I needed shampoo and moisturizer, and I was able to get them from Amazon with a bottom line of $0 from Amazon Chase CC reward points and Bing search reward points that translate to Amazon gift cards.
That's quite a frugal, Yppej. Professional tree removal is expensive!
The garbage disposal has broken again. They never seem to last more than a couple of years. I am thinking at some point of having a plumber remove it and go back to regular piping. I have a small plunger for sink use only I can use if need be. It's also better for the environment to throw food scraps in the trash.
I used to work for a company that would install the disposals for free, and sometimes even pay for the unit, but that is no longer the case so they aren't frugal anymore.
Yppej, is composting an option? It sounds like you have lots of “brown” - dry yard waste - to mix with your “green” food.
using some old (new) wall paper I had stashed in the basement to line the new kitchen drawers, and drinking the Starbucks coffee a student gifted me. I like the drawer liners, but the coffee not so much.
I composted in the past and still have the bin but it was a lot of work for little output. Trudging through the snow to get to it was a pain, and I didn't want it near the house due to the odor, plus it could attract skunks.
This week we got hard frost. We gleaned a gallon of bell peppers, 2 gallons of eggplant (size of containers) and 14 quarts of San Marzano tomatoes from the garden Wed night. I stewed those tomatoes down and will freeze in 2c portions. I have 5 tubs that size so plenty still left in the fridge. (It cooked down to about 10 quarts). We had dinner last night from those. I added a diced eggplant and a leftover cooked chicken breast and Italian seasonings. We ate this over rice and a slice of Provolone that was at the end of life. All gone, no waste.
Today: I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from Charity Quilt Group where I donated 3 quilts that have been laying around but not getting used. I loved them all but someone will love them more! Right?
So, I was super hungry. Instead of buying a piece of junk (ie donut or oreos) I bought a protein bar to munch on the way home. This is frugal when it comes to my hips and belly.And i'm full so it's my lunch!
I've been sick, so cooking at home rather than going out. So.....I want to keep this up for the month of October. I bought 2# ground beef, 2# ground turkey & 1.5# of hot Italian sausage. I'm cooking up 2/3 of the hamburger/turkey as plain meat in the freezer. The remainder with the It sausage also for the freezer. This gives us some quick relatively lean meats in the freezer for some fast after-work dinners! Along with the ratatouille in the freezer we can have quick pasta bolognese, burritos, tacos, taco salads.
I also bought onions, carrots, celery so I can make some tomato based stew for this week's lunches. http://www.vickieskitchenandgarden.c...rger-stew.html I have shredded beef in the freezer so I'll use that instead of hamburger.
I'm using up a green cabbage from our CSA pickup 3w ago! http://hopeandthrift.blogspot.com/se...&max-results=7
This is my first trip to the store in October (I've been away on a business trip and then illness housebound since Monday afternoon). Hubby makes do out of the cupboards/freezer even though he dislikes cooking. We had plenty of potatoes from our CSA so he's been a happy camper.
Hubby did buy a loaf of sourdough bread on his way home from work yesterday. Love this bread from our local bakery. We had some for breakfast and I'll make french toast for breakfast tomorrow along with some low fat sausage I bought today. And a dark chocolate bar for me-I was out and I like a bite every night for dessert! (had none M-Th nights!)
I'm feeling a bit smug. We usually eat out 3-4 nights a week!
I shopped around and got a lower price on brakes last weekend. The high-priced place (dealer) was also telling me and other people they needed new light bulbs at $20 a pop.
Previous oil change one, I got it, then shortly after I noticed another one not working and went to AutoZone. They found it unplugged. Hmm.
This oil change I looked before I went in and saw one bulb out. They told me I needed 4 replaced. I only bit for the one I noticed. In 2 weeks (earliest Saturday appointment I could get) I am going for a second opinion. This week all of a sudden the car lights in the back aren't going off after 30 seconds like the ones in the front after I turn off the car. I have to manually turn them off. A coworker told me they probably messed something up when they replaced the bulb.
I wish the place that did the brakes did lights but it has limited offerings. Most of the independent shops are not open weekends. And the AutoZone guy installed bad windshield wipers so I have lost confidence in him. He didn't want to do it but said the store makes him and he complained the whole time.
It is a hassle but I am doing my best to not be taken advantage of financially. I hate this car stuff.
Quality of the installation besides, the usual recommendation is to replace all bulbs because if one is at the end of its useful life (i.e., burned out) the others likely are not far behind. Since in some cars replacing the bulbs either requires the hands of a thin 8-year-old or taking out a dozen bolts to remove the bumper cover, it's sensible to do all the prep work once and replace all the bulbs at one. FWIW $20 per bulb installed is not a ridiculous price to pay. But it is cheaper and -- on some cars -- not all that hard to DIY for far less.Originally Posted by Yppej
ObFrugals:
- Another rebate is in for the dog's flea and tick medication.
- Another run to ALDI. I try not to visit so often because I always find "stuff I didn't know I needed". Now I go far less often and with a better idea of what's already in the house and with a list of what I want. I estimate it's taken about a third off our typical ALDI ring.
- Used a CVS gift card I earned for completing a survey to buy some needed items. It's too bad that finding said items required stopping at two CVSes but at least they were not far apart.
- Had the furnace inspected at my house and at the rental. Since they're so close together, I've gotten the heating company to not charge me the "truck charge". This is not a new frugal. However, it dawned on me during this visit that I can move the next inspection to, say, April or May, when they can test both the furnace and the A/C (instead of paying them to come out twice).
- Resisted the urge to buy a new camera advertised on craigslist. It's newer than my current camera and has a lot more pixels and better image processing. It likely would not have cost all that much to make the switch. But for the kind of photography I do, the old one is better built and more than sufficient. Not a lot of money saved, but a gazingus pin avoided.
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington
Not frugal - I decided to follow Steve's advice and look into replacing the algae stained portion of the roof after noticing that my attempts to clean the aluminum siding myself this summer left it smeary. The contractor who did the rest of the roof will give me an estimate.
Yppej: Replacing a roof that needs replacing may not be cheap, but I think you can make a case for it being frugal, especially if if prevents additional water damage to your house, which can translate into expensive repairs that might have been avoided. Learned this one the hard way!
It's not leaking nor are the shingles buckling, it's just ugly. Sometimes I feel like my home is the eyesore of the neighborhood.
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