More Buy Nothing finds, a streaming-service cancellation and, yes, more found money (in various ways) – frugality ran the gamut this week!
1. I found $3 and 1 Chinese yuan underneath the bed.
What is going ON in this house? Honestly, one of the main reasons I’ve kept decluttering with such fervor is that almost every time I devote 15 minutes to the cause, I’m bound to find some cash in one denomination (and nationality!) or another. That streak continues this week! The yuan went into our newly designated “international currency bowl” and the dollars went into my wallet. AND the space under the bed is clearing out, bit by bit. Love it!
2. I asked for a tray table on Buy Nothing – and got one!
LeeLee has a knee surgery scheduled for next month, and his surgeon told him to expect to spend a bit of time in bed for the first couple of days while he gets his mobility back. We have all sorts of fun dining accessories in this house, but one thing we did NOT have was a “breakfast in bed” style tray table. Before buying one, I figured I may as well ask my lovely neighbors on the Buy Nothing list, and lo and behold, a woman had one that she wasn’t using and wanted to give to us! Once we’re finished with it we’ll pass it on to someone else, but what a help this will be as LeeLee recovers.
3. We canceled Paramount+.
Since the beginning stages of the pandemic way back in 2020, LeeLee and I have had a little routine at night: Each evening, we watch a single episode of an old sitcom, working our way through the series over the course of a few months. “Benson.” “Cheers.” “Head of the Class.” “The Facts of Life.” And so forth. Now, “Frasier” is on the docket, and we’re zipping right along! We’ve been watching “Frasier” via our Paramount+ subscription, which offers “Limited Commercials.” To be honest, we didn’t mind the limited ads – a couple at the beginning of the show and maybe one in the middle – but last week, the ads exploded out of control, and now we’re spending 7-10 minutes each evening staring blankly at ad after ad. That will not DO! First, I wrote to Paramount+ chat to complain, and when the agent wasn’t able to help me, I ascertained that Hulu also carries “Frasier” and canceled Paramount at once. I do love to vote with my feet!
4. It’s been Leftover Central around here this week!
From leftover veggie dogs (with from-the-pantry mac and cheese) for lunch to leftover chik’n divan for dinner to all sorts of other odds and ends, it’s been a particularly good week for the Leftovers Revolution around here. Any food that we can manage to save from the trash bin is a WIN in my book!
5. Remember that raise I asked for? I got it!
Oh, happy day! The raise I asked for in August was approved, and I shall soon start seeing its fruits in my biweekly paycheck. This isn’t something I normally like to discuss on these pages – Americans are weird about discussing money, as you know – but I can think of few things more frugal than making a bit more money, and in these months of relative austerity, I can say with certainty that the extra compensation will be quite welcome around here. I’ll try very hard not to increase my spending in commensurate fashion!
What frugal wins have you had this week? Brag about them in the comments! It’ll be good for you.
:)