Author Topic: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?  (Read 8029664 times)

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15000 on: May 20, 2022, 07:38:12 AM »
Walking instead of driving to the post office and fish monger later today

Rosy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15001 on: May 20, 2022, 08:12:14 AM »
This week:
1. Made four dinners for two from garden veggies and herbs.
2. Harvested some snacking peppers for us to munch on or eat with homemade sour cream and onion/garlic/herb dip.
3. Kid stopped by and trimmed and cut back bushes in the front - free garden help is always appreciated, so is gas money (still cheaper than yard workers:).
4. Got several free books thru BookBub.

Today:
1. Making mint tea from the garden.
2. Gave the kid a cutting of the Vicks Plant and some extra for inhalation for his congestion. Potent stuff for phlegm in the lungs.
3. Gave his wife a bag of dried lavender from my garden.
4. Using my dried dill for cucumber salad. I've got bundles of it hanging from the curtain rods in the kit/din rm.
5. Mr. R. made a salad from lettuce, peppers and tomato and garlic chives from the garden to take to work.

Kid gave us a jar of dried golden oyster mushrooms... he grows different mushrooms.
« Last Edit: May 20, 2022, 08:40:20 AM by Rosy »

JLee

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15002 on: May 20, 2022, 08:21:27 AM »
I bought new wiper blades a while ago (discounted / open box) and finally went to install them yesterday, only to realize that somewhere along the line I lost (or never got) the adapters that let the blade clip on to the windshield wiper.  I was considering contacting PIAA to see if they'd just sell me the adapters, when I realized that the ones from my old wiper blades should be pretty close -- too tight of a fit, but otherwise seemed fine.  I measured the bar on the wiper blades and found the new ones were 1/32" bigger (5/32" -> 3/16") so I ran a 3/16" drill bit through the existing 5/32" hole in the clip and presto, Bosch to PIAA wiper adapter conversion!

DadJokes

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15003 on: May 20, 2022, 08:37:42 AM »
Due to a lost phone, we decided to make the switch to a new mobile service provider. I didn't know it at the time, but we ported our numbers out 5 days into the new billing period with T-Mobile. A couple weeks later, they charged us for the full month's service. I called, saying that if they were going to charge us for the full month, they had to provide us with the service we were paying for (Netflix was included in our phone plan) to no avail. I then submitted a complaint to the BBB. A few days later, they reimbursed us a prorated portion of our bill.

trashtalk

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15004 on: May 20, 2022, 10:56:29 AM »
Used a movie pass I was given for donating blood to catch a matinee of Dr. Strange. I think I saved $13.

trashtalk

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15005 on: May 20, 2022, 11:01:08 AM »
We wanted to make homemade ice cream cones. Some of the materials online, including stainless steel cones on which to roll new cones, cost in excess of $50! We found a similarly shaped piece of hard foam at a craft store, covered it in aluminum foil, and made our own rolling cones for under $12!
I love this creativity!


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cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15006 on: May 21, 2022, 05:41:13 AM »
Finished writing a personalized card for a graduation party

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15007 on: May 21, 2022, 06:17:42 AM »
Made Hokkaido milk bread instead of buying it.

DD is making a "natural habitat" for her hamster, and she's found all the materials at the compound's dump or outside on the ground. DH found an aquarium that someone had thrown away. The soil came from a dead potted plant that someone else had tossed. And DD picked up sticks and empty plastic bottles to make tunnels and bridges.

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15008 on: May 22, 2022, 05:45:45 AM »
Going fishing. It's free.

Poundwise

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15009 on: May 22, 2022, 06:43:11 AM »
I have been setting up carpools everywhere I or my kids go.  This also satisfies my "optimizer" personality... saves time, saves the environment, makes friends, saves money!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15010 on: May 22, 2022, 07:16:56 AM »
I have been setting up carpools everywhere I or my kids go.  This also satisfies my "optimizer" personality... saves time, saves the environment, makes friends, saves money!

We couldn't have made it this far along with in parenting without carpooling! We have a four family soccer carpool, and offer rides to games, etc. It saves time & money for everyone. Even as teenagers, the boys enjoy the time together with friends.

-As for us, we internationally planned our day yesterday to be able to take our electric car on a 75 minute drive to soccer. (We also gave another player a ride).
-Used a gift card to get my 16 year old lunch between games
-Used a $20 grocer reward to offset much of the expense
-Returned a few things I didn't need

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15011 on: May 22, 2022, 07:42:47 AM »
Going fishing. It's free.
No fishing license needed? What do you fish with?

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15012 on: May 24, 2022, 09:01:30 AM »
Going fishing. It's free.
No fishing license needed? What do you fish with?
A friend took me surf fishing. No license needed for saltwater in my jurisdiction, and we used his gear. I brought food, so I guess it wasn't totally free.

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15013 on: May 24, 2022, 04:32:47 PM »
Got a free lunch at work and left my bag lunch in the fridge for tomorrow.

In the long run, I've saved money by waiting until I had a couple of weeks in at my new job to suss out the dress code. Turns out their definition is not what I understood. I'm so glad I picked up a couple of secondhand tops used those to stretch what I already owned. Add in a week of unseasonable weather that allowed me to pull some outfits from off-season storage, and it will be at least my first payday before I buy anything else. One more pair of dressy work shoes and I should be set for a while.

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15014 on: May 25, 2022, 07:44:20 AM »
Going hiking. Bringing lunch.

Roadrunner53

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15015 on: May 25, 2022, 01:54:21 PM »
Got a free lunch at work and left my bag lunch in the fridge for tomorrow.

In the long run, I've saved money by waiting until I had a couple of weeks in at my new job to suss out the dress code. Turns out their definition is not what I understood. I'm so glad I picked up a couple of secondhand tops used those to stretch what I already owned. Add in a week of unseasonable weather that allowed me to pull some outfits from off-season storage, and it will be at least my first payday before I buy anything else. One more pair of dressy work shoes and I should be set for a while.

okisok, you probably already know this, but you can get some good deals on ebay or Poshmark on barely used or new clothing items. I look all the time for certain brand names and find fun bargains now and then. I got a great top at Poshmark and paid slightly more than I would normally pay but it was in new condition and like 50% less than if I had bought it in a store. That was my first purchase at Poshmark and it went well. I have gotten some great stuff from ebay too. It is always hit and miss though.

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15016 on: May 25, 2022, 06:12:08 PM »
I am resisting temptation by not checking the group purchase groups -- if I don't see all the 'good deals', I won't be tempted to buy them!

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15017 on: May 26, 2022, 07:21:44 AM »
The wife is learning how to cut my hair

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15018 on: May 26, 2022, 04:43:12 PM »
Updated our monthly subscriptions on Amazon subscribe and save

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15019 on: May 26, 2022, 06:09:12 PM »
Got a free lunch at work and left my bag lunch in the fridge for tomorrow.

In the long run, I've saved money by waiting until I had a couple of weeks in at my new job to suss out the dress code. Turns out their definition is not what I understood. I'm so glad I picked up a couple of secondhand tops used those to stretch what I already owned. Add in a week of unseasonable weather that allowed me to pull some outfits from off-season storage, and it will be at least my first payday before I buy anything else. One more pair of dressy work shoes and I should be set for a while.

Yep, I've definitely gone this route before. When I find something in a size/style I like in a store that I can try on, I hit the Secondhand Interwebs like you mentioned plus Thredup and Facebook Marketplace.
okisok, you probably already know this, but you can get some good deals on ebay or Poshmark on barely used or new clothing items. I look all the time for certain brand names and find fun bargains now and then. I got a great top at Poshmark and paid slightly more than I would normally pay but it was in new condition and like 50% less than if I had bought it in a store. That was my first purchase at Poshmark and it went well. I have gotten some great stuff from ebay too. It is always hit and miss though.

Chaplin

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15020 on: May 26, 2022, 06:18:00 PM »
I got the battery in my phone replaced rather than replacing the entire device. It pays for itself in three months.

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15021 on: May 27, 2022, 08:13:31 AM »
Borrowed some DVDs from the library for free

Imma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15022 on: May 28, 2022, 08:31:34 AM »
We are abroad and I used some extra time I had waiting for the train to figure out which card is cheaper to use. Turns out that for card payments it's cheaper to use a credit card but withdrawing cash is cheaper with a debit card. At the end of my trip this will have saved me at least €5.

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15023 on: May 28, 2022, 08:32:38 AM »
Eating leftovers

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15024 on: May 28, 2022, 08:57:42 AM »
Got a free lunch at work and left my bag lunch in the fridge for tomorrow.

In the long run, I've saved money by waiting until I had a couple of weeks in at my new job to suss out the dress code. Turns out their definition is not what I understood. I'm so glad I picked up a couple of secondhand tops used those to stretch what I already owned. Add in a week of unseasonable weather that allowed me to pull some outfits from off-season storage, and it will be at least my first payday before I buy anything else. One more pair of dressy work shoes and I should be set for a while.

Yep, I've definitely gone this route before. When I find something in a size/style I like in a store that I can try on, I hit the Secondhand Interwebs like you mentioned plus Thredup and Facebook Marketplace.
okisok, you probably already know this, but you can get some good deals on ebay or Poshmark on barely used or new clothing items. I look all the time for certain brand names and find fun bargains now and then. I got a great top at Poshmark and paid slightly more than I would normally pay but it was in new condition and like 50% less than if I had bought it in a store. That was my first purchase at Poshmark and it went well. I have gotten some great stuff from ebay too. It is always hit and miss though.
I found a pair of Lucy shorts I really like for $6 at my favorite thrift. The company is defunct now, so I tried eBay and Poshmark. I found a couple in the $17-25 range, plus shipping. Can't do it.

onward19

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15025 on: May 28, 2022, 11:34:39 AM »
Bought some white spray paint and redid all the intake vents covers. They were all varying degrees of off-white, scratched up, or worn out paint from previous owner paint jobs. Have you seen the prices for new vent covers recently?!
 Spray paint cost less than $10. We'll see how long they hold up. The one in the high traffic zone may need to be touched up more often, but the other intakes should be fine. And they look SO much better now!
 Next step is the output vent covers.They have at least 3 colors of paint!

Loretta

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15026 on: May 28, 2022, 04:31:01 PM »
I got a charge reversed by asking nicely. 

I returned some stuff at the UPS store to AMZ. 


familyFIguy

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15027 on: May 29, 2022, 06:53:59 PM »
Bought a new refrigerator from a best buy scratch and dent store.  Saved $950 on it due to 4 small dents on the front, another $115 for delivering it to my house in my minivan, and it will save me $150/yr on my electrical bill as our current fridge is 18 years old!

Win!

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15028 on: May 29, 2022, 10:22:12 PM »
Here's a weird one... the specific type of tampons I prefer has been difficult to find for a while (plastic free, but not the fancy organic ultra-expensive kind) and I'm on my last box... so I'm hunting around online to see if I can find some for a reasonable price since my local drugstore hasn't had it in months. Striking out all over the place. Usual suspects all out of stock. Amazon has it for about 30 cents apiece - expensive. Finally I remembered the early-pandemic toilet paper shortage and remembered that office supply stores had toilet paper when no one else did. Maybe? So I checked and it turns out Staples sells plastic-free Tampax in bulk 500 packs for a very fair price (16.6 cents/per, free shipping). Which is going to last me for years. Bonus: estimated to arrive on my birthday, LOL. Do I know how to party, or what?

Really hoping they ship it in discreet packaging...

Dicey

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15029 on: May 29, 2022, 10:40:57 PM »
if they don't, there should be some comfort in the world knowing you're still young enough to need them, and planning on being so for a loooong time. Great sleuthing, btw.

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15030 on: May 29, 2022, 11:17:21 PM »
if they don't, there should be some comfort in the world knowing you're still young enough to need them, and planning on being so for a loooong time.

I suspect that the nice young man who accepts all the packages for my apartment building won't really see the nuances inherent in a woman twice his age ordering a suitcase-sized box of tampons... but... yeah. All that. ;-) 

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15031 on: May 30, 2022, 08:19:51 AM »
Carefully planning some adventures to maximize the food we already have in the freezer

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15032 on: May 30, 2022, 06:03:57 PM »
Scanned all my weekly receipts into the Fetch app. I got a very specific grocery list combining coupons with Ibotta and Fetch  apps yesterday. Now I have enough in my Target Circle earnings to combine a Circle coupon with my rewards to buy some fun items for free!
DP and I managed to install a replacement door, saving an $80 installation fee (and time off work to be available for the installation person).
DP fixed the oven, saving a fee or parts/labor charges.
Returned an unneeded part for the door installation and a faulty part to get a refund towards more home improvement projects.
Returned a refinishing project part that was the wrong size and got the right size. Now I can finish a project that's been languishing for months.
Cleaned out the garage and found almost $25 in loose change and small bills. Also found a gift card with enough left to get a cheap cold drink that was very welcome after cleaning out the hot, dusty garage.
Used some gift cards to get some fun items for nearly free.

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15033 on: May 30, 2022, 07:10:41 PM »
I'm not really saving money...just not spending as much as I would've been spending. There was a group buy for bubble tea ice cream bars, which I really really wanted to try because someone else was raving about them. I didn't want 10 ice cream bars though (no freezer space), so I posted that I was willing to share half, and one of my neighbors is splitting the cost with me.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15034 on: May 31, 2022, 07:38:49 AM »
I've been trying to come up with a few small treats for my teens, who are both studying for finals.
-Made rice krispie treats, with leftover cereal
-Bought everyone their preferred ice cream, with ibotta offers, combined with store sales price
-Took them to boba tea, and used a $5 reward

Roadrunner53

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15035 on: May 31, 2022, 09:16:15 AM »
This made me REALLY happy! I had ordered this planter-cart. It only has two wheels on the front and a handle on the back to 'drive' it to a different spot. I have it on the deck and once I put my fabric planters filled with potting mix, it was horribly heavy to roll around on my deck. The legs are of an angle shape so not easy to find casters to hook to the legs. I did find casters, but they were $20+ each. I would have had to spend $40+, shipping, and tax to buy them. The cart itself was around $67 and I couldn't stomach paying that much for two casters! Mr. Roadrunner thought about it awhile and remembered he had two casters on these tubular posts. He was able to cut the legs off the cart a little so the casters could be screwed on and be level. It came out so perfect! Didn't cost a dime! The casters make moving the cart a breeze now!

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15036 on: May 31, 2022, 04:52:22 PM »
Bought some white spray paint and redid all the intake vents covers. They were all varying degrees of off-white, scratched up, or worn out paint from previous owner paint jobs. Have you seen the prices for new vent covers recently?!
 Spray paint cost less than $10. We'll see how long they hold up. The one in the high traffic zone may need to be touched up more often, but the other intakes should be fine. And they look SO much better now!
 Next step is the output vent covers.They have at least 3 colors of paint!

I did exactly this in a rental a few years ago. I already had the white spray paint. It made such a difference! One way I really recommend getting a lot of bang for your buck in remodeling or updating. Especially for a rental--I was happy for it to look much nicer without spending much or doing a ton of work. It was really shocking how much a change it made in the overall appearance of the place.

uneven_cyclist

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15037 on: May 31, 2022, 11:30:19 PM »
Something that has definitely made a dent in the past two months has been adding the Mint widget on my phone...it's keeping me really engaged with daily spending, monthly budget, etc.  We hit our monthly budget in April and came super close in May.  It is honestly more engagement than I might ideally want, but very helpful while building better habits.

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15038 on: June 01, 2022, 12:56:22 PM »
Putting in a warranty claim on a home good that failed in under a year

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15039 on: June 01, 2022, 03:50:00 PM »
Really hoping they ship it in discreet packaging...

They... did not. LOL.

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15040 on: June 01, 2022, 09:07:25 PM »
Arugula costs $4 a pack. So we decided to try to grow our own on our balcony.

cool7hand

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15041 on: June 02, 2022, 08:19:46 AM »
Continuing to plan a fishing trip, including identifying potential spots that require less gas-consumption travel

okisok

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15042 on: June 02, 2022, 06:21:45 PM »
Really hoping they ship it in discreet packaging...

They... did not. LOL.

Thanks for the update and the laugh!

Dollar Slice

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15043 on: June 02, 2022, 06:57:18 PM »
Really hoping they ship it in discreet packaging...

They... did not. LOL.

Thanks for the update and the laugh!

What really made me laugh was opening the shipping box and discovering that it was just stuffed full to the brim with loose tampons. Even though I knew what I had ordered, I somehow was completely surprised to see this when I opened it. Haha. I thought they would be wrapped or in boxes or... something. I guess, considering I was looking for a plastic-free option, I'm grateful for the lack of excess packaging.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15044 on: June 02, 2022, 07:18:04 PM »
@Dollar Slice - you've definitely achieved the minimal plastic/packaging option! :-)

hdatontodo

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15045 on: June 02, 2022, 08:37:30 PM »
Instead of paying a flooring person to come and remove gaps between interlocking tiles, I took up the floor and re-layed it. Dealing with the fridge and gas range with a shortish fuel hose were problematic. I had to trim some pieces. It came out looking much better.

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Erma

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15046 on: June 03, 2022, 06:21:16 AM »
Yesterday I bought color for clothes in Germany (already cheaper than here) to recolor my old pants which did look very faded. So I don't need to buy new pants.
Today I went to the grocery store to redeem two coupons, one for a drink which I will give to a friend tomorrow who is always interested in strange beverages and one for a package of pasta.

sonofsven

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15047 on: June 03, 2022, 11:00:29 AM »
The lumbar air bladder on my truck seat covers was leaking so I repaired it eith my bicycle tire patch kit.

Freedomin5

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15048 on: June 03, 2022, 06:27:45 PM »
Replaced my flat bike tire myself instead of taking it to the bike guy. Saved $4.

Josiecat22222

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Re: What small things did you do TODAY to save money?
« Reply #15049 on: June 04, 2022, 01:29:50 PM »
Changed a GFCI outlet ourselves. Handyman wanted 200$ for a twenty minute job.  Feel very satisfied!!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!