What Frugal Thing .....- Part II

[marvholly]

Thur was a no drive, no spend day.

We are expecting the first sticking decent (3-5 inches) snowfall here starting tonight. Thus, I will be doing my errands & visiting my Dad today and can plan on being home Sat and maybe even Sun (but I do want some things from CVS).

Thur I worked on one of the pkg of chicken I bought Wed. The $1.68 in chicken is going to result in 5 servings, 1 roasted, 2 Greek w/orzo, 2 Kung Pao. This also tries out a couple new recipes that have been cluttering my table.

[marvholly]

I MUCH prefer to use dark green varieties of lettuce (romaine/spinach) in my daily salads. However, these have just gotten WAAAY too $$$ for me. I have bought romaine hearts or a lettuce the last couple of weeks but the price was about $1/lb. Yesterday the romaine hearts were $2.50/18 oz and the heads were $1/10-12 oz. I broke down and bought plain old head. Hope the price comes down soon for my pocketbook, health and taste buds.

With the 24 hours + lake effect snow we are getting today it’s a good thing the 2 items I still want at CVS are part of the monthly deals. So, I am staying in today. Might do some cooking (try out 3 new recipes), cleaning, check out web sites & blogs, read or just be a lazy ……person.

I made arrangements w/my fav CVS mgr to hold 4 zhu zhu pets (have 4 grands), going on sale 12/5, for me. Even chose the ones I want. I just hope our streets are reasonably passable so I can get the BOGO sale + the CVS B2G1 coupon + my $3/$15 CVS coupon. WOW. OOP of $6.99 + tax on ONLY the 6.99 as the coupons are all CVS.

[marvholly]

Got my 4 zhu zhu pets for the grands on Sunday. Bill was 7.53 and I paid w/$6 in EB and remainder on my Rx gift card.

Stopped at an independent grocery near my Dad & got spinach for 0.99/lb (they run this price fairly often) AND a bottle of oil on sale for $1.99 that I had a $1 coupon for.

I made 2 of my new recipes on Sun. The zucchini fritters are a keeper, just needs a bit of tweaking-add onion. I could also change this recipe up by using cauliflower or broccoli. The Greek chicken was also quite good but I will toss the recipe. It calls for & needs two $$$ ingredients I do not keep on hand (kalamatra olives & artichoke hearts). There was an ounce of cooked chicken left after I made the Greek chicken. I will either top a salad w/it (+ some cheese) or use it in soup for lunch in the next couple days.

Treated myself (out of my put aside entertainment $) to lunch at Wendy’s. Bought a value menu double stack and the new natural, sea salt fries. Paid $1.09 since I had a coupon for FREE fries. Some staff used WAAAAY too much sea salt on the fries. I will not be buying again.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I pulled a bag of garden grown zucchini out of the freezer to thaw for tomorrow.

[Ima saver]

I had a no spend day and a no use gas day today!

[biff]

Been eating at home and packing lunch 99% of the time. Last Japanese restaurant I went out to was disgusting. I probably won't eat out for a long long time!

[lrjohnson]

To clean out cupboards, planning a few weeks of no grocery shopping except fresh fruits and vegetables. I love cleaning out clutter, so it will be dually rewarding.

[PennyPrincess]

after being released from jury duty early, I came home to make lunch instead of purchasing something on the go. not a very frugal day, however, since I was purchased a cold water in the vending machine (didn't bring enough with me-very dry courthouse) and they charged me $5 to park

[marvholly]

Tue was a no drive, no spend day.

Did something I have NEVER done before. I paid my property tax bill on line. Did not do this before as the ‘convenience’ fee was WAAAY out of line. However, that is now down to $1 AND

It would cost $0.44 to mail
I would have to go out in <20F weather to pay in person
I would have to stand in line to pay in person

To me, it was well worth the extra $0.56.

Made myself 3 servings of potato pancakes on Tue because:
My kids do NOT like the way I make them
My potatoes are beginning to grow eyes
Its that time of year
Its cheaper and better tasting than buying deli prepared or frozen
Food processor & large frying pan were already in use

I will also make some low fat oven fried potato wedges the next time I use my oven to use more of the potatoes.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

You gave me hope, marvholly, that maybe my city had reduced the fee to pay with CC online. Spouse just checked it for me and it would cost us $25.06 to pay that way. So that's still a no-go.

[marvholly]

joan
WOW!!! Your fee is REALLY high. I am quite surprised that more towns have not reduced/eliminated such fees because:
No bad checks to follow up on (BIG staff time waster)
No time spent opening envelopes, removing checks, making sure info (account numbers) are clear & correct, stamping endorsements, making out deposit slips......

Auto insurance company gactually ave me a small discount for paying by ACH. Guess for profit business sees the savings MUCH faster than gov entities.

I do NOT understand some people’s thinking. On assorted blogs I have been seeing suggestions for supposedly “inexpensive” stocking stuffers. Prices on these items are $4-$10. That is NOT inexpensive to me. Stocking stuffers s/b NO more than $1 or so and preferably FREE!! I send for a lot of free samples during the year and some become stocking stuffers. Lucky the grands still are young enough to appreciate crayons, card games, coloring book, markers …………. These are often picked up on back to school sales, dollar store or Target Dollar Spot.

I LOVE my local library. I read a LOT, preferably mystery, action/adventure and espionage. I got Tom Clancy’s newest, Dead or Alive, yesterday-FREE. I had planned to put in a reserve but found it on the 7 day only, not renewable shelves. Got the newest Clive Cussler and Patterson(s) books over the last month there too. They also have a buy used books section where I have found stuff I want. Got to remember to check this area more often.

[marvholly]

Stopped at the new grocery store on Thur on my way to see my Dad. Just as I suspected, prices are NOT as good as during Grand Opening week. I will check for a couple more weeks as I visit my Dad but not likely to be a regular store for me.

As stated numerous times, I live in metro Chicago. There is a MAJOR Holocaust Museum just north of the city. I have thought numerous times about going. Entrance fee is $12, not too bad BUT yesterday I scored the ticket for $6 on groupon. Its good until early June so on a cold, nasty, boring, cabin fever day I will have something to do on the cheap. I will be taking this from my monthly entertainment budget (which is ALL $ I got for a focus group)so no OOP.

[biff]

I refilled my own drinking water .20 a gallon. I do this on my day off on the way to the gym.

[marvholly]

I generally have my haircut about every 8 weeks. It needs it every 6 weeks but I push to 8 weeks. Costs me $8 + tip (senior rate-which is now up to $10+tip). I bought the Wahl trimmer at WAG on Black Friday for $10. I had a no name one from CVS years ago that I bought for <$1. It died >1 year ago. I trimmed my own hair & s/b able to go 13/more weeks b/4 another REAL haircut. This cuts costs from $72/year to $48. The cutter pays for itself in six months.

I expect the Wahl trimmer to last quite a while. Late DH had one for his beard & used it for quite a few years. My dad has been using the same unit since 2003. total=10 years/more.

As stated numerous times, I live in metro Chicago. There is a MAJOR Holocaust Museum just north of the city. I have thought numerous times about going. Entrance fee is $12, not too bad BUT yesterday I scored the ticket for $6 on groupon. Its good until early June so on a cold, nasty, boring, cabin fever day I will have something to do on the cheap.

Family is getting together at DD2’s place today. DD1 offered to drive. That is going to save me 47 miles = approx 1.7-2 gal of gas. Since she is driving I will pay the tolls but I would have paid them anyhow if I drove myself.

[krantcents]

My wife and i had dinner from a restaurant that gives rewards after $100 spent. You earn a free meal! Today, I will get dinner from a similar place, after 5 dines you earn one free meal. For both purchases, I use a credit card that earns miles. Is that considered double dipping?