Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8029497 times)

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14700 on: January 04, 2022, 07:22:59 AM »
A lightbulb broke off in an old light fixture. Instead of replacing it, we spent the time to remove the broken lightbulb.

Trifle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14701 on: January 05, 2022, 03:35:34 AM »
We're using the first week of the new year to eat down all the food in our cupboards, fridge, and freezer.  Our grocery bill this first week was only $20 for some supplemental milk and fresh items.  It feels really good to clean and organize all the food storage. 

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14702 on: January 05, 2022, 07:30:22 AM »
I fixed my own furnace.  It wouldn't come on for the morning warm-up and of course this is the week we are hit with frigid temperatures in the teens and below zero overnights.  I woke up to 49 degrees inside the house and a dead furnace that wouldn't respond to my rebooting efforts.   

About a year ago I paid for a no-heat call to a service company and they charged me $150 for a 10 minute job of cleaning the flame sensor.  I wondered if it was the same trouble so I turned off the breaker and aggressively started poking around to troubleshoot it.  I checked YouTube and other online resources for clues.  Found the sensor on my unit, cleaned it with super-fine-grit sandpaper, and reassembled.  The furnace fired up perfectly.  I about broke my arm patting myself on the back and danced around the house for a little while. 

I saved at least $150 since I bet the "It's 12 degrees right now so we will charge what we want thank you very much" premium fee is added to all service calls today, and lately every kind of home maintenance cost is stupidly expensive.  A great thing also was that I didn't have to wait for hours in the cold and worry about frozen pipes. 

It is good to be handy and brave to try to fix things on my own.  Good for the psyche and wallet together.   

ClapClapClapClap!!!! Awesome job, @MissNancyPryor!

I rented a Rug Doctor to clean the carpets in my new house instead of paying for a service to do it. It was hard work!

My husband has a terrible voice, but he always has a song, or a snippet of one, on his lips. It's usually something new every day, but sometimes there are random repeats. Recently, he's been singing, "Rug Doctor, steaming mad at dirt." Uh, okay, crazy man. Turns out he's been scanning Craigslist for a new carpet cleaner, because ours is no longer fixable. Someone had a new-looking Rug Doctor for sale. Guy was asking $350, but the listing disappeared. It popped up a week or so later, but the price was reduced to $225. DH acted fast and scored it. The spendypants seller bought it for their new house, used it once, then replaced all the carpet with hard surfaces. Crazy! It looks brand new, works perfectly, and has all the attachments. We have carpet and a pet who loves to rub her dirty, wet face on things, so we clean the fuzzy stuff frequently. Now that we own a genuine Rug Doctor, we can also keep the carpets clean at our library and the thrift store where I (we) volunteer. CL for the win!

A lightbulb broke off in an old light fixture. Instead of replacing it, we spent the time to remove the broken lightbulb.

Glad you were able to remove the broken bulb. You probably know this, but I'm chiming in as a Public Service Announcement. Should anyone else find themselves in the same predicament, grab a potato. Really. Slice it in half, jam the cut side onto the broken bulb until it grabs, then twist the potato to remove the broken base.

Dutch Comfort

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14703 on: January 06, 2022, 02:41:59 AM »
Brought the company car to the garage for maintenance. Instead of opting for a rental replacement car (which costs around EUR 50 out of pocket), I opted for a temporary free bike replacement for the day. Had some early morning exercise and saved money!

hdatontodo

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14704 on: January 06, 2022, 05:55:39 AM »
When replacing my stove, I had to reconfigure the cabinets to get the more powerful burners away from the side wall. I had to buy 2 wall cabinets from HD, but I did the 3 days work myself.

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14705 on: January 07, 2022, 02:39:11 PM »
I refilled the kids’ backpack hand sanitizer thingies using a tiny funnel and a bulk container of hand sanitizer.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14706 on: January 07, 2022, 03:31:47 PM »
-Made a huge pot of soup, largely using things I had on hand & was trying to get rid of
-Made banana muffins out of the overly ripe bananas sitting on the counter

Trifle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14707 on: January 08, 2022, 05:12:30 AM »
I didn't go anywhere or spend any money.  I did meal planning for the coming week, focusing on using up meat and vegetables from the freezer. 

Cool Hwhip

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14708 on: January 08, 2022, 06:05:35 PM »
Went to Chipotle with some gift cards from Christmas. Used the work truck, no cost for gas and no wear and tear on the personal vehicle.

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14709 on: January 10, 2022, 09:09:03 AM »
We've been working out from home for some months now with borrowed weights!

Dr Kidstache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14710 on: January 10, 2022, 10:50:38 AM »
I installed a new deadbolt on my front door instead of calling a locksmith

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14711 on: January 10, 2022, 10:55:19 AM »
Stocked the freezer over the weekend:
-Two kinds of soup
-Muffins
-Cookie dough for the kids
-Chicken in a fajita marinade x3
-Chicken taco meat x2

I also made a dessert for the kids using stale cereal in place of graham crackers.

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14712 on: January 10, 2022, 04:41:23 PM »
GARDEN
Our very own plantain harvest
I'm looking at our first harvest of plantains - yay - so exciting. Now I just need to figure out how to cook them since unlike bananas they have to be cooked and my one and only attempt years ago failed abysmally - they were hard as rocks:).

Garden gift from the birds
There is a Florida Native big bush called Beauty Berry and beautiful it is (if you have the space for one).
Eye-catching clusters of the prettiest berry clusters on long branches. The color is unique purple/lavender/with pink undertones.

Welcome freebies
COSMOS in happy yellow and orange keep sprouting everywhere - I don't mind a wild-looking garden.
The orange is so cheerful to look at. We get the occasional creamy yellow or vanilla color and lots of bright sunflower yellow.
They require zero work and self-seed all year long - easy to pull out where they are not wanted.
What more can one ask for?

ZERO SPEND - FUN - Projects - Recycle - Reuse ...
Spring gardening is in full swing in Florida, although I'm still grappling with clean-up/organization. Got enough really nice big pavers from my neighbor to make a new garden path. She's having a new patio put in - providential:) The new garden plans and projects are coming along.
Using up seeds from last year and some gift cards at the garden centers.
Looking forward to creating some recycled garden art from glass bottles and beads using our old metal garden gate as the frame. Our neighbor makes lovely windchimes from old bottles, I plan to use one as the centerpiece.

FOOD - gifts
1. Mr. R. is happily munching through half of a huge Chocolate Mousse cake our neighbor brought by. Dessert for a week:).
2. I don't know how Sauerkraut always finds me at New Year's, but it does. This year someone's Dad made their own Sauerkraut and cooked up the most delicious sauerkraut and pork dish. Mild and flavorful.

UNEXPECTED TRADE-OFF
DIL stopped by unannounced while I was in X-mas cookie baking mode and dropped off the best sandwich fixings from our favorite authentic Italian Deli. Freshly baked bread, salami, prosciutto, and cheese.
Angling for first dibs and an extra share of my homemade macaroons of course - but hey, that turned out to be a great trade-off:).

ORANGES FRESH OFF THE TREE
Thanks to Mr. R's co-worker's Dad - awesome taste.
... and a bag of freshly harvested sweet potatoes - can't go wrong with steamed sweet potatoes or homemade sweet potato pie.
I might even try making some chips for a change - we'll see.

COOKING and PREPPING
I've never been more well-stocked. Prepped and froze some green pea soup with old potatoes and leftover ham. Made my own ham bone broth.
I ordered way too much smoked ham for Christmas, shared it with the DIL, and took a big plate to a friend's house. Worked out well, I happened to offer it at the right time.

MONEY-SAVING
TV - $400 savings in the end - long story, I'll spare you the details. It was a frustrating odyssey. 
Oh well, I got what I wanted but next time I'll just bite the bullet and pay the price. This was a useless exercise in stubbornness. It took one year plus four months...

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14713 on: January 10, 2022, 05:02:44 PM »
@Rosy - loved your list!

For me, I checked our work offerings for corporate discounts ahead of ordering lift tickets this weekend. Skiing is never inexpensive, so it was really nice to save 30% off of the passes!

SailingOnASmallSailboat

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14714 on: January 10, 2022, 05:03:00 PM »
@Rosy - you probably already know that plantains ripen from the outside in, unlike bananas which go inside out. Plantains you can leave to ripen -
 basically when they're black, they'll be perfect for mild banana-y taste inside. Otherwise, treat them a lot like potatoes. Hard to peel potatoes. (I cut them in half horizontally (lay them flat and chop in half across it, not along the long side), then score the skin into 4 sections. Then peel the skin off each section at a time)

Favorite recipe for green plantains is spiders. A little like potato pancakes, but with plantains.

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14715 on: January 11, 2022, 03:26:33 PM »
@Rosy - you probably already know that plantains ripen from the outside in, unlike bananas which go inside out. Plantains you can leave to ripen -
 basically when they're black, they'll be perfect for mild banana-y taste inside. Otherwise, treat them a lot like potatoes. Hard to peel potatoes. (I cut them in half horizontally (lay them flat and chop in half across it, not along the long side), then score the skin into 4 sections. Then peel the skin off each section at a time)

Favorite recipe for green plantains is spiders. A little like potato pancakes, but with plantains.

@SailingOnASmallSailboat - thank you so much for the details, I was actually completely clueless:). I usually consult my favorite gardeners on youtube but hadn't yet.
Please share your spider recipe that sounds like something we'd love.

@MaybeBabyMustache - Thx:)
Seeing your "stop and think mode" in action again and again challenges me to stop the "I can afford this" mode that is so easy to slip into. It is akin to the "I deserve this" mindset that can become the path to financial destruction over time.

Yesterday I reviewed and cashed in from holiday expenditures:
1. POINTS - Swagbucks - Discounts
Collected $150. in cashback and a $50 Amazon card.
Plus - $30 in digital books discounts, a total of $30 cash discount on GCs and $43 worth of bitcoin.

2. Used a coupon for a "free" Sam's Club membership. $45 savings

3. Today - scored more unexpected gifts- a box of chocolate-covered Hawaiian Macadamia nuts. Mr. R. will be happy.
Plus a lovely rainbow crystal suncatcher - my friend is experimenting with crystals:).

4. Thanks to my neighbor we just got an extra $100 discount on upcoming concrete work.
Said neighbor also has a pair of boltcutters that cut through chain link fencing like butter with no effort at all (arthritis-friendly), I'm borrowing them for my garden art project. Kept me from buying my own for other upcoming projects - nice savings.

FOOD
5. Fixing supper for tonight and tomorrow, steamed potatoes, sausage with green onions and a side of creamed spinach, plus enough for Mr. R's lunch. Saves me from cooking tomorrow. That will also give me potatoes to make my own lunch tomorrow - fried eggs, potatoes and fresh spinach or other greenery.

Planting the green onion roots in the garden for more free green onions.
Strawberries are in season, fresh off the field - so we'll have some with vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Cheap, quick and easy - always a good thing:).

Hope y'all fare just as well or much better - it all adds up over time. A free bunch of organic onions time and again is healthy, no trouble to cultivate even in a pot and will save you roughly $2.48 at Walmart in our region - one bunch a week = $128.96 per annum.
It's an easy no-brainer. If you chop them up and freeze them in the summer if you happen to live in a cold climate, you can use the free frozen onions in the winter.
Absolute mini savings - but hey, if you challenge yourself to find three more similar food savings you just took $500 off your grocery bill for the year.
Better yet, pick the most expensive item off your grocery list and challenge yourself to find a way to get it 25% or 50% cheaper.
Game on:).

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14716 on: January 11, 2022, 03:42:59 PM »
@Rosy - love your onion example. I used to do a monthly self challenge on finding a way to cut money from our budget forever. Things like reducing our kleenex usage by making handkerchiefs. (bonus points that teen made some in a failed sewing attempt during remote learning last year. They are hideous, but do the job.) I've lost momentum on that challenge, but I should get back to it. Small tweaks that pay dividends over time. We have rosemary planted right outside of our door, and it's impossible to kill & such an easy swap.

Tigerpine

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14717 on: January 11, 2022, 03:51:25 PM »
Speaking of saving on kleenex, I don't use a handkerchief any more (I did when I was a kid to be like my dad, who uses them to this day), but I always tear the kleenex in half before using them.  That essentially makes the box contain twice as many tissues.

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14718 on: January 11, 2022, 04:01:13 PM »
Speaking of saving on kleenex, I don't use a handkerchief any more (I did when I was a kid to be like my dad, who uses them to this day), but I always tear the kleenex in half before using them.  That essentially makes the box contain twice as many tissues.

I don't do that with kleenex, but I always did it with paper towels. Then when they started selling the paper towels with smaller sizes, I started tearing them even smaller. Now they've started selling "tear a square" paper towels which are perforated at about a quarter of the original size. I don't know where this stand-off will end.

Sugaree

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14719 on: January 12, 2022, 08:11:45 AM »
We replaced a vast majority of our paper towel usage with bar wipes in the summer of 2019.  They are starting to get dingy, but still work for cleaning up the kitchen.

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14720 on: January 12, 2022, 12:14:37 PM »
We're traveling to a friend's place with homemade ice cream that we made. To help get it there, we are making our own blocks of ice in lieu of buying them.

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14721 on: January 12, 2022, 12:20:48 PM »
We're traveling to a friend's place with homemade ice cream that we made. To help get it there, we are making our own blocks of ice in lieu of buying them.
That's some excellent planning right there.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14722 on: January 12, 2022, 12:21:23 PM »
Saved my parents $15/night by booking a hotel direct through their website. They wanted to call on the phone (I hate phone calls, and booking online feels like a win regardless.) Saved $120, which is a nice chunk for using the more direct route.

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14723 on: January 12, 2022, 12:40:45 PM »
Saved my parents $15/night by booking a hotel direct through their website. They wanted to call on the phone (I hate phone calls, and booking online feels like a win regardless.) Saved $120, which is a nice chunk for using the more direct route.
I used to book all of my parent's travel, saving them a ton. They're both gone now, but occasionally I stumble across one of their travel files...

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14724 on: January 12, 2022, 03:56:17 PM »
Saved my parents $15/night by booking a hotel direct through their website. They wanted to call on the phone (I hate phone calls, and booking online feels like a win regardless.) Saved $120, which is a nice chunk for using the more direct route.
I used to book all of my parent's travel, saving them a ton. They're both gone now, but occasionally I stumble across one of their travel files...

@Dicey - my parents are awesome, so I'm happy to help. But, definitely see this increasing in the future! I also helped them buy 4 flights with miles yesterday, which they were thrilled by. They also didn't know they had a companion fare in their account, so using that for their Hawaii trip. Lots of room to optimize their travel, which is kind of fun, particularly as they don't have a lot of flexible spending, so this really helps to stretch their travel money.

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14725 on: January 12, 2022, 06:47:39 PM »
Saved my parents $15/night by booking a hotel direct through their website. They wanted to call on the phone (I hate phone calls, and booking online feels like a win regardless.) Saved $120, which is a nice chunk for using the more direct route.
I used to book all of my parent's travel, saving them a ton. They're both gone now, but occasionally I stumble across one of their travel files...

@Dicey - my parents are awesome, so I'm happy to help. But, definitely see this increasing in the future! I also helped them buy 4 flights with miles yesterday, which they were thrilled by. They also didn't know they had a companion fare in their account, so using that for their Hawaii trip. Lots of room to optimize their travel, which is kind of fun, particularly as they don't have a lot of flexible spending, so this really helps to stretch their travel money.
I had their Southwest accounts set up to come to me. I still get pangs when I receive an offer from SWA addressed to Dear Dicey's Mom and Dear Dicey's Dad. I haven't deleted their accounts because sometimes they get offers that I don't, lol. Of course, we're not flying anywhere these days. IIRC, neither of their accounts has large point balances at the time of their passing, so I expect they've just vaporized.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14726 on: January 12, 2022, 07:57:48 PM »
@Dicey - I can feel that. I can imagine that must bring up all of the feels. Hope you have a lot of wonderful memories with your parents.

DagobertDuck

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14727 on: January 13, 2022, 07:54:24 AM »
I drank instant coffee instead of Nescafe Dolce Gusto ($ 0.25 per capsule)

Sugaree

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14728 on: January 13, 2022, 09:39:14 AM »
Did the annual song and dance with Sirius to bring the price down to something that I'm actually willing to pay.  Added the reminder to my phone to do it all again next year.

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14729 on: January 13, 2022, 09:56:36 AM »
@Dicey - I can feel that. I can imagine that must bring up all of the feels. Hope you have a lot of wonderful memories with your parents.
Thanks,  MBM. I also have dead people in my contacts.  I can't bear to eliminate them, so I think of it as an opportunity to remember them, which is weird, I know. Fortunately, I rarely scroll through all of my contacts. As I used to tell my mom, it's the price you pay for living longer. I was such a smart-ass.

Anette

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14730 on: January 14, 2022, 03:37:15 PM »
DH and I were going to book a weekend trip for this long weekend but decided against it after our budget meeting. We planned the budget for the year and our travels and as we are still paying a lot of money for school fees, lodging, commute and therapy for our youngest daughters and we have increased our savings rate we have to watch it closely this year.
It did help that the weather is pretty awful (a lot of  fog) and that things like travel and sight seeing aren't all that enjoyable due to Covid restrictions.
We will be staying at home, meeting friend s for a walk and otherwise pretending to be on vacation so we are not doing household clean up or paperwork.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14731 on: January 14, 2022, 03:53:19 PM »
Picked up a couple of items to make sandwiches for the weekend, as we'll be skiing. Sandwiches are the easiest option for transporting & logistics. We are not sandwich people, so didn't have the items on hand, but even with picking up bread & jam, coming out way ahead. PB&Js for the win. Oh, & used a gift card to pay for the groceries. Even better.

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14732 on: January 16, 2022, 08:46:49 PM »
1. A creative tradeoff - creativity for a good cause
Spent a leisurely hour with a friend who loves working with beads, stones, and other creative projects, sorting through part of my stash, donating beads and other supplies for her various cool and creative projects to raise funds for her cat sanctuary.
In the process, we came across a semi-precious stone necklace that was clearly meant for her - just waiting for her to come along. It was a necklace I had started on three years ago and abandoned, just lacking a clasp. I saw how her eyes lit up, the colors were perfect for her. She was so thrilled with it and I was happy to give it to someone who so obviously loves it. 

She is making a beautiful rainbow bead curtain (step valance, not full size) for my kitchen window -  with the rainbow blown-glass star I already own as the centerpiece. Can't wait to see the final result.

Sometimes the joy of sharing creativity and ideas, helping each other, or supporting a good cause is beyond priceless and soul-satisfying.
Made me feel happy and blessed.
In terms of savings, we both made out handsomely and the cat sanctuary will benefit nicely too.

2. GOAL for the next two months - use up, trade, or sell my entire stash of gift cards to get what I really want/need.
* Lowes gift cards will go towards a garden fountain. Our old one got destroyed in a recent windstorm.
* Restaurant cards - I'll sell most online - together with the Lowes GC's that will give me enough to pay for a new fountain.
* Amazon cards will go towards a new Fan/Light for the living room.
To be continued ...
It was kind of shocking to realize how many gift cards I had accumulated and not used in the past two years.
No point in spending money when I can use my gift cards instead.

3. FOOD
Time to clear out the freezer - no shopping for meat or frozen veggies until all the older items are gone. I'm not depleting it entirely in case there might be more shipping and supply problems. I'll restock and rotate the older items to the front.
Time to cook up the extra pantry supplies, take inventory - to be replenished prior to hurricane season.
In terms of savings, it just means we will not throw out expired items i.e. money out the window.

4. Recycle - Re-use
Restrung parts of a complicated glass butterfly garden decor piece that I really wanted to save. It came with bells (windchime) that have long since rusted through or disintegrated but I remembered I had three brass bells (doesn't everybody have a stash of those?:) - those should last a lot longer. Done - except for attaching the new bells.
Taking apart an old mosaic paver project for a new garden pathway to keep our feet dry in an area that will get standing water during the rainy season.
In progress.
Both require a lot of work and time but zero expense, except $12 for three bags of gravel - worthwhile projects, if you like dry feet and keeping mud out of the house and enjoy garden art:).

5. Take-out - scored $15 discount ($10 Loyalty Rewards and $5 via using Swagbucks) and $23. Reimbursement I'd forgotten about - glad it was in their system. Savings $33.

6. Discovered that the celery root I stuck in a big pot in the garden is sprouting like crazy, looking fat and happy - yay for free organic Celery.
Small victories, but hey:).

PMG

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14733 on: January 21, 2022, 06:28:22 PM »
My spouse has been talking about watching the new matrix for weeks but he didn't want to sign up for another subscription, and it's a pricey one, etc etc.  I kept telling him, to just do it...  I finally started poking around online and found out we could get a free week trial of HBOmax via our black Friday 99cent Hulu, so I got him signed up at watching at 8:15.  The movie goes off hbo max at midnight.  He usually likes to split movies up into two or three evenings, so this is gonna be tough for him to make it through it in one sitting! Haha!

I've got a reminder set to cancel the trial tomorrow.

This is just one of the more amusing money saving things recently, in the midsts of cooking at home and line drying laundry and all that jazz.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14734 on: January 21, 2022, 07:19:45 PM »
@Rosy - I have a similar "use it up" gift card goal! I inventory all of them & track them, but need to get to using them all. They do me no good sitting at home.

As for me, we are eating down the freezer/fridge supplies. Tonight's dinner uses the last of a bag of breaded chicken, and some ravioli. Served with salads. The hungry teens will like both, so we are all set. I made a large batch of no bake peanut butter chocolate bars, using a bag of stale cereal. I'd assumed I'd have an easy dessert for the next few weeks (it stores well in the freezer, & you can take out a few at a time). I noticed one of the kids polished that off, so I'll use another bag of stale cereal to make granola bars this weekend.

trashtalk

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14735 on: January 21, 2022, 07:29:19 PM »
I fixed the broken handle on the refrigerator.

SquashingDebt

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14736 on: January 22, 2022, 06:53:49 AM »
Made yogurt for the first time in months, instead of buying the quart containers.  Saved money and plastic!

SailingOnASmallSailboat

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14737 on: January 22, 2022, 08:16:16 AM »
Gotta do this. I unearthed a container of powdered milk when I cleaned out a cabinet the other day and that would be the perfect way to use it up. Thanks for the inspiration!

joenorm

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14738 on: January 22, 2022, 09:47:45 AM »
Decided to stop ordering anything from Amazon Prime. Turns out we didn't need any of that stuff anyway. So easy.

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14739 on: January 22, 2022, 10:40:26 AM »
Quality vitamins haven't escaped inflation. We used an unexpected coupon from Lucky Vitamin to restock.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14740 on: January 22, 2022, 12:45:15 PM »
-Made granola bars for snacky teens
-My husband repaired our very expensive (& old) espresso machine. It says it's made 20k cups of espresso, so it's been very worth it.
-Picked up vegetables at the produce stand. A bit more work & longer lines, but 1/4 of the cost of the store
-Almost threw away a tiny container of honey (I think it was a gift as part of a charcuterie tray), but microwaved it, and was able to extract all of the honey. (Used in granola bars.)

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14741 on: January 22, 2022, 02:21:06 PM »
RE-USE
I discovered that an old teakwood carved piece I had will be perfect as a curtain rod for my rainbow crystal curtain valance in the kitchen. Free - re-use:)
DIY FIX
Meanwhile, my neighbor restrung a favorite bracelet for me, the stretchy kind, that had become so loose I was in danger of losing it.

USING UP
1. Clearing out the freezer is still in progress and will be for a while. Mr. R. defrosted the mini freezer this morning. There was only one thing I'd forgotten about, a ring of sausage, so it will become our next dinner - everything else just needed re-arranging in order of expiration. So it is back to the main freezer for the next two weeks.
2. I am making good use of my stash of broken or abandoned projects - sharing some with my neighbor and creating new garden art. Entertaining, fun and creative - all for free.
 
REPAIR - saving us the trouble and expense of replacement
Mr. R. is fixing the built-in drawers in the bedroom closet - saving us considerable time and trouble and about $250 for a replacement unit.
It is prompting me to sort and declutter the contents which were way overdue anyway. Eye roll, one thing always leads to another.
SAVINGS - discounts and coupons
Saved $40 at CVS and got a $10 coupon - pure luck, since I had no choice but to buy a medical item that just happened to be on sale.
...the usual grocery coupons, BOGOs, buying seasonal produce, and checking the clearance items - nice savings overall.

Then again, I discovered a local Artisan Bakery ...,:) honestly, the best Butter Croissant I've ever had outside of Paris.
Good thing it isn't too close to our house or I'd probably live there.

@MaybeBabyMustache - Good point about trying new and different ways of shopping to save. There is a new produce stand and ethnic store in my neighborhood - next time I'm passing by I'll stop in.

Poundwise

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14742 on: January 22, 2022, 10:32:14 PM »
I'm not sure if this strictly falls into saving money, perhaps it is only wasting less money. 
I couldn't decide between two items, so I ordered both and chose one. We accidentally recycled the original outer packaging, so the only cardboard box that I could find to package the return was pretty big.  My husband kindly offered to return one for me, but at the post office he recoiled because postage was $70!

So I flattened out the cardboard box, cut it down to size, and constructed a new, smaller box which fit the item better.  I went back to the post office and shipped it to the West Coast for "only" $38. So be it.

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14743 on: January 23, 2022, 04:25:44 AM »
Food prepped for this week’s work lunches.

DH scored a free Kitchenaid mixer.

Trifle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14744 on: January 23, 2022, 05:11:27 AM »
DH scored a free Kitchenaid mixer.

That's amazing!  Congratulations!

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14745 on: January 23, 2022, 06:00:45 AM »
After a few days of an intermittent low tire pressure warning I took my car back to the tire shop where I bought the tires and they checked it out for me for free.  Hopefully I’m avoiding the cost and inconvenience of a mishap down the road.  I’ll fill up the car later today was discounted gasoline.

Trifle

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14746 on: January 23, 2022, 06:06:42 AM »
After a few days of an intermittent low tire pressure warning I took my car back to the tire shop where I bought the tires and they checked it out for me for free.  Hopefully I’m avoiding the cost and inconvenience of a mishap down the road.  I’ll fill up the car later today was discounted gasoline.

One of the tire sensors on our car has been fiddly for years, setting the warning light on and off and driving us crazy.  When we bought a set of new tires recently we just had them pull all the sensors out and put the new tires on without them.  We're doing it the old fashioned way now -- just visually inspecting the tires and checking the pressure ourselves. 

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14747 on: January 23, 2022, 01:00:23 PM »
-Made some tweaks to an upcoming trip, so I could use a flight credit (due to a COVID cancellation from way back when). It's nice to have that off the list.
-Remembered to use Starbucks rewards before they expired. Free breakfast & tea

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14748 on: January 23, 2022, 05:02:09 PM »
Uh, I'm still sitting around in my bathrobe. Well, it's the bathrobe I made for DH for Christmas, but I'm wearing it because I'm the one loafing around today.

We had leftovers in the fridge, so breakfast/lunch/brunch (depending on the eater) was big ol' burritos. Dinner will be something very simple. Probably roasted butternut squash soup, because there's some squash I've already roasted taking up room in the fridge.

Last week I needed room in the outside fridge (sense a theme here?), so I boiled off a 3/4 full jug of apple juice. Except I boiled it down a wee bit too long and it came out more like molasses. Therefore, I am going to make Molasses Cookies. Not sure what to call them. Apple Cider Cookies? I hope they turn out well.

Pretty ambitious day, no?

Oh, and I reconnected with my very first work mentor after nearly 35 years. We talked on the phone for almost two hours. It was awesome! I have this thing I've been doing during the pandemic. When someone from the past floats into my brain, I try to find them. Since I don't do FB, IG, or Twit, I have to dig in different places for results. I don't always reach out to the people I find. Just knowing they're alive is good, but this time I did and the results were amazing!

A free trip down Memory Lane.

And no money spent. That counts as savings, right?

Dutch Comfort

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #14749 on: January 24, 2022, 01:21:10 AM »
Fixed 2 coats (one for DH and one for DS).
Received a gift card for a shop that I go to frequently, so have to think about the card when I go there!