Pennies, Pennies Everywhere! Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without

There used to be an old saying "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!" that our grandparents lived by. In our age of abundance, we have sometimes gotten away from that and sometimes it's good just to have a reminder of what we already know. 

I just used the last bit of toothpaste that I could squeeze out of the tube but I knew there was more still! I took a pair of scissors and cut off the end.

   

    

I can usually get about three more teeth brushings out of a tube by doing this. 

Another way to use things up is to never throw away soap slivers. You can take the old sliver, which is usually too small to hold and press it into the new bar and by using water as cement, voila! it's easy to use up all of the soap from the sliver. 

There are pennies everywhere and when we remember to do what we can to keep them in our pockets, we can save a little every day. 

~Happy Savings!

Pennies, Pennies Everywhere! Using Your Leftovers

Do you throw out your leftovers? If so, here is a great way to begin saving some money. You might look in the bottom of this pan at these few bits of rice and chicken and say "That's not enough for my family of four!" and dump it into the trash. Oh! It hurt me to even write that! The thought of people throwing out good food and wasting money gives me a pain in my heart. What can you do with what is in this pan? Read on!

I have used our leftovers for many years. For me, it was a necessity. But not only is it a necessity for many, it's very important that as a society we move to be less wasteful. This bit of food would make a great lunch for one. It could be eaten right away or put into a freezer container as an easy to grab lunch. 

Another option: Cook more rice and add it to the mix. You could add some more frozen broccoli and stretch it out for a full meal.

One of the greatest advantages to leftovers, besides saving money, is saving time. It's so easy to throw some leftovers on the table.

I read this article today and was shocked! The article is called "Why Americans Have Stopped Eating Leftovers". https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/10/31/why-americans-have-stopped-eating-leftovers/?utm_term=.a1739936bd7d People are throwing out so much food! People complain so often about not having enough money to go around but I see these pennies, pennies everywhere! 

I wonder how we have gone to being a frugal and thrifty people to being so wasteful? I don't want to sound moralizing here but our mantra should be Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do or Do Without. We used to be a country of immigrants who understood want. Now people complain about not having enough money while throwing good food in the trash. Inexcusable!

Okay. You got my feelings on that issue. ;) I feel really good when I save money. And eating leftovers and saving money and time makes me feel really good. Over the years, those pennies add up and they make a nice cushion so you don't have to live paycheck to paycheck. We can all be more free when we make freeing choices. 

Happy Savings!

Pennies, Pennies Everywhere! Save Your Pumpkin Seeds and Toast Them!

 Every year I grow pumpkins. Mostly, I grow them because I like how they look on my deck in the fall of the year. (I did not grow all of these in this photo!) I also take the cornstalks I grew, tie them in a bundle, and use them for fall decoration. One bonus to growing pumpkins is toasted pumpkin seeds! When you cut open the pumpkin there will be a gooey glop of pumpkin seeds in the middle of the pumpkin. These need to be scooped out. 

Then comes the fun part, pulling all the glop off the pumpkin seeds! 

 Here is a recipe for toasting pumpkin seeds: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/salty-roasted-pumpkin-seeds-recipe.html There are a few different ones out there. Some of them have a Cajun flair if you like that. In short order, you will have some yummy toasted pumpkin seeds that are mostly free to you, since you probably otherwise would have thrown them out! 

I had a small pumpkin this time and I am cooking it just for scooping and eating. You can also make pies or bread with pumpkin. 

Happy Savings!

Make $71.00 an Hour Tax Free! Or How I Purchased $286.07 of Stuff for $72.40 Today in Three Hours!

I haven't done too much writing this summer but I have been consistently saving money. This is how I live my life! For me, frugality isn't something I do once in a while but it is a lifestyle. I love to save money! Today, I went out shopping and here are some of the deals I got.

I love fall mums. These had been $3.94 but they were marked down to $2.76. I placed them on a table (that I got brand new for $1.99 a few years ago) with a pumpkin from my garden. (My garden has only given me this one pumpkin so far this year!)

My husband asked me to look on the "Oops shelf" for paint to see what I could find. He has been building a tree stand (with mostly scraps!) He said he wanted an exterior flat paint in either brown or gray or dark green. You can find paint that someone else rejected pretty inexpensively, usually in a corner somewhere in the paint section. I found this. However, it was tan. I asked them if they could make it more brownish. The man at the counter tried but I don't think he knew too much about mixing colors without a chart to go by. The first time, it turned out exactly the same color. The second try, he got it closer to a brownish gray and so I took it! This was normally $17.77 and I got it for $8.88.

The tan color is the original color and the grayish is the end result, which my husband was happy with!

Here is a photo of the tree stand in progress. All the lumber my husband had as scraps in his shed. He did have to buy some roof and side parts. I bought the carpet from a garage sale for $5.00. 

I found this beautiful oak rustic table at a garage sale today. They were originally asking $45.00 for it but had marked it down to $25.00 since it was getting late in the day. I didn't ask them to take any less since they had already marked it down. I love it! 

I got a lot of deals at some stores today. I have a photo of them below. Here are some of the deals. I will mark them as normal price/sale price:

Cranberry drinks: $4.95/$2.50
Sandals: $9.99/$1.09
Collagen Gummies: $14.99/$5.99
Let Freedom Ring Block: $3.99/.40
4th of July Window Decals: $1.99/.20 x 5= $9.95/$1.00
Christmas Present: $9.99/$1.59
Excipial Cream: $14.70/$3.49
Heart rate monitor: $29.99/$2.99
2 Folders .79/.08=$1.58/.16
Men's Shorts $13.93/$1.00
Women's Shorts $12.00/$1.00
Greens $18.99/$13.49
Pecans $4.98/$1.00 x 10=$49.80/$10.00
Almonds $4.98/$1.00 x 5= $24.90/$5.00
Christmas Present $19.96/$2.00
Erasers .97/.10
Toilet Brushes $4.98/$3.00 x 2 = $9.96/$6.00
Grapes $5.96/$1.96
Sunscreen $7.76/$1.00

I am only going to add up the regular cost and the clearance costs on the items I purchased today. I am not including sale costs on things I purchased such as cereal etc. There are a number of sale items I bought but it's just too much work to include it all! I am also not including garage sale items or items like the pair of Lee Jeans I found for my husband at Goodwill today. 

The clearance items were a total of $286.07 at regular price. I paid $72.40 for a difference of  $213.67. It took me about three hours to shop for these items. That works out to about $71.00 an hour tax free! 

Some people don't understand why someone would shop like this. They would rather buy things when they need them, one at a time. I understand that. It's easy and convenient. The reason for shopping like this is in the numbers. If you don't mind some inconvenience, shopping like this can really pay. And when you do it week after week, month after month and year after year, it all adds up! We all have to make our choices. For me, this lifestyle makes me happy! I would rather have some financial freedom and a little inconvenience. 

Happy Savings! 

Bathroom Face-lift: Total Cost About $6.00!

I've been wanting to re-do my bathroom for quite some time. It had this ugly purple striped wallpaper in it. The wallpaper probably looked pretty good at one time, but it was old, stained in spots and the edges where the wallpaper was put together was getting a black edge from the moisture and there were areas I had to wipe down with bleach a couple of times a year because mold was growing there. It was time to do something! 

 Taking the wallpaper off itself wasn't that hard. It took about a half an hour.

 It was scraping this that took so long. Ugh! Just looking at it makes me feel pained! It took a couple of days to painstakingly squirt this old paper-backing/glue with a hot water and soap mixture and scrape and peel it all off. 

 Here are the walls partially prepped! I also sanded some areas. 

 I got out my supplies. These were all free from rebates! I have an area in my basement that I store freebies like this and I get them out when I need them! 

 When I was looking for paint to do the project with, I decided to check the clearance area. Often, people don't like the paint color they chose and then they return the paint and you can get it for next to nothing. This time, they had a gallon of Glidden paint on sale for $5.00 AND it was just the base so I got to choose the color too! I love good, high quality paint and I will pay more for that if I have to, but I did not have to! This is a paint and primer which was perfect. Glidden is a good brand too. I chose "Summer Sandcastle" for a color. 

Here are the walls prepped and ready to go. I put masking tape around everything and my husband removed the towel holders. 

And here is the final product! I want to replace the register on the floor still as it's peeling. I would also like to replace the switch plate covers to something nicer and the window blind. I have not done that yet. 

So, this paint face-lift cost about $6.00! $5.00 for the paint and about $1.00 for the masking tape! Other than that, it was a lot of hard work and elbow grease! I thought about painting the register with the same color paint but it is really rusty so I thought better of it. So, it will cost a few more dollars for the completed project but I feel very good about what I paid for this! The project took about 3/4 of a gallon and will give me some left for touch-ups later on. 

Happy Savings! 

Dehydrating Foods

When we were camping, I found these amazing Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms! (Take care if you don't know anything about mushrooms! Some are poisonous!) Chicken of the Woods mushrooms are very good so I put these into a few baggies and took them home. A few years ago, I bought this dehydrator at a garage sale and just now got around to trying it out. So, after eating fresh mushrooms to our hearts content, I dehydrated the rest. 

It took a lot of mushrooms to make this pint jar! However, now, all winter when I want some mushrooms to put in soups or casseroles, I can grab this jar!

Since the mushroom project was so successful, I decided to dehydrate some raspberries this year. I usually freeze all the raspberries and make jam or juice them. My husband loves raspberries so he is using these on cereal and ice cream. 

I was concerned about any moisture left in the berries and mushrooms and so I dug some moisture "soakers" out of some supplements I had and put them into the jars. I'm sure a few grains of rice would work just as well but you would want to be careful not to get them into your cereal and break a tooth! THAT wouldn't be frugal. ;)

A dehydrator is not needed for dehydrating. Some people dehydrate in the sun or in their ovens. Here is an article on dehydrating: http://food-hacks.wonderhowto.com/how-to/dehydrate-food-without-dehydrator-0161531/

 Happy Savings! 

Finding Deals Everyday: Today I Made at Least $29/hr Tax Free!

Once a week, I go into town to do some shopping. This time of year I go on a day that there are garage sales. I stop at a number of garage sales, making sure I have cash in my pocket to spend in case I see something that I could use. 

Today I hit a number of garage sales. I got a number of items we can use. In addition, I stopped and got a haircut. I used a pre-paid card that I got last winter. Every winter, our area Great Clips has a deal that you can buy as many pre-paid haircuts as you want for $9.99 each so I buy enough for the year.

Aside from the garage sale deals and a hair cut deal, I also looked for deals at Wal-Mart when I went. No matter what store I shop at, I scan the clearance and mark down areas to see what I might find. Today I hit the jack pot on meat!! I have never seen prices this low, so I assessed how much space I had in my freezer (in my head) and bought everything I thought would fit in there. 

I bought two turkeys that were $25.77 each for $6.33 each. .48 cents a pound! These are ready to cook turkeys. They were marked down because the handles on the bags were broken. Use by or freeze date on these was all the way out to 1/18/18! 

Duck was marked down from $2.84 a pound to .50 a pound!! I bought four ducks. Use by date on these is more recent, but I am not worried as it is only a use or freeze by date. 9/24/16. 

  

Boneless Turkey Roast was $12.23 and was on sale for $2.98! I bought three of these. I knew I had to quit as space was limited.  The use by date on these was all the way out to 06/14/17. 

So all this meat would have cost me $157.87 and only cost $33.88!! 

Add to that, I checked the clearance aisle. I am not listing everything but I got 2 of these bottles of  25.4 fluid ounce shampoo for $2.00 each plus they have coupons for free styling products that I will get next time I am at the store. 

If I count only the meat I got today and nothing else....no garage sale savings or clearance savings, that is a savings of $123.99. Let's just guesstimate and say I saved $50.00 more on other items (a low estimate). That is $173.99 in one day and I spent about 6 hours out. That's $29.00 an hour tax free! I save like this on a regular basis by simply keeping my eyes out for deals.

Happy Savings!

Saving Money on Laundry

1. One way to save money on laundry is to simply do less of it. Some people will wear a shirt for half a day and then wash it. Unless you are doing hot, sweaty work, there really is no need nor reason for that. Shirts can easily be worn a couple of times. Sweaters can be worn many times. Jeans can be worn usually a few more times than shirts. Towels can be hung to dry and used a few times before laundering. Not only does this save money but it also saves time. Everyone can find the level of re-use they are comfortable with. It also saves on wear and tear on clothing so clothing doesn't have to be purchased as often.

2. Clotheslines can be great money savers. I personally do not use one too often because of allergies. However, the dryer is one of the biggest energy users in the house and hanging the clothes to dry can save quite a bit. If you don't like the stiff way clothes feel after hanging, you can tumble dry for a few minutes towards the end of drying or afterwards. I also like the way ironing can be avoided with tumble drying. Make sure you don't over dry your clothes although I confess I am guilty here.

3. Only do a load when there are enough clothes to do a full load. This will save on energy expenses and time as well.

4. Use half the recommended amount for laundry detergent and tear dryer sheets in half. Some people make their own soap. I just make sure I buy my detergent on sale and steep discounts and then always tear dryer sheets in half.

5. If I had to use a laundromat, I would hand wash as many clothes at home as possible and hang dry. This might not be possible for people with families but for a single person or couple it could be done while showering easily enough.

Small changes can add up to big savings over time! Pennies turn into dollars and dollars turn into tens and tens turn into twenties and.......

Happy Savings!

Food in Your Yard! Fried Dandelion Heads!

I have never had fried dandelion heads until just the other day, but I will certainly be having them again in the future! Who would have guessed that this humble yard weed would taste so good??

I found this Appalachian recipe for fried dandelions: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/214172/fried-dandelions-appalachian-style/

First, after rinsing, they are soaked in eggs. 

 
Flour, salt and pepper are mixed and used to coat the dandelion heads. Then they are fried in butter.

 
I am very impressed with this recipe and idea I have never heard of before! I had this idea that if I soaked some in pickle juice, they would taste better, so I made some of each. The ones just as the recipe described were better than the pickle soaked ones. The pickle soaked ones are on the left and the regular ones are on the right.

 This is a very inexpensive dish! Just a little time, some eggs, flour and butter. (Make sure your yard is not chemically treated before you try this!)

Happy Savings!

Dandelion Greens for Dinner!

I haven't done much with dandelion greens in the past besides throw a few into a salad. Tonight, I tried a dandelion green side dish! I liked it. It isn't something I would want all the time but it was pretty good and it did hit the spot tonight! 

First, I picked the greens. 

                                                                                                                                                 
Then, they had to be soaked in salt water for 10 minutes.

    Next, they had to be boiled. I also sauteed the onion mixture as the greens boiled.

Then, I sauteed all the ingredients together! 

This is certainly a frugal dish! Since we don't use any chemicals on our lawn, I just picked them right outside our backdoor! Here is the recipe if you wish to try it! http://allrecipes.com/recipe/222744/dandelion-greens-with-a-kick/

Here are the nutrition facts for dandelion greens: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2857/2

Happy Savings!

Pennies Pennies Everywhere: A Use for Bread Crusts

Don't you just hate throwing out bread crusts? There are many uses for them and here is one:

Tonight, I made sloppy joes, but instead of buying buns for the sloppy joes, I toasted bread crusts! After the bread crusts were toasted, we loaded them up with pickles, sloppy joe sauce, cheese and onions. They can be eaten either by picking them up or cutting them with a fork.

Other uses for bread crusts are using them with chicken gravy, mini-pizzas or some people like making bread pudding or stuffing with them.

A few pennies here and a few pennies there all add up to dollars!

Happy Savings!

Changing your Think to a Thunk: Frugality Ethics

Sometimes when people think about saving money, couponing etc, ethics comes into play. I thought I would outline my thoughts on the ethics that I believe are good guidelines when being frugal.
I like to think of myself as an ethical person. I don't believe in trying to save money while taking advantage. Different people will draw these lines in different places. However, I believe that sometimes people can also be TOO ethical when it comes to saving money and end up shortchanging themselves!

• If you have an opportunity to take advantage of a company deal that offers you so much percent off or three free months with no obligation, I don't feel it is unethical to take them at their word when they say "no obligation". This means you can take advantage of one deal and then hop to the next one. Some people feel they are being unethical when they hop to the next deal from the next company, especially if this means they are getting more stuff/months for free. I look at it this way: companies are taking risks and assessing those risks along the way. This means, they are going to account for a few smart people who are going to take them at their word (no obligation) and get the deal and move on. They know and assess that there will be a group that will take the deal and stay and this is why they offer the deal. You are not wrong for taking the deal and leaving after three months (or however long the free time is for).
• Time share deals. I have a couple of these coming up. I have agreed to sit through a time-share presentation for a great vacation deal. I have no qualms about this. I just plan to say no to the time-share. The companies know that they will have to give out so many vacation deals to get one time share sale and this is a risk they sign up for and take. I have a deal with the company that I get the deal from to I sit through the presentation and I have no obligation to buy. I get some great vacations this way and I fulfill my obligation by doing what I said I would do....sitting through the presentation.
• Once I got a free hotel night because the room a hotel gave us was not cleaned. By this I mean there was hair on the sheets, urine on the toilet seat and used soap bars in the tub. I felt if I was the management of this hotel, I would want to know and have the opportunity to make it right. However, there are people who try to scam companies by complaining about things. I feel this is unethical. I try to put myself in the shoes of the management in these situations and ask myself how I would feel. Is it a legitimate complaint? If it is legitimate, I will complain. However, I don't want to complain about smaller things and get employees in trouble. I will only complain if it is a reasonable complaint.
• I worked at a social services agency for a while and I knew some clients that would go around to restaurants, order food and complain about anything for free coupons. In a word: unethical. 
• Dumpster Diving: I have no problem with dumpster diving. I tried it once and came back empty. I was going to try it in a far away city on vacation once but looked up the ordinances and saw it was illegal in that city. I want to try it sometime in a far away city where it is legal for the experience. I can't say I would do this on a regular basis but I have a bit of admiration for those who do. We throw away way too much in this society. So, I think dumpster diving is entirely ethical. 
• Free coupons. There are people who sell free coupons and it is a huge business. However, I think much of it is tantamount to counterfeiting. Companies now are usually putting strips on free coupons that can't be counterfeited to try and keep this from happening. I love free coupons, but I won't use them if I think they are counterfeit. All this does is cause companies to raise prices for all of us. 

So, to sum up, I think people should save money where they can. Sometimes saving money can go against societal convention, but I have no problem with going against societal convention if I believe societal convention is wrong. When you look at the huge debts people have in their lives and the stranglehold it has on them, I believe society is headed the wrong way with material goods. There is a difference between societal convention and ethics. Societal convention tells us what we "should" or "shouldn't" do based on what the majority do or don't do. This has nothing to do with ethics. Ethics is about being a good human being and not hurting others while you try and do the best you can for yourself. So, I want to do the best I can for myself and I view that as a good and healthy way to live. But I also want the best for my fellow human beings. Companies take risks, that is part of life. We can play this"game" and we can win. And we should win. But we should be ethical while we play. 

Save up to $20.00 with Walgreens Jingle Cash!

Every year around Christmas, Walgreens has Jingle Cash. You can save up to $20.00 with Jingle Cash. See the below chart:

 I bought $50.00 worth of merchandise last week and I will use this $10.00 off coupon this week. I also purchased an item that will be free to me after using this $2.00 rewards coupon.

To make the maximum savings, I browse the Walgreens flyer and find items that I need and am getting low on. This way, I make sure the items I get are on sale in the first place. I find if you do not do this, you may be going through extra work and not really saving anything.

So, step 1: Browse Walgreens flyer and make a list.

If you do not have a Walgreens Rewards card, you will need to sign up for one. I have mixed feelings about rewards cards but I do have one for Walgreens.

Walgreens has losts of rules for using the rewards cards. One big thing to remember is you can't use any rewards and gain rewards on the same transaction. For example, if the flyer says you can gain 2000 rewards points on a purchased item, you won't gain those points if you are using jingle cash or spending any rewards at the same time.

Step 2: Get a rewards card and remember you cannot GAIN and SPEND rewards on the same transaction. Your Walgreens may also have other rules so check with your store for all terms and conditions.

I find that regardless of terms this still can be a great deal.

Step 3: Buy your items.

Step 4: Get your Jingle Cash and NOTE THE EXPIRATION DATES. These will not be honored after they expire.

Step 5: Get the new flyer the next week and buy sale items with your Jingle Cash on the correct dates.

You should also note that Walgreens has coupons on their website that you can clip right to your Walgreens card. Just remember the rewards rules. You can do this system all year long with Walgreens minus the Jingle Cash.

Happy Savings!

Buy Thanksgiving Items Now; Bring Out Christmas Items Bought Last Year

Now is the time of year to buy Thanksgiving items! As you see here, you can often get up to 90% off Thanksgiving items if you buy them after Thanksgiving rather than before! Usually for the first few days afterwards, they are 50% - 75% off but, keep your eyes out through the month of December and you can get items for up to 90% off their original prices!

A Table Runner for $2.59 rather than $12.99.

Place-mats for .59 each rather than $2.99 each,

Now is also the time of year to bring out the Christmas items you bought last year for up to 90% off. Now is not the time of year to buy Christmas items. I would suggest going without what you want this year if you did not buy them on clearance last year. This is an exercise in self-discipline. If you buy what you want now because you forgot or didn't do it on clearance last year, you will likely overspend and not have the desire to buy more when it is on clearance. If you wait and make do this year, you will have given yourself the incentive you need to remember to buy clearance. 

Christmas cards for .39 rather than $3.99.

A tablecloth for .99 rather than $9.99. 

Ornaments for .79 rather than $7.99.

 When you are tempted to buy what you want at a convenient time, rather than waiting for sales, remember that buying like this is going to save you money for other things. Try to give yourself a thought of what you are going to do with those savings to better your life. Are you going to pay bills you would otherwise have to worry about? Are you going to pay down debt? Are you going to save your pennies so you can invest? You can buy smart and still enjoy almost everything you otherwise would. If you really wanted a certain color scheme this year, tell yourself you will in time. There are some sacrifices to be made to live frugally, but in time, you should be able to turn things around for yourself and be able to have what you want. In the meantime, you are being smart and having goals that will take you places.

Happy Savings!