What small things did you do TODAY to save money?

[Roadrunner53]

Sold a lawn mower to my neighbor and mentioned needing a dumpster to get rid of stuff. He said he knows someone who he can get dumpsters from and all he has to pay for is the weight in the dumpster, not the rental of the dumpster. He offered to let us use it. We had a lot of stuff to get rid of and the nabe's sons took some of the stuff home and took other stuff to the dumpster. The sons bought some other lawn equipment too. So, we made money, got rid of junk we no longer wanted and didn't have to pay for a dumpster! Plus, some of the stuff was big and bulky and weighed a lot and the sons moved it all out and took it away so we didn't have to pay for anyone to do that either! I have a bottle of Prosecco I am going to crack to celebrate all this unwanted junk gone!

[Frugal Lizard]

Made brunch for friends. We could have gone out. We stayed in. I used a lot of ingredients from the garden.

[crocheted_stache]

I cut DH's hair at home and cleaned the hair-cutting tools and the bathroom afterward.

Together we cooked two meals with batches of leftovers for weekday lunches.

Polished off last week's bread with sandwiches featuring a few late garden tomatoes for the season. Also put some of these garden tomatoes and peppers in the cooked meals. Ate some more of the apples from our tree, too.

Sorted our collection of saved seeds, tossed out some of the hopelessly old ones, and DH got some of the cool season garden in the ground.

I finished reading one library book I have checked out.

[1967mama]

Returned a dress to Amazon that I bought for a special Christmas get-together when I realized I didn’t need something brand new. $60 back in my bank account.

[sonofsven]

I cancelled Amazon Prime a few days after it auto-renewed. $139 refunded to my account.

[Roadrunner53]

I got a lot of sale items at Stop & Shop today. A spiral ham was $0.99 a lb. Got one that was around 11 pounds. The original price was $48 had it not been on sale. I bought a frozen 13+ lb turkey and it was $0.49 a lb. I picked up two frozen turkey breasts that were around 7 lbs each and they were $0.99 a lb. Turkey's are in the freezer, ham is in fridge. There were a lot of other items on sale too that I normally buy. It was a good shopping trip!

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Ate the slightly undesirable leftovers before they went bad.

[Warlord1986]

I went to a hackathon in a nearby city. The registration email said a fridge to store lunches would be provided. I brought my lunch both days, skipping the fast food.

[Freedomin5]

Walked an hour round trip to a bakery for which we have a gift card. Bought a cake using said gift card for a get-together with friends. Also bought bread with the gift card. Will be using bread to make sandwiches and packing a lunch for an outing tomorrow.

[crocheted_stache]

Today hasn't really started yet, but in the past week, I had homemade food for all but one lunch that was provided at work. DH and I biked all the transportation but one errand that wasn't well suited to biking.

We even picked a dry day to do laundry so it could dry mostly on racks. (The sheets and towels get a few minutes in the dryer so they are dry by the time we use them.)

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Hung a load of laundry on the line to dry. I'm not the "laundry captain" but he's out of town so I'm doing it my way!

[1967mama]

Used up bottles of avacado oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and son used up a jar of jam.

[Dicey]

We're out of town, working on oneof our rentals. Our Casita has a small fridge, micro, toaster oven and kettle. We haven't gone out to eat a single time.

[1967mama]

Made two loaves of bread in my bread machine today. One was a French Bread to go with the Minestrone soup i made for dinner. The other is a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread. Made a big crockpot full of soup that we will eat all weekend.

[sonofsven]

Costco rotisserie chicken > chicken enchiladas > sliced chicken for sandwiches > chicken noodle soup tonight.

The circle of life

[crocheted_stache]

I hope this saves money. It might.  We pulled down a part of our downstairs ceiling that was wet from a plumbing leak upstairs. We're going to have to repair the ceiling anyway, for other reasons. We've tracked the problem to a particular spot, and we're hoping the plumber can fix the leak without opening up another wall. The contractor was going to charge $250 for just the demo and cleanup. We are not up to doing the plumbing repair, and I'm not sorry about outsourcing it.

[Arbitrage]

Costco rotisserie chicken > chicken enchiladas > sliced chicken for sandwiches > chicken noodle soup tonight.

The circle of life

Just make homemade chicken broth from the rotisserie chicken and it's complete!  I make so many of my meals with Costco rotisserie chicken these days...

[Frugal Lizard]

I made black bean soup to take to DD's. I made enough to feed her room mates. They were very happy to have a hearty tasty Sunday night supper on a dreary November day.

[mm1970]

I made a baked spaghetti squash/ marinara cheese thing last week.

Then I cooked some frozen chicken in the instant pot with the rest of the marinara.

Then I took the last piece of marinara chicken in the watery sauce, and turned it into soup, with white beans, peppers, onion, and leftover green beans.

[Freedomin5]

Lunch at work today. Fasting for dinner.

Planning to make a hearty beef stew that will do for work lunches the rest of the week. Also planning to make sushi rolls for DD's lunch. Smoked salmon has doubled in price recently, so the plan is to substitute with tuna. If I have time this afternoon, I may also whip up a batch of apple cinnamon muffins with a box of apples that was gifted to us.

[Dollar Slice]

I had been planning to wait for Black Friday to see if there was a deal on some concert tickets I wanted to buy as a gift for a friend, but a local non-profit was having a charity auction ending today and they happened to have the exact thing (a pair of tickets to any show at the venue, so I can apply it to the show I wanted to get for my friend). And no one had bid on it! I ended up getting it for the minimum bid. It's a very expensive show and I paid about 20-30% of retail.

And the money went to a non-profit I like.

[Loretta]

Returned 3 things to AMZ. 

Crockpot has pot roast in it currently which should feed me several times.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Found a credit card cash back offer for my son's Christmas present (ski pass, as he's joining ski club at college). I also jumped through the hoops to prove he was a college student. Altogether, I saved around $260.

[Dicey]

Found a credit card cash back offer for my son's Christmas present (ski pass, as he's joining ski club at college). I also jumped through the hoops to prove he was a college student. Altogether, I saved around $260.

Good one!

[Loretta]

Well I made cash money at my side hustle today and there were free cookies and candy there.  Woohoo

[1967mama]

Signed up for Peak Usage discount program with my electric company. Discounts for not using as much electricity during their set periods in winter. Credits on spring bill if successful.

[crocheted_stache]

DH harvested and last good-sized zucchini, so today I cooked it into some lunch plus leftovers with other veggies and stuff that were not getting fresher in the fridge.

I also baked a smaller than usual batch of bread for a short week.

[Loretta]

Found another way to charge my car for freeeee.

[crocheted_stache]

Two meals cooked this weekend, with two meals worth of leftovers. Add some sandwiches with the bread and that should get us to Thanksgiving.

This week's grocery run is looking like a car trip instead of a bike trip for various reasons, so we came up with a batch of car errands in the same general vicinity to string together when we're out tomorrow.

Made some progress in the library book that's got a hold on it and is due in a week. I'm hoping to keep at it and get through the rest so I can return it and collect the next one.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I went home to get my lunch (leftovers of course) when I forget it, instead of going out to buy something. I had come to work in my car for Reasons but I rode back on my ebike.

[Dicey]

Before we went to Costco, we hit up the corner produce stand. Ocean Spray Cranberries for $1/bag? Yes, please.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

DS18 needs to take an expensive Uber for some college holiday travel. (We've explored cheaper options, like carpooling, buses, etc & they cancelled the shuttle we were planning to take after we'd booked the travel. Uber is rarely the best/cheapest option, but the only one that we can find that will work.) I scouted out a gift card offer at the CVS for an Uber gift card. Got a $20 CVS credit for a $100 gift card. Used a credit card that offered CVS cash back (5%), & uploaded my receipt to iBotta (a cash back/receipt app) where I got another 2% in cash back. It wasn't perfect, but I saved some off of a purchase we can't avoid.

We've found a more creative/frugal option for his return flight!

[roomtempmayo]

We cut our Christmas tree in the county forest this weekend.  The permit was $5, and we had a great time.

[jrhampt]

Signed up for Peak Usage discount program with my electric company. Discounts for not using as much electricity during their set periods in winter. Credits on spring bill if successful.

This is interesting and caused me to investigate whether my electric company has a similar program.  Theirs is called Time of Use and gives you a discount if 70% of your usage falls on their off-peak times: weekends any time, weekdays before 11 am and after 8 pm.  There's no way to know in advance if we will satisfy this criteria though since we don't have an upfront breakdown of our current usage.  We concluded that we would switch to this plan if we get an EV.  Anyone else use this?

[midweststache]

Signed up for Peak Usage discount program with my electric company. Discounts for not using as much electricity during their set periods in winter. Credits on spring bill if successful.

This is interesting and caused me to investigate whether my electric company has a similar program.  Theirs is called Time of Use and gives you a discount if 70% of your usage falls on their off-peak times: weekends any time, weekdays before 11 am and after 8 pm.  There's no way to know in advance if we will satisfy this criteria though since we don't have an upfront breakdown of our current usage.  We concluded that we would switch to this plan if we get an EV.  Anyone else use this?

Our provider does this in the summer when people are running their ACs and will send out text alerts to notify people of peak hours if they've opted-in to the program. We've saved a wee bit choosing to run the A/C a bit less and not run laundry/dishwasher/etc. during these hours, since one of us WFHs almost everyday and are often doing these things during the workday. YMMV

[crocheted_stache]

Over the weekend, I issued three holiday gifts to people I will only see over Thanksgiving weekend. One was a handmade Buy Nothing item that I knew the recipient would appreciate. The other two were Starbucks gift cards that I got for volunteering. DH and I do not frequent Starbucks. Maybe if it was the only thing open in the airport, we would, but in practice, the only hope for using them is to give them to other people who will use them.

Also, my contributions to the festivities were homemade baked goods, which everyone seemed to appreciate.

[Sugaree]

Signed up for Peak Usage discount program with my electric company. Discounts for not using as much electricity during their set periods in winter. Credits on spring bill if successful.

This is interesting and caused me to investigate whether my electric company has a similar program.  Theirs is called Time of Use and gives you a discount if 70% of your usage falls on their off-peak times: weekends any time, weekdays before 11 am and after 8 pm.  There's no way to know in advance if we will satisfy this criteria though since we don't have an upfront breakdown of our current usage.  We concluded that we would switch to this plan if we get an EV.  Anyone else use this?

Our provider does this in the summer when people are running their ACs and will send out text alerts to notify people of peak hours if they've opted-in to the program. We've saved a wee bit choosing to run the A/C a bit less and not run laundry/dishwasher/etc. during these hours, since one of us WFHs almost everyday and are often doing these things during the workday. YMMV

I looked into this program with my electric company a few years ago.  My research sent me down a rabbit hole of trying to figure out exactly how the hell they calculate my bill because it's never exactly kWh used x a set price.  There is a price for the first 800-100 kWhs, plus a couple of published fees (if you can dig deep enough to find them), plus some kind of adjustment that is never exactly the same.  It's not a set percentage or a set flat-fee.  Sometimes it makes the hill higher than it should be and sometimes lower, but never in amounts that offset each other.  The statement itself does not break down how the total is calculated either.  It's infuriating.

[Dollar Slice]

The retail stores have decided that "the holidays" are over when Christmas is over, so all the Hanukkah items went on clearance on day one of Hanukkah. I bought four gift bags and three cards for less than half price. Plus a bunch of fancy gift boxes of chocolates were marked down from $27 to $9.99 each because the packaging is red, so everyone in the family is getting one of those. I usually get everyone a box of handmade chocolates from a local artisanal yadda yadda chocolate shop but I'm not really well enough to be running around town this year on public transit, so this is good enough, and I'm saving a fortune.

[LaineyAZ]

Have to admit we did the same thing:  all Christmas candy was half-off, so I snagged a few bags. 
I'll be donating some to the local senior center where these little treats are really appreciated.

[crocheted_stache]

No candy—I'm too good a baker for my own good—but we did collect next year's Christmas cards as the objective of our walk today. I'm not convinced they were marked down, but they were a better deal than much of anything else.

[1967mama]

Today I:

-read 44 pages of a library book
 (“Quit Like a Millionaire”)
-baked a loaf of whole wheat bread
-made soup out of the turkey stock i made yesterday from
the bones
-shopped for fresh and frozen produce at costco. Went as
It opened to avoid the saturday crowds
-salvaged a cauliflower from the fridge for a vegan soup
-saved scraps from soup prep for next batch of veggie stock

[Freedomin5]

Today, I prepaid our mortgage by the maximum allowed amount. Saved $22K in interest over the course of the amortization period.

We are on winter break. Instead of going out to eat, I made matcha muffins and tea at home for breakfast, and we will make avocado toast for lunch. We are also going swimming at the clubhouse, which is included in our rent, instead of going out to a mall.

[Freedomin5]

I prepped lunches for the week. Lunch for myself and DD typically cost around $12/day, so I've theoretically saved around $54 this week (DD likes to buy lunch at school on Fridays).

[crocheted_stache]

Walked a couple of errands and biked one. Zero driving.

Breakfast: oatmeal with some of the abundant applesauce we canned when we had a bumper crop last year.
Lunch: the last of the leftover homemade chili from a few days back.
Dinner: hot dogs and mashed potatoes, also from the fridge and pantry, respectively. (Thanks to DH for remembering we have an open pack of hot dogs.) Snacks included oranges from someone's tree and some popcorn I bought to support a scout fundraiser.

The popcorn itself was overpriced, so I hope a hearty share of profit went to the scouts, but I figure I might as well use it now that I have it. This may be the second to last serving from that container. I have no dedicated popping equipment but have gotten better at both microwave and stovetop preparation with stuff I do have, and it inspired me to buy some regular-priced, unpopped popcorn.

Read a pretty good chunk of my current library book.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Drove dS18 to Sacramento to get a ride with his college roommate & dad back to college. This saved about $225 (cost of flight, shuttle to school, & mailing his skis). Sent him with a gift card I'd received for a local grocery store, which he used to buy dinner, as the dining halls were closed.
-DS17 asked if he could host poker last night. I set out all of our leftover holiday treats, plus the bag of Cheetos my mom insisted I take home with me after Christmas. I woke up this morning & all of our holiday treats (minus four cookies) are gone. This is great, as it gets the junk out of our house, and I didn't have to buy anything special for the event.

[crocheted_stache]

-Drove dS18 to Sacramento to get a ride with his college roommate & dad back to college. This saved about $225 (cost of flight, shuttle to school, & mailing his skis). Sent him with a gift card I'd received for a local grocery store, which he used to buy dinner, as the dining halls were closed.
-DS17 asked if he could host poker last night. I set out all of our leftover holiday treats, plus the bag of Cheetos my mom insisted I take home with me after Christmas. I woke up this morning & all of our holiday treats (minus four cookies) are gone. This is great, as it gets the junk out of our house, and I didn't have to buy anything special for the event.

It may be a savings more of your time than of money, but should he need to do this again or make the reverse trip, Amtrak Capitol Corridor goes between Sacramento and San Jose several times a day, with various connections to Caltrain, BART, etc. Trains can carry bikes, so I assume they can carry skis.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@crocheted_stache - that's a good idea! They left really early (we met at 7:40 am in Sacramento), so not sure if the schedule would work out this time, but good to keep in mind for future meet ups.

[ChpBstrd]

Fixed plumbing problems for two friends in the past week as a favor, saving them each hundreds of dollars.

[crocheted_stache]

Fixed plumbing problems for two friends in the past week as a favor, saving them each hundreds of dollars.

I like this one. I have replaced more than one leaking toilet flapper in homes where I've been a guest. They cost maybe $5, take minutes to replace, save water, and stop the annoying noises of water turning on and off in the middle of the night. That, or the people who live in a home don't spend much time in the guest bathroom to notice there's a problem.

[oneday]

Rescued a pair of plush looking throw pillows from the dumpster (yes, they will be washed). The one I've been as a back/bolster using is get kinda flat. I almost bought a $5 pillow from the promo bins at the front of Target, but surely it would not have lasted very long. This is better.

ETA: one of them is  a feather pillow!