January 2025 Frugals

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1-8-25, 8:43am
rosarugosa

January 2025 Frugals

Last week, I scored some wonderful Cara Cara oranges on the discount produce rack at the grocery store. I hate to admit it, but I've never checked out that rack before, and they had a lot of good-looking stuff for very reasonable money. It was also a lesser quantity, and I was able to consume them all without wasting any (unlike those bags of clementines). The downside is that everything is shrink-wrapped on Styrofoam trays, so I guess nothing is perfect, but I will continue to check out that rack going forward. I think there are also bargain racks for non-produce items, so I will start checking that out too.
1-8-25, 8:45am
Tybee

Marketbasket has an excellent day old bakery rack.
1-8-25, 10:18am
happystuff

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tybee

Marketbasket has an excellent day old bakery rack.

Our discount bakery rack is way over-priced - up to $4 or more for some loaves! That's not my idea of day-old-pricing.

I am waiting for my store to start their annual can-can sale. Have to restock some items in the pantry.
1-8-25, 1:03pm
early morning

My frugal is I've not had a coffee out (*that I paid for :|() this entire year, lol. *Gift cards and treats by others don't count! We always start out with coffee and flavored waters (made at home!) but they just don't last long enough....
I am a bit envious of grocery store mark down areas. I primarily shop Aldi or Trader Joe's, so mark downs are rare and wonderful to behold. Last year, I scored 2 RTE charcuterie boards at our local Aldi for 85% off. The store received them in error, according to the manager- this is not a place that does charcuterie. Not by name, anyway, lol. And they've never been in stock since, although the next town to the south routinely carries them. But I like the prices and the ethos of Aldi more than shopping at the other stores around, which are either big box, or *ahem* possible health hazards. There's not a lot of choice here. I was excited to see that some of the General Dollar stores now carry some produce.
1-8-25, 2:29pm
Tradd

I’ve been bringing tea from home to work so save on that McD’s coffee I was getting. No sausage muffins, either.
1-9-25, 7:29am
rosarugosa

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tybee

Marketbasket has an excellent day old bakery rack.

I agree, although I've been trying to avoid that one, lol. Yesterday we did succumb to the siren's call of the amazing MB jelly donut though.
1-9-25, 9:10am
happystuff

Round-a-bout frugal - bought cargo pants and new pair of sneakers in an effort to use up my clothing allowance before I retire. I have about $70 left to spend. The main problem is that I really don't like clothes shopping. :( LOL
1-9-25, 11:32am
rosarugosa

Quote:

Originally Posted by happystuff

Round-a-bout frugal - bought cargo pants and new pair of sneakers in an effort to use up my clothing allowance before I retire. I have about $70 left to spend. The main problem is that I really don't like clothes shopping. :( LOL

Maybe just buy duplicates of the items you bought? (asks Rosa, owner of 19 pairs of LL Bean Vista Camp Pants)
1-9-25, 11:41am
pinkytoe

Saying "no" when I get the urge to buy new clothing vs thrift. Buying new clothes these days is disappointing anyway as quality has declined and sizes are inconsistent. Budget shoppers have figured out all the grocery clearance racks and wipe out our stores early in the morning - meat, packaged goods etc.
1-10-25, 10:06am
happystuff

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosarugosa

Maybe just buy duplicates of the items you bought? (asks Rosa, owner of 19 pairs of LL Bean Vista Camp Pants)

That's what I'm doing. I need new sneakers for work. Found a pair that feels good and went back and bought a second pair. Definitely need new cargo pants and a new sweatshirt as well. (Gets cold in the building at night)
1-11-25, 1:06pm
SiouzQ.

I certainly did not have a frugal day yesterday. Took my 2018 Volkswagon Jetta (the car my 93 year old mom gave me last year with only 23,000 miles on it) to my mechanic because of some noise I was hearing coming from the front driver's side. Turns out the lower control arm and bushing were failing and that rodents were also starting to chew some of the wires, which is very common out here in the desert. I don't know why I thought any of my cars would be the exception to the rule; some people in our village have had to replace the whole wiring harnesses in their vehicles which is well over $1000!

So yesterday's car repair total was $494 - he had said earlier in the day it could be anywhere from $500 - $1000. So I am super relieved it wasn't at the higher end of the estimate. And as K. pointed out, it was a free car to me so a $500 repair is nothing to get upset about. It is a great little car and gets great gas mileage, usually around 38 - 41 miles per gallon.

I need to go into town to prchase a high-frequency alarm system that goes under the hood of the car to keep the rodents away.
1-11-25, 1:14pm
Tradd

Quote:

Originally Posted by SiouzQ.

I certainly did not have a frugal day yesterday. Took my 2018 Volkswagon Jetta (the car my 93 year old mom gave me last year with only 23,000 miles on it) to my mechanic because of some noise I was hearing coming from the front driver's side. Turns out the lower control arm and bushing were failing and that rodents were also starting to chew some of the wires, which is very common out here in the desert. I don't know why I thought I any of my cars would be the exception to the rule; some people in our village have had to replace the whole wiring harnesses in their vehicles which is well over $1000!

So yesterday's car repair total was $494 - he had said earlier in the day it could be anywhere from $500 - $1000. So I am super relieved it wasn't at the higher end of the estimate. And as K. pointed out, it was a free car to me so a $500 repair is nothing to get upset about. It is a great little car and gets great gas mileage, usually around 38 - 41 miles per gallon.

I need to go into town to prchase a high-frequency alarm system that goes under the hood of the car to keep the rodents away.

Yikes! I'm so glad that's not an issue where I live!
1-11-25, 1:17pm
Tybee

It is definitely an issue where I live. I never heard of an alarm to keep them away--maybe I should look into that. They have gotten into my heating system in both Michigan and Maine, although I tend to put the car in the barn for the winter and not drive it, so that might contribute to the problem.
1-11-25, 3:34pm
happystuff

Quote:

Originally Posted by happystuff

Round-a-bout frugal - bought cargo pants and new pair of sneakers in an effort to use up my clothing allowance before I retire. I have about $70 left to spend. The main problem is that I really don't like clothes shopping. :( LOL

Shopped today and finished up the clothing allowance with another pair of the same sneakers (wore them and very comfy so went back for a second pair), 2 pairs of cargo shorts and a t-shirt. Will be submitting on Monday, so shouldn't have any problems collecting before I leave the job.
1-19-25, 10:59am
early morning

Figured I should revisit this for frugal inspiration, which I am in dire need of. We're embarking on some home repairs with an actual repair person, much needed/long overdue. We can pay for it all, but it's really stressing me out. We have done without things for so long - front porch steps that are so steep that short me has problems using them, no electric in either of the outbuildings, leaking roofs, and most worrying - basement interior load bearing wall deterioration. Not from weight, but from eroding of one of the courses of brick. And we need gravel/grading for the drive, and new planking on the back porch, etc. So I am trying to restrict some of our other spending, which we've (ok, I've) become more lax about. Almost everyone else here was already lax.... *cough*cough*

So. I've really been watching the fridge and using up all bits and bobs of leftovers, although I did have to jettison a small wedge of brie that my DB sent home with us after the holidays (it got lost..). Found 4 stupid-old Cornish game hens in the freezer and cooked them off for stock, put the bones in the field, and fed the skin, gristle, etc to the outside cats. Fixed some small flatbread pizzas DH refused to try for lunches for DD and myself. Been adding fresh or tinned items to some pre-prepped meals we buy at TJs, to stretch them/bulk them up a bit. And used my Kohls (department store) Cash from purchasing sox and shoes for DH for Christmas to buy 3 new mock-turtleneck shirts that were already on sale. I had $20 in Kohl's cash and a $5 bonus for just having a Kohl's credit card, so I paid $4.50 for three shirts. And I got three more "new" shirts when DD cleaned out her closet! :D And I've not bought one coffee out this month that I didn't have a gift card for! (This is huge, I love fancy coffee drinks and good coffee. And we do make them at home also) I always leave the house with a full water bottle and coffee mug...they just don't always last long enough!
2-4-25, 3:32am
just_a_yak
EM, I can identify with what you're saying. A couple points to hopefully help you not stress about the home improvements as much:
- as dave ramsey says: 'live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else' which in this case im interpreting it to mean that the reason you were living frugally and bearing your circumstances without complaint was in order to later have enough money to afford the repairs easily, not to live forever that way.
- You are not a spoiled or impulsive person for these purchases.
- It is good to enjoy life and these home improvements will make you enjoy your home more. Simple living can include having a fully functional simple home that brings you peace and joy.
- You will feel good about it when it's done. When all the work is finished and you didn't break the bank, you will sit back and remember everything you went through: putting buckets and tupperware around the house when its raining, how your legs were sore just climbing into the house, etc etc.
Good luck! Keep us posted.

Subjects that I need to think about more in my own life: guilt about spending, 'positive' frugality vs. frugality from fear/anxiety/guilt, simple living vs quality of life upgrades.
2-4-25, 9:41am
happystuff

Quote:

Originally Posted by just_a_yak

Subjects that I need to think about more in my own life: guilt about spending, 'positive' frugality vs. frugality from fear/anxiety/guilt, simple living vs quality of life upgrades.

This is something I do more often than I probably realize. First time I've actually seen it put into words, so hopefully I can address it more directly now - thanks so much!
2-4-25, 10:00am
Tybee

I like this idea of positive frugality, too. Yesterday I forewent (?) a Starbucks coffee even though we had gift cards because it was the afternoon and DH won't drink it in the afternoon, so I will save it for a treat on a morning jaunt. I had coffee left in the pot when I got home, which I reheated.

I feel happy because I can hear the washing machine working, and it wasn't working at Christmas and husband wanted to get rid of it, but I convinced him to tinker with it and now it works fine. WE got it at Habitat so it wasn't that expensive to start with.

I feel happy that we have a lot of wood left in our woodshed, so we are not burning through heating oil the way we did when we did not have the woodstove. We surrounded the house with hay, which we used to do in Michigan and it helps to keep the house warmer in the winter. And then in the spring, we have lots of lovely hay for the gardens!
2-5-25, 7:50am
rosarugosa

Tybee: are these bales of hay around the foundation or something? Don't you get mice nesting in them? I would love to hear more; this is not anything I've ever heard of before.
2-5-25, 8:39am
Tybee

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosarugosa

Tybee: are these bales of hay around the foundation or something? Don't you get mice nesting in them? I would love to hear more; this is not anything I've ever heard of before.

Yes, a line of hay bales around the foundation. I first saw this when visiting Wisconsin, a lot of the old Scandinavian farmers did it.

We always struggle with mice here and the years we have the hay don't seem any worse than the years that we don't have the hay.

They also seem to help to keep the pipes from freezing in the kitchen and laundry.
2-6-25, 11:40am
early morning

We use a straw bale over the front-room crawl-space vent, otherwise the floors in there are COLD! We have it blocked with an insulation panel also. Lots of people around here put hay or straw bales on at least the windward side of the foundation. It helps a lot. We don't have room for bales on that side and we have windbreaks, but DH has been putting a sheet of foam insulation board against the area where the pipes run from the basement up thru the exterior wall to the kitchen sink, and we've not had frozen pipes since. But when it's sub-zero, I still drip the faucet into a bucket! All other waterlines are interior except the downstairs bath, and it's much better insulated to start with. It was added in the 60s, and we added more insulation when we had some other work done.

Personally I like straw better than hay because it doesn't mess with my allergies as much in the spring, when I'm trying to move it back to the compost. It doesn't seem to get moldy so quickly.
2-6-25, 1:10pm
Tybee

Quote:

Originally Posted by early morning

We use a straw bale over the front-room crawl-space vent, otherwise the floors in there are COLD! We have it blocked with an insulation panel also. Lots of people around here put hay or straw bales on at least the windward side of the foundation. It helps a lot. We don't have room for bales on that side and we have windbreaks, but DH has been putting a sheet of foam insulation board against the area where the pipes run from the basement up thru the exterior wall to the kitchen sink, and we've not had frozen pipes since. But when it's sub-zero, I still drip the faucet into a bucket! All other waterlines are interior except the downstairs bath, and it's much better insulated to start with. It was added in the 60s, and we added more insulation when we had some other work done.

Personally I like straw better than hay because it doesn't mess with my allergies as much in the spring, when I'm trying to move it back to the compost. It doesn't seem to get moldy so quickly.

Straw is preferable, for sure. We used to buy it in Michigan from the farmer down the road. It was also much cheaper. But we can't source it here, at least not yet.
3-27-25, 7:53am
happystuff

I'm not sure what this falls under, but I hope it ends up being frugal! LOL. Was looking for something to clean the shower with - lots of soap build-up, etc. Was at the store and saw a cleaner that was supposed to be able to handle "soap scum/build-up", so I bought it. It is a spray bottle with two packs of concentrate cleaner. I also found a refill pack containing three additional packs. I like the idea of reusing the bottle and not buying a whole other one when the cleaner itself is gone. It was all at the dollar store, so I'm hoping it will work. If so - yay! If not, not too big of a $$ loss. Now all I have to do is get off my lazy butt and clean the shower - :laff:
3-27-25, 1:14pm
Tradd

A combo of blue Dawn, white vinegar, and a bit of water in a spray bottle does wonders for soap scum and the like. Huge squirts of Dawn in the bottle. It’s the only hard surface cleaner I use.
3-27-25, 4:36pm
happystuff

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tradd

A combo of blue Dawn, white vinegar, and a bit of water in a spray bottle does wonders for soap scum and the like. Huge squirts of Dawn in the bottle. It’s the only hard surface cleaner I use.

Thanks. Writing this down to use if this new stuff doesn't work!