Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8028827 times)

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14500 on: July 25, 2021, 11:59:47 AM »
FOOD - Organic - fresh from my garden

1. Made a batch of passionfruit jam today - delicious fragrance filling the house.
There will be a passion fruit cake later this week - sponge or poundcake - and serious dark chocolate brownies - layered with passionfruit frosting (made from my jam which has a jello-like consistency - mixed with homemade whipping cream).

Picking up some brie tomorrow to bake and serve warm with passion fruit jam on french bread.
Also found a Martini Recipe and a Smoothie recipe to try with my next batch of passion fruit - oh soo good.

2. Lunch - garden fresh tomatoes, peppers, garlic chives, celery, basil - awesome sauce. Served with pasta and shaved Parmesan cheese.
Enough for the two of us and lunch for Mr. R. for work tomorrow.

3. Drinks - Persian limes off our tree with water - great thirst quencher, full of vitamins.
Something knocked off a branch of our Moringa tree - so I saved the flowers for tea later today.

BEAUTY - flowers in the house make me smile
I have everything from wildflowers to exotic beauties in my garden. I love them all and give them a place of honor in our home.
Sometimes just a single beauty - other times a fancy arrangement, it's all good.

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14501 on: July 25, 2021, 02:47:57 PM »
Did this activity save money, I think so:  I changed the brush roll and belt on my free Kirby vacuum cleaner.  Oh man was it gross inside the cover.  I am hoping this belt and roller last for years because it was literally painful on my hands to open/pry open after who knows how many years of service prior to my ownership.  It should suck up cat fur much better now. 

I donated 2 bags to the thrift store and a bag of spectacles to the Lions Club Sat AM.  Felt good! 

sonofsven

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14502 on: July 26, 2021, 07:31:31 AM »
I wanted to make a bed frame for my guest room.  I have access to a large amount of salvaged old growth fir but much of it has active infestation of powder post beetles.
Internet research said one solution is to heat the wood to 135* minimum for a few hours to kill the bugs, but my boards were too big to fit in my kitchen oven.
I made a solar oven in my driveway of wood planks lined with aluminum foil and covered with a sheet of plastic.
I drilled a hole in one end and stuck a kitchen thermometer in.
It jumped up to 140* in thirty minutes and stayed around 145*-150* for three hours.
I had no idea this would work and just kind of guessed on how to construct it.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14503 on: July 26, 2021, 08:06:03 AM »
Wow, @sonofsven - making your own solar oven is next level! Well done.

I spent some time in the kitchen this weekend, taking advantage of our garden. I made a triple batch of pickled peppers/chiles, a triple batch of pico de gallo, breaded zucchini, and used a lot of other ingredients in our salads. We had a really nice garden haul last week, even though the squirrels are eating most of the tomatoes. I did cover our biggest tomato plant, but I think they are still finding a way in.

MountainGal

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14504 on: July 26, 2021, 01:49:01 PM »
I ran some numbers last Friday to see how much of an effect me paying more towards our mortgage principal will be in the long run.  My goal is to have it paid off prior to retirement and the numbers are off by a few years.  So, I'm going to become even more hardcore when it comes to both the budget and frivolous spending.

~Resisted the urge to get a take out coffee last Friday and did my usual bringing it from home
~Focusing on reducing monthly grocery/HBA spending
~Been using base products such as vinegar, bleach, and baking soda instead of buying cleaning products

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14505 on: July 26, 2021, 03:01:38 PM »
Posted on Buy Nothing, & received free Amazon & other mailing envelopes. This saves me from having to buy them new, and keeps them out of the landfill/recycling for at least another use. I sell things on eBay, and this keeps costs down. Additionally, I save all of our packaging, which means we are reducing our own consumption & getting rid of more than we're buying, which I love!

Jenny Wren

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14506 on: July 26, 2021, 03:11:32 PM »
I spent the morning in the kitchen. Used a half gallon of soured milk to make 10 sandwich rolls for lunches this week. The remaining 3 cups became a farmer's cheese that was then used to make a carrot and pimento sandwich/bagel spread. Also made two growlers worth of cherry kombucha and fed the scobies.

I needed to pick up a prescription and send out some letters. Decided to walk the errand instead of taking the car. It was warmer than expected and ice coffee sounded good when the route took me by a coffee shack, but convinced myself to hold out and make my own once I got back home. Cooled down instead by foraging a handful of blackberries and thimbleberries from the hedgerow along the trail.

Gerard

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14507 on: July 27, 2021, 12:00:00 PM »
All food things:

1. Ate weeds! Our rainy summer means our lamb's quarters are huge and tender.

2. Omelette aux fines herbes du balcon. Eaten sur le balcon!

3. Biked to Chinatown (holy crap, it's humid out) for crazy good deals (by Toronto standards) on meat and "enjoy tonight" produce.

gavint

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14508 on: July 27, 2021, 12:28:16 PM »
Finally got my ass in gear and opened an online brokerage account with super low fees today.  I discovered the bank where I was diverting my savings to has been paying a small percentage of each of my transactions to a financial advisor I haven't dealt with in years....

ZsaZsa

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14509 on: July 29, 2021, 07:31:54 AM »
@Imma - Sure, here you go. https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/zucchini_muffins/



I made these today with the last of my frozen zucchini from last year...this recipe is fabulous! Mr. Z loved them (although I made them by the recipe, without the healthier adjustments.)

« Last Edit: July 29, 2021, 07:36:47 AM by ZsaZsa »

PMG

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14510 on: July 29, 2021, 06:01:44 PM »
We have really struggled with going back to the office and lunch packing and all our food routines in general recently. We’re not eating out much, but we’re eating poorly and grouchy and constantly running to the store for small things at lunch… so we’ve started just planning to have several lunches be canned soup, frozen pie, whatever. We need that ease right now and that’s ok. And keeping them on hand means we’re not making special trips or skipping meals and being miserable.

But last weekend I batched cooked and we packed really good lunches all week. But we were staring at an empty fridge for dinner tonight. But I took a hodgepodge of things out of the freezer and made us a “lasagna” casserole. And I am really proud of myself for that.
 
I also made a big batch of hearty muffins with loads of veggie and nuts and fruit. I’ve got them in the freezer and am taking one or two along for breakfast/work snack since I can rarely drag myself out of bed early enough to eat at home. Maybe we’ll adjust to worklife again… or maybe we’ll be back to working from home. Who knows!  But I had a good food week. I told my spouse that I’m gonna start moving $5 into a special fund each day I pack good lunches. That will motivate me.

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14511 on: July 29, 2021, 07:25:34 PM »
I paid for my very expensive gastro drug with FSA funds, and bought some random groceries in preparation for what may be the local apocalypse.  I used the spare change that had been literally rolling about in my purse for months to offset my self-checkout total.  I also took the opportunity to ask the new pharmacist why are these gastro drugs so expensive and if choosing a different health insurance plan might result in a lower price.  His answer was that it’s an uncommon drug, so it commands a higher price.  Lucky me.  I also earned beaucoup justforu rewards with my drug purchase. 

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14512 on: July 29, 2021, 07:55:37 PM »
We have really struggled with going back to the office and lunch packing and all our food routines in general recently.

I paid for my very expensive gastro drug with FSA funds

My recent life is a combination of the last two posts! After my very expensive gastro drug worked (my fresh-out-of-med-school doctor managed to convince my insurance company to pay for it after multiple appeals, otherwise it would have been ~$2000 for 42 pills) I'm suddenly no longer on a very restricted diet, and it's really thrown my food planning for a loop. I'm struggling a lot to plan effectively, eat healthy and thread the needle between avoiding food waste and running out of food too often. Combined with being immune compromised and not wanting to go into the grocery store while Delta is spiking and people seem to be dropping the masks all at once. Argh. My food spending was way up in July, partly from celebratory "I can eat everything again so I'm buying All The Fancy Things I Missed" and partly from some food waste when I screwed up my planning.

vand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14513 on: July 30, 2021, 03:09:23 AM »
I've been doing a lot of DIY lately.

Recently restored a set of wobbly wooden chairs - knocked them apart and then reglued them.  All wobble-free and better than new now. 

Dutch Comfort

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14514 on: July 30, 2021, 07:31:19 AM »
Needed (already for a couple of months) new pairs of jeans (no need for formal office clothing now we're WFH). Waited for some time and yesterday we went to the mall for the back to school items for DD. Found 3 pairs of my favorite jeans brand all for 75% off! So paid only 60 EUR for 3 pairs of jeans. This will last the remainder of the year (and then some). Saved me EUR 180 from ordering online. And..... best outcome of the day: I could try them on and found that I needed a smaller size! Nothing could wipe the smile of my face yesterday!

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14515 on: July 30, 2021, 11:10:27 AM »
Stocked up on toothpaste and shampoo since we had ran out of both. Checked out the best deal and paid €30 and getting €39,65 in discount! So I saved more than I spent. This will last us probably until the end of the year. I always prefer stocking up on things like these because it's just so annoying to run out. It always happens early in the morning when you're on the way to work (like this morning).

cashcowcanuck

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14516 on: July 31, 2021, 08:50:34 AM »
This may sound counter-intuitive, but stay with me: I spent money! Or, I will be spending money. I live in a studio apartment (one 600sq ft room) and it came with a tiny fridge/freezer. I'm told the management company won't be buying me a bigger one, and I want to get back into batch cooking, so I found a small, used, but in great condition, deep freeze that I'll be picking up in 3 hours. This way, I can buy the 'enjoy tonight' type produce, turn it into soups and what not, and then I'll have a range of dinners to choose from when I don't feel like cooking, which in this heat, happens a lot. In the last, well, many years, I've been having dinners at Wendy's McDick's, DQ, Subway, basically anything that didn't involve me cooking. No more! It's WAY TOO EXPENSIVE, and the excuse of, 'well I have nowhere to put the meals' has now been taken away!

I also made the decision to stick to the 'if I haven't used it in a near, I need to stop storing it' philosophy that I started following so many years ago, and just get rid of 2 boxes per weekend, after going through them and only saving the stuff I absolutely cannot live without (which I am guessing won't be much). I usually have 8 boxes of Christmas decorations, so I'm going to try to whittle that down to 2. Wish me luck!!

Catbert

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14517 on: July 31, 2021, 01:43:01 PM »

I also made the decision to stick to the 'if I haven't used it in a near, I need to stop storing it' philosophy that I started following so many years ago, and just get rid of 2 boxes per weekend, after going through them and only saving the stuff I absolutely cannot live without (which I am guessing won't be much). I usually have 8 boxes of Christmas decorations, so I'm going to try to whittle that down to 2. Wish me luck!!

Good luck, especially with the Christmas decorations.  Could you give up decorating for Christmas?  I'm finally down to ceramic Christmas tree and Mr. and Mrs. Santa (all from the 80s).  Everything else was given away.

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14518 on: July 31, 2021, 02:23:19 PM »
I returned about $100 worth of Amazon purchases. 

Lyngi

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14519 on: August 01, 2021, 01:41:17 PM »


I also made the decision to stick to the 'if I haven't used it in a near, I need to stop storing it' philosophy that I started following so many years ago, and just get rid of 2 boxes per weekend, after going through them and only saving the stuff I absolutely cannot live without (which I am guessing won't be much). I usually have 8 boxes of Christmas decorations, so I'm going to try to whittle that down to 2. Wish me luck!!

Good luck, especially with the Christmas decorations.  Could you give up decorating for Christmas?  I'm finally down to ceramic Christmas tree and Mr. and Mrs. Santa (all from the 80s).  Everything else was given away.

   over the last several  (10?) years I've gotten Christmas decorations down to one tote, a wreath and a Willow Tree creche.
      First thing I did was to get rid of the artificial tree (big tote, dusty, spiders and I got angry when I had to put the tree up by myself and then take it down again)  I started ordering a small fresh tree from a local business.  The natural trees are beautiful with minimal decoration.  So I got rid of a ton of lights, the big ornaments and all the garland.   I kept the white, crackle glass ornaments, some fairy light strands and ornaments my kids made. Also, the Willow Tree nativity my coworkers got for me when my grandpa died. (long time ago). 
  my Christmas wreath has an old Santa's Band bell chorus on it.  It's subtle and unusual.   The neighbors have commented on how much they enjoy the bells on quiet mornings.  AND I don't feel the need to put lights on the house or stuff in my yard. 
   All this didn't happen at once.  I agonized over 2 old Avon snowman candles from my childhood Christmases.  I had a Santa and Mrs Claus I made during college.  the first Christmas balls we bought as a married couple.   I thanked them, and donated them.     I realized the memories are still there even if the items are gone.   
   

Dutch Comfort

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14520 on: August 02, 2021, 07:03:49 AM »
Few small wins this weekend:
Did a few small clothing repairs. DD and SO were happy with their repaired clothes.
SO repaired some camping gear and I adjusted some camping gear by sewing things on it myself, so we did not need to bring it to the professional sewer.



MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14521 on: August 02, 2021, 10:18:35 AM »
@Imma - Sure, here you go. https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/zucchini_muffins/



I made these today with the last of my frozen zucchini from last year...this recipe is fabulous! Mr. Z loved them (although I made them by the recipe, without the healthier adjustments.)

@ZsaZsa - so glad they worked out for you! We have tons of zucchini, so I've been doing lots of experimenting this year :-)

sonofsven

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14522 on: August 03, 2021, 07:02:26 AM »
I built a bed frame out of all salvaged wood for my soon to be completed guest room.
I bought a new mattress for myself last year so I already have a queen mattress for guests.

Jenny Wren

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14523 on: August 03, 2021, 02:06:17 PM »
I've been feeling the urge to start an embroidery project. I have plenty of floss, hoops, fabric -- but no pattern inspiration and didn't want to buy a chart or kit. Free stuff on the web wasn't appealing either, as I have a vague idea of what I want o make a wall decoration.

Yay for the library! The digital branch has a ton of embroidery e-magazines from different countries and after perusing through several I was able to print up the perfect chart. I was a able to swap out colors for certain parts of the design that aren't color dependent so I can use the embroidery floss I have instead of buying new. 

Free chart+free entertainment as I stitch it up!

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14524 on: August 03, 2021, 02:48:17 PM »
Yay for the library!

Indeed! I've saved so much money on books during the pandemic, just getting a steady stream of e-books from the library. I was dismayed to log in today and find that my card had expired (curiously, my card doesn't have an expiration date on it, so it was a surprise) and I had to walk over and renew it. Luckily I live a 5-minute walk away from a branch and they were able to renew it in under 5 minutes flat, and when I got home my online account worked again :-)  Yay for the library!

trashtalk

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14525 on: August 03, 2021, 08:13:39 PM »
Rode my bike to meeting—got free exercise and had no gasoline or carbon expense.

Harvested and ate some goji berries from the backyard.

Used the sawdust bucket toilet several times to save water and eventually produce compost for the garden. The sawdust was free from our Buy Nothing Group.

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14526 on: August 04, 2021, 04:26:08 AM »
I cooked dinner at home for us the last 2 nights and the company that is staying with me is helping me eat weird stuff out of the fridge. 

Weisass

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14527 on: August 04, 2021, 07:01:50 AM »
I cooked dinner at home for us the last 2 nights and the company that is staying with me is helping me eat weird stuff out of the fridge.

What qualifies as weird? Inquiring minds, you know!

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14528 on: August 05, 2021, 04:38:19 AM »
Let’s say…groceries bought with good intentions like yogurt flavors not commonly enjoyed. 


I cooked dinner at home for us the last 2 nights and the company that is staying with me is helping me eat weird stuff out of the fridge.

What qualifies as weird? Inquiring minds, you know!

MountainGal

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14529 on: August 05, 2021, 12:14:30 PM »
Called the bank today and had them reverse a petty $3 fee.

Sugaree

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14530 on: August 05, 2021, 02:07:13 PM »
Placed a grocery order early in order to lock in what has to be a pricing mistake on some snack pack things for my kid to take to school.  There's no way the 30 pack is supposed to be less expensive than the 20 pack.

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14531 on: August 06, 2021, 08:21:17 AM »
One of our Papaya trees got destroyed by wind and weather yesterday. Mulched some - harvested some.
So now I have 15 big papayas ripening in a cardboard box.
I'll send some to work with Mr. R. on Monday - to share with co-workers. and I guess I better find a recipe or two for papayas.
Recipe ideas welcome:)!

Not too sorry about losing the Papaya tree since the bananas were crowding it. It was trying to escape and grow toward a sunnier spot.
I have two self-seeded papayas in pots waiting to be planted - so it is all good.
Sharing some of the bounty with my neighbor.

Jenny Wren

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14532 on: August 06, 2021, 08:45:54 AM »
Dragged home a heavy solid wood freestanding cabinet from a free pile. It has a stone top and is really quite lovely, but it is missing the glass door inserts. I've been keeping my eye out for a similar cabinet for a storage solution in my craft area, but have been too cheap to pull the trigger on them. Plus I hate cheap particle board furniture. I'm going to use some decorative rice paper with pressed flowers embedded in it (which I already have) to replace the door inserts for now.

trashtalk

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14533 on: August 08, 2021, 09:40:06 AM »
Replaced the hoses that connect the faucet to the hose reel (for outdoor watering) with washing machine hoses.

The old short hoses from faucet to reel were cracked and had loose attachments, so every time you turned on the water a ridiculous amount was lost to spray and leakage. We installed a drain at the bottom of our driveway that recaptures some of this and redirects it to beneath the front lawn, but better not to waste it all. I had tried duct-taping over the cracks but it didn’t help much.

We’ve invested in high-quality garden hoses over the years and haven’t had any problems with the main hoses since we did so, so hopefully this is one of the final pieces of the puzzle.

(We live in a large western U.S. city that draws its water from a river hundreds of miles away so we try to be as conscientious as we can about water.)

 

Chaplin

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14534 on: August 08, 2021, 01:35:21 PM »
My son and I fixed his nice gaming headphones. He had broken them by repeatedly twisting the wire near the jack around his finger until the wires separated from the jack. We bought a replacement jack with leads, cut to the old jack off, joined them up and they work perfectly. A $10 package of two replacement jacks to save a set of $75 headphones with a spare for next time (plus some good father/son time and a few learning experiences).

Dutch Comfort

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14535 on: August 10, 2021, 03:19:53 AM »
We were in a bookstore yesterday. I checked out some books and then decided to first check the library. Found all books I wanted in epub format there and put them om my Ereader for the coming holiday. Win-win, since it’s cheaper and no extra weight!
Now DD is also checking the EPUB’s in the library for teenage books. So glad I bought her own Ereader, since I would otherwise have fights over who could use it…… (and again, that Ereader was a birthday present. Best gift for our book-lover ever!)



Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14536 on: August 10, 2021, 03:57:26 AM »
I made severals jars of jam from selfpicked blueberries and cloudberries. Those are the most expensive types of jam to buy in the shop.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14537 on: August 10, 2021, 04:03:05 AM »
One of our Papaya trees got destroyed by wind and weather yesterday. Mulched some - harvested some.
So now I have 15 big papayas ripening in a cardboard box.
I'll send some to work with Mr. R. on Monday - to share with co-workers. and I guess I better find a recipe or two for papayas.
Recipe ideas welcome:)!

Not too sorry about losing the Papaya tree since the bananas were crowding it. It was trying to escape and grow toward a sunnier spot.
I have two self-seeded papayas in pots waiting to be planted - so it is all good.
Sharing some of the bounty with my neighbor.

@Rosy
If I have a lot of fruit, I make jam of it or DH makes wine. Or both, if it is a lot of fruit, like our plum tree last year. I haven't tried with papaya, but as it is a fruit, I think you can treat it as other fruits.

As you can buy dried papaya in the shape of small dices, that is something you can do to preserve. You can use your oven, or get a food drier.

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14538 on: August 10, 2021, 05:18:45 AM »
@Linea_Norway that is an excellent idea, thank you, that didn't even occur to me, duh. I bought a dehydrator at Aldi a few years back for my herbs and never used it because it is generally hot and dry enough in the shed or I hang a few bundles up on the curtain rods in the kitchen.
The dehydrator should work great for the bananas later in the year.

My neighbor made the most excellent passion fruit jam (Maracuja). Mine didn't turn out so well:).

Linea, your husband wouldn't have a good recipe for elderberry liquor or wine by any chance?
We finally have enough wild elderberries for both me and the birds:).

Free classes
Thanks to youtube I found two excellent free courses.
Looking forward to both the new knowledge and the resulting profits.
My brain needs exercise...
 

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14539 on: August 10, 2021, 05:48:29 AM »
We never made wine from elderberries, but I suppose any wine recipe would work. I don't have a specific recipe. We are used to turn elderberries elderberry flowers into a sirup, which is made with sugar and water, like any sirup recipe. And maybe a few drops of lemon juice for taste.

« Last Edit: August 10, 2021, 11:39:34 PM by Linea_Norway »

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14540 on: August 10, 2021, 06:38:45 AM »
@Linea_Norway - Good idea, I might try that, we have fresh Persian limes off the tree I could use instead of the lemons. I could use the syrup for a Hugo. Ever since I had that wine cooler concoction on my last Germany trip I've wanted to recreate it, super refreshing on a hot summer day.
Thx:).

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14541 on: August 10, 2021, 07:41:31 AM »
-Sold a few things on eBay
-Continue to give away a ton of produce to neighbors, friends & Buy Nothing group. Money saving for others, and reducing food waste are big wins. We've also been eating a lot of garden produce
-My son made dinner last night (deep dish pizza, which was delicious). I love helping him with life skills, and even after buying a few ingredients he needed, significantly cheaper than takeout

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14542 on: August 10, 2021, 04:18:36 PM »
Made a snack using ingredients we have on hand instead of buying a snack.

Sandi_k

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14543 on: August 10, 2021, 08:57:34 PM »
I said no to a friend who tried to lure me out for post-work drinks and snackies. I just wanted to go home.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14544 on: August 10, 2021, 11:44:55 PM »
We never made wine from elderberries, but I suppose any wine recipe would work. I don't have a specific recipe. We are used to turn elderberries elderberry flowers into a sirup, which is made with sugar and water, like any sirup recipe. And maybe a few drops of lemon juice for taste.

@Rosy
I had to correct it. We turned elderberry flowers into sirup, not the berries themselves.
I checken one of my foraging books. You can use the berries as well, but they must be heated. Unripe berries and unheated berries have a poison that can cause stomach trouble. Heating takes away the poison.
Berries can be used for jam, icecream, sorbet, pudding, baking, drinks, vinegar,sirup, likor and sauce. Or you can dry them at high temperatures and make into powder.

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14545 on: August 11, 2021, 08:23:39 AM »
@Linea_Norway - got it:)! THX!
Just looked this morning - still got plenty of berries.

Jenny Wren

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14546 on: August 11, 2021, 11:17:39 AM »
We discovered an old remnant of an orchard yesterday on public lands (open to foraging). We were aware that there used to be a farm there 50-75 years ago, but had no idea this old abandoned orchard had been swallowed by the surrounding meadows and wetlands. It was painful to reach thanks to blackberry brambles surrounding it! We brought home a bunch of ripe plums and apples, but left plenty behind for other gleaners and the wildlife.  There are more plums, apples, and pears set to ripen over the next couple of months, so we will be returning.

I spent the morning making blackberry jam (foraged berries) and a couple of jars of plum jam. I'm drying apple slices for snacking on, as these sweet-tart ones are perfect for it. I also put a gallon of blackberry mead and three growlers of blackberry kombucha up a couple of days ago.

My 16 year old dragged in a nice big flatscreen LG TV from the dumpster. Its HDMI input was broken, but he took it apart and fixed the connections. He now has a bigger and nicer computer monitor, which makes him very happy as his ancient one was on its last legs.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14547 on: August 11, 2021, 11:42:44 AM »
We ate a selfcaught fish for dinner. And I baked fresh bread for breakfast and lunch.

jim555

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14548 on: August 11, 2021, 02:02:49 PM »
Since the great toilet paper and paper towel shortage of 2020 I don't buy paper towels anymore.  I use a stack of cotton face clothes instead.  Hand wash them as needed, wash with the laundry.

slackmax

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14549 on: August 12, 2021, 08:55:59 AM »
Basic price comparison shopping. I was at an outdoor festival, where a lot of private establishments sell beer.  Prices varied a lot. Do they think no one notices? The high price was $10 and the low price was $6, for an oversized mug of craft beer.  And, the $6 stuff was actually higher quality than the $10 stuff.

Of course I went to the $6 place. My way to fight inflation and greed at the same time, lol.