37.5 cents/pound.

Right next to them was a 25-pound sack priced @ $19.95 which is  ~80 cents per pound.

This seemed odd because usually bulk pricing is lower than for  the same stuff in smaller amounts.

[RetiredAt63]

This morning I bought some 4-pound  bags of sugar for $1.50 which is 37.5 cents/pound.

Right next to them was a 25-pound sack priced @ $19.95 which is  ~80 cents per pound.

This seemed odd because usually bulk pricing is lower than for  the same stuff in smaller amounts.

Our grocery stores have to post unit pricing.  Sometimes the store brand is as expensive or almost as expensive as a name brand, especially if the name brand is on sale.  It is always educational - and as you found, often the smaller packs are cheaper by unit.  Plus easier to carry.

[Linea_Norway]

This morning I bought some 4-pound  bags of sugar for $1.50 which is 37.5 cents/pound.

Right next to them was a 25-pound sack priced @ $19.95 which is  ~80 cents per pound.

This seemed odd because usually bulk pricing is lower than for  the same stuff in smaller amounts.

Our grocery stores have to post unit pricing.  Sometimes the store brand is as expensive or almost as expensive as a name brand, especially if the name brand is on sale.  It is always educational - and as you found, often the smaller packs are cheaper by unit.  Plus easier to carry.

When I look at toothpaste, I sometimes see that the biggest tubes are the cheapest per unit, and other times the extra small sizes. So at home we very between the different sizes. Next time also a different brand, because that was the cheapest last time I shopped it.

[marion10]

Went to my ceramics class- which is costing me $50 a year- including materials. Started making Christmas ornaments for a retiree lunch I’ll be going to- they haven’t been fired yet- but look pretty good.
Used coupons and CVS bucks to get  $20 worth of toiletries for 1.99.
We had been renting a router for cable internet at $13 a month. Husband bought a new one for $86 and replaced it.

[halftimer]

-Today called in a referral for my tv/internet bundle and got both of us $50 credit. That will give me about 9 months free due to our super low current fees!
-At the grocery store, I picked the checkout clerk that I know is the most efficient. She saw my chicken with $5 off sticker and asked if there were more on the shelf. I thought she might want to buy some after her shift (we've traded tips before), but actually she wanted to tell me they are 2 for 1. I quickly grabbed another and got $25+ worth of premium chicken for less than $7. Cooked up into a great dinner that night with leftovers for lunch and second dinner ready to go.
-On vacation last week I wanted to book a massage and the price list wasn't posted they just offered their 'favorites' list.  I asked for the full price list and got many pages including a few specials such as 2-for-1 pricing if you come before noon. An easy 50% savings since we are early risers.
-Before vacation changed our own tires. Usually do this, but it was the first time doing it garage-less and bringing each tire down from a 3rd floor walkup, then bringing the other ones up at the end. Still only took 30 min total and saved so much time and hassle since the tire places get a huge appointment backlog as soon as the weather turns.

[Linea_Norway]

-Before vacation changed our own tires. Usually do this, but it was the first time doing it garage-less and bringing each tire down from a 3rd floor walkup, then bringing the other ones up at the end. Still only took 30 min total and saved so much time and hassle since the tire places get a huge appointment backlog as soon as the weather turns.

It is very easy to have the tires stored at home, but preferably on ground level. Then you can change yourself, even if there is unexpected early snow. Having to drive to some other place for changing tires is a hassle, but we do it sometimes if we need new tires.

[Nola584]

Stopped procrastinating and knocked out a couple necessary evils:
- Shopped car insurance and will be saving ~$20/mo for the same coverage levels (was on a pay per mile plan since I don’t drive much, but rates have been creeping up- surprised to find traditional car insurance is now cheaper!)
- Dealt with expired promo rate with internet company- will save $25/mo over non-promo rate

All told both chores only took about 1hr- definitely worth it to save $540 over the next year!

[Rural]

Neither of us went down off the mountain today.

[Linea_Norway]

DH replaced the Xenon headlight in the subaru himself. 150$ saved.

[Poundwise]

Nagged Mr. Poundwise until he put more insulation in the roof over our living room. Now it is toasty warm, our energy bill should be lower, and the cost of the nagging was free!  (but the resentment is forever :) )

[trashtalk]

Replaced the broken "sun-visor clip" in our little Honda.

Harvested apples and pomegranates from the backyard.

Was gifted several pairs of pajamas in my daughter's size through our community Buy Nothing Group.

[Linea_Norway]

Brewing beer today.

[Imma]

Cleared out the pantry yesterday, came across some potatoes that had started to sprout so we had them for dinner.

[Sun Hat]

Made a batch of vegetarian samosas to freeze. They'll make for tasty comfort food on days when I don't want to cook.

[Hula Hoop]

Got cauliflower and potatoes on sale at the cheap supermarket yesterday and today I made cauliflower, ginger soup which we ate for lunch and will be good for a few work lunches this week.