Friends, I apologize for the radio silence here recently. Some long hours at work and then some work travel have snatched a lot of my writing time away these past couple of weeks! Thanks for not giving up on me!
And now, on with our frugal wins of the week!
1. LeeLee and I visited our local library book sale and came home with a bargain!
In case I haven’t said so before in these pages, books are one of my love languages. (The others are vegetarian food, cats, travel and the band Queen.) So naturally I had our local library’s spring book sale on the calendar and bold print, and wow, it did NOT disappoint! We came home with 11 books for a whopping $39 (my purchases are pictured above – LeeLee had already whisked his upstairs!), which will keep us busy for quite some time to come. AND we were able to give back to the library to help support their programs. A win all the way around!
2. The company I work for gave me a free ticket to the Nationals baseball game!
Several of my internationally based colleagues were visiting recently, and to help welcome them to the U.S. the company I work for invited a few of us on the team to a Washington Nationals game. Now, the good old Nats have had a rough start to the season, but who cares – a day at the ballpark is always a great time! And even better – we all scored free baseball jerseys celebrating the team’s 20th year in Washington! A free ticket, a free souvenir, and free transport with my Metro card that keeps on giving – what’s not to love?
3. We’re continuing with the Great Pantry Cleanout.
I’ve been leaving no stone unturned when it comes to using what I have on hand for our meals! As it happens, a Costco-sized jar of peanut butter can go an awfully long way in our lunchtime PBJs, and we’ve got so many canned beans and vegetables in the cabinet that dinnertime plans are a snap. In fact, I’ve already planned for a rousing rendition of Old Faithful (aka black beans and rice) to go into the Instant Pot tonight – topped with some leftover chik’n patties from the freezer, of course!
4. I’ve picked up some stocks on sale lately.
Even though I’m still on the cusp of freaking out at times, I also know a cheap stock when I see it, and I’ve been trying to view this massive market downturn as a buying opportunity. In the 2008-09 recession (which was when this blog was born!), I worked to do the same thing, and it paid off over the long haul. I just have to trust it will do so again this time around. I do love a bargain!
5. I’m saving a great deal of money simply by not using Amazon.
I’ve only ordered two or three things from Amazon since late January, which is a vast decrease from my usual purchasing capacity, and honestly? It’s really not all that difficult to either 1) find an alternative source for whatever I needed (vitamins, hair dryers, etc.) or 2) simply not order it from anybody, any time. This in tandem has saved me a lot of money so far – and is a habit I intend to keep!
What have been your top frugal successes (or fails) this week? Let’s hear it in the comments!
:)
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