From a relatively frugal New York getaway to receipts, succulents and Chinese takeout galore, it’s been a money-saving week! Here’s what we’ve been up to.

1. We packed a picnic for our train trip to New York!
One of the first things you should know about me is that I do love a picnic. Whether we’re going to see an outdoor movie, lounging in the park, taking in a summertime concert, or just enjoying an al fresco meal for no reason, I will find any excuse to picnic. So naturally, when I realized our train journey to New York City for a little weekend getaway fell over the dinner hour, I whipped us up some sandwiches, threw some Pringles together, added in some little cookies LeeLee had brought home from an event the night before, and off we went! The only thing missing was a beverage, but we supplemented with a tiny bottle of wine from the Amtrak cafe car. Bliss!

2. While in New York, we visited the TKTS booth for discounted Broadway tickets.
Now, I’ll grant you that New York is not the cheapest vacation destination, but as I said in my Tuesday post this week, there are plenty of ways to save money while having a great time. The TKTS booth in Times Square (there’s another at Lincoln Center!) is a must-do if you want to get great Broadway seats at a deep discount (often upwards of 50% off). That’s just what we did on Saturday, lining up around 10:15 a.m. to await the booth opening at 11. And our patience was rewarded: We booked two third-row seats to “The Last Five Years” (starring Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren) for half price! The show was amazing and I highly recommend it. 

3. We stretched our weekly Chinese takeout to two meals.
Lately, LeeLee and I have redoubled our efforts to lose a few pesky pounds, so we’re always looking for ways to control our portions. Turns out our Chinese takeout meals – which we had been eating in one sitting – really provide enough food for two dinners! Even with tip, the whole bill comes to about $38, so this wasn’t a terribly expensive order as it is. But divided four ways, we’re eating each meal for about $9.50, which is a steal in this economy. And if it helps us shed the weight, I’m all for that, too.

4. I’ve continued to scan grocery receipts into the Fetch app.
This is lower gain but minimal pain, so I keep scanning every receipt I can find (including a CVS receipt from an emergency hairbrush run in New York!). I’m continuing to bank points to build up our Starbucks coffers for our summertime beach vacation – it’s such a fun little treat!

5. LeeLee brought home a gifted succulent, which I then put into a free flowerpot!
The same event where LeeLee got the cookies also netted us a cute little succulent plant! I repotted it into a cute little orange-cat flowerpot I’d procured from my Buy Nothing group and plunked it onto my kitchen windowsill, where it makes me smile every day. We could all stand a smile at the moment!

What frugal wins (or foibles) have you chalked up this week? Let us know in the comments!

:)

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!

:)

From fancy (free!) ballet tickets to a game of revolving comforters, it’s been a great frugal week here. Here’s what we’ve been up to!

1. Our neighbors gave us their ballet tickets to the Kennedy Center!
Our neighbors left town for spring break (warning to would-be thieves: they’re back now!), and before they went they offered us their ballet tickets to “Coppelia” at the Kennedy Center. They’re season ticketholders and we’ve had the good fortune to go with them before, so we knew that not only were these amazing tickets to a beautiful show, but ALSO they were front-row seats! LeeLee and I had a ball enjoying a rare Tuesday date night for only the price of parking. (And some champagne, to be honest. But we used our Kennedy Center “sippy cups” and got $3 off per cup!)

2. I combined coupons to get 40% off my Papa John’s pizza and free delivery.
LeeLee was out of town last weekend for the start of March Madness, so I ordered enough pizza to keep myself well fed all weekend long in his absence. I was thrilled last Friday to get a new promo code from Papa John’s offering 40% off a large pie; I used it, ordered two pizzas AND got free delivery via another promo code. Even better: I’ve still got pizza left over! I put some in the freezer and it’ll make another great meal on a busy night in the future.

3. I made use of the Costco gas pumps for some sweet sweet $2.65-a-gallon fuel.
I don’t know about where you are, but around here our gas prices have been hovering around $3.09 a gallon for the past few weeks. So imagine my delight when I saw our nearby Costco was sporting $2.65 the other day! As you may remember, we are newly minted Costco members, so we wheeled LeeLee’s car right in for a fill-up after an evening of shopping. 

4. We complained to Xfinity and got a whopping $5 credit.
To be perfectly frank, our Xfinity Internet service has been garbage the past few weeks. Every time we had an outage of more than a few minutes, I tried using the online refund request button to, well, request a refund for time lost. FINALLY, it worked, and I was both thrilled and dismayed to learn I was receiving $5 in credit. Frankly, I believe I ought to receive much more for our recent downtime, but $5 is $5 and I will take it. (But, Xfinity, if you’re reading, I would also take more, so drop me a line.)

5. We returned our new (expensive) comforter and got an Ikea model for $29.
I mentioned last week that we bought a new comforter for our bed from Bed Bath and Beyond, but after we got it on the bed it looked so garish! I couldn’t stand it. It looked nothing like the picture and was just so gaudy. So we wrapped it back up in the box and returned it. But then we were left with the same conundrum as before: What to do about a comforter? Blessedly, good old Ikea came through with a festive springtime set for $29. And it looks great! The cats love it too.

What frugal wins and/or fails have you had this week? Let’s hear it in the comments!

:)

From found gift cards to $0 pharmacy bills to coupons galore, it’s been a fun week of frugality! Here’s what we have cooking (often literally).

1. My recent CVS Pharmacy bill was a whopping $0.
I was due for two prescription refills recently and popped by to pick them both up at once. One of them is often no-cost to me because of insurance, but imagine my surprise when the other – my asthma inhaler – also rang in at $0! Out of habit, I plunked my debit card down on the reader without noting the $0 charge and was thrilled when it squawked unpleasantly at me, refusing to take payment. I’m often hard on the American healthcare and insurance system, but in this case, it worked out. And I am happy to give credit where it’s due!

2. I found a $15 Starbucks gift card while decluttering!
In my quest to continue decluttering our humble home, I tackled our coffee table, which has a secret storage space underneath the lid where we store all our board games. As I sorted through the games, trying to find some we might want to give away, I was thrilled to find a $15 Starbucks gift card just hanging out! Presumably it had fallen through the crack, literally, at some point and became buried in board games. I’ve added it to my online account for use later on – as I’ve mentioned before in these pages, we like to save up Starbucks gift cards to use as a little treat on vacation!

3. I hunted down a Bed Bath and Beyond coupon for my recent online purchase.
We were in deep need of a new comforter for our bed – our old one lasted about a decade but was finally beyond repair. I found one I loved over at Bed Bath and Beyond and knew that, given their proclivity for handing out 20%-off coupons, one would be easy to find online. Sure enough, I hunted down a viable promo code and my $260 purchase soon became $237. I’ll take it!

4. The March Pantry and Freezer Cleanout continues.
We are having a wonderful time “shopping” in our pantry and freezer for our weekly menu plan this month! Some of the top winners from the past week have been chik’n divan (using many ingredients already in the freezer) and veggie enchiladas (with ingredients from the cupboard). Even better: These dishes provided many a leftover for future meals, which is always appreciated by the chief cook and bottle-washer!

5. Finally: A Firmoo eyeglasses update!
Remember a few weeks ago, when I mentioned I’d ordered some discount-priced glasses from a website called Firmoo? They arrived! And they are GREAT. When I put the first pair on, I literally GASPED at how much better I could see (I’d been wearing my old glasses way too long, until they were extremely past their prime). Both frames look great (if I do say so myself!) and seem nice and sturdy. And, of course, I’m able to see better too, which is always a plus! Now I can actually keep up with the March Madness scores this week, which was, frankly, my impetus behind ordering frames at this time. 🙂

What frugal wins (or fails – we listen and we don’t judge) do you have to share this week? Let’s hear it in the comments!

:)  

From eating down the pantry to using coupons to lower water bills to even MORE found currency (!), it’s been a fun frugal week. Here are some of the ways we’ve been doing more with less!

1. We have hereby declared March to be Pantry and Freezer Cleanout Month.
Our kitchen cabinets and freezer overfloweth with goodies just waiting to be consumed! Why wait any longer? So far, we’ve enjoyed the likes of quinoa with chik’n patties and an “antioxidant blend” of vegetables, quinoa (are you sensing a theme here?) with a chik’n stuffed tikka masala cutlet and peas, and a spaghetti bake (pictured above) that yielded leftovers for days. Believe me – we’re not suffering in the slightest as we pare down what we already have on hand! And we’ve developed some new favorites along the way, too!

2. I found a $5 Starbucks gift card while decluttering.
Decluttering continues to pay off! While cleaning underneath the dressers, I pulled out an unused $5 Starbucks card, which I promptly added to my online account. We continue to build up a little balance to use for little treats while on vacation this summer! There’s just nothing like stopping by the Starbucks for a cool treat – even cooler when it’s free.

3. Speaking of decluttering, I also found some more Chinese and Australian currency.
Where is all this currency coming from?! Actually, I know the answer in these cases – my father gave me this currency upon his return from both of these countries, both as a souvenir and to tuck away in case LeeLee and I travel there on future trips. I’ve dutifully put it all away in the candy dish we’re using to store our foreign currency, hopeful we’ll get to use it sometime soon!

4. I remembered to bring my Ace coupon while stocking up on household supplies.
With the turn of the seasons, it’s time to replace our HVAC filter again! Plus, most of our cleaning supplies had become depleted at about the same time, so I had a goodly amount of household goods to pick up at our local Ace. For once, I remembered to bring the $5-off coupon they keep sending me in the mail, turning a $45 bill into $40 in no time. Every little bit helps!

5. Our water bill was surprisingly low this month!
I was thrilled to open this month’s water bill and see that not only was it lower than last month, but it was lower than most months in the past year! I attribute this to a couple of things: 1) LeeLee being away for work for several workweeks in a row, and 2) Me being out of town for one weekend as well. Can we keep this winning streak going now that we’re both home? I’m sure willing to try!

What frugal finds have you come across this week? Let’s hear about it in the comments!

:)

Well, friends, I have no good excuse for my absence other than life has been absolutely crazy. I think it has been for many of us lately, no? But rest assured, my frugality has persisted despite the insanity (and occasional inanity). Here are some of my favorite frugal things over the past couple of weeks!

1. I canceled a magazine subscription – with vigor!
Ever since LeeLee and I returned from London in the summer of 2022, I’ve subscribed to Hello! magazine to stay up to date on all the royal goings-on. Even though the subscription is rather pricey, I’ve always written it off as an occasional entertainment expense and have never regretted it – until last week, when I opened the white envelope to see the face of our nation’s current first lady staring back at me. This was not a welcome sight. I subscribe to Hello! to get away from our national politics, not to entrench myself! And that single issue gave me the prompting I needed to ping the company and ask them not to renew me when my subscription came up over the summer. Reactionary? Not a chance. I’m not new to this sort of thing – back in the 1990s I did the same thing to Sports Illustrated when they published an ill-conceived hit job on my beloved Florida State Seminoles called “Tainted Title.” That time, I had the satisfaction of calling them up to cancel voice-to-voice (and then discuss with them again at length when their winback department called to ask if I would give them another try), but this time around I had to be satisfied with a sternly worded email. At any rate, that’s a couple hundred dollars in my pocket every year! I’ll take it.

2. We got an excellent BOGO deal on some green tea.
I’m a sucker for some green tea, and was absolutely thrilled to learn over the weekend that our local Harris Teeter was offering my beloved Bigelow tea on a buy one, get one offer! I drink at least one cup, and often more, a day for health, so this will keep me stocked for quite a while.

3. I called Marriott to dispute a charge (and won!).
LeeLee got home from a weeklong stay at a Marriott property recently, and several days later we got a charge for $27.84, which seemed incongruous, as the weekly total had already been posted. Turns out it was for a breakfast that LeeLee had been told was complimentary! It took some calling around, but $27 is $27 and I was not able to let that go.

4. I ordered two new pairs of eyeglasses on a low-cost eyewear site that came well-recommended.
Now, in fairness, I don’t have these new glasses on the bridge of my nose just yet, but I am excited at the prospect! When I lamented to a friend the other day that my current pair of glasses were broken-down and janky, she recommended Firmoo for a low-cost replacement. Ordering was simple, and the price was right – especially after a 20%-off coupon for being a first-time customer! I bought two pairs and the grand total came to $65 and change. I’ll be sure and update once they arrive!

5. We saved $100 at our vet visit this week.
It was time for Humboldt the Cat’s wellness checkup, so I brought him into our local vet kicking and screaming (well, he was doing the kicking and screaming – I was perfectly calm). A vet visit, no matter how routine, is always an expense, especially nowadays. So imagine my delight when our vet, after perusing the options for his wellness blood panel, uncovered one that was a good $100 cheaper than the choice we’d made before! In fairness, it is a newer panel, which is why the choice hadn’t been offered in the past, and it included all of the major health markers just as the old one did. Sold! The vet appointment total still came out to, well, a lot, but it was at least a lot minus $100!

What frugalities have you been up to this week? Let’s hear it in the comments!

:) 

From bulk groceries to free coffee to free keychains (!) and more, it’s been a varied couple of weeks on the frugality front! Here’s what we’ve been up to.

1. We joined Costco!
This one was a long time coming – I’ve been a shareholder for years! – but we finally became Costco members this month. I’d been wanting to for a long while, but never made it a priority. Now that they’ve doubled down on their diversity and inclusion work, though, I felt it was the perfect time to join the ranks. And so far, so good; I’ve brought home all manner of bread, bananas, ground coffee, $8 wine and more, saving a lot in the process so far.

2. I redeemed my free Starbucks coffee after the Super Bowl (and got upgraded to a grande!).
I was so pleased when, on Super Bowl Sunday, I received a notification via the Starbucks app saying that a tall coffee was on them the next morning. Sure enough, when I made my way to my local shop on Monday, redeeming the offer was a breeze. Even better: As she made my coffee, my barista said, “I went ahead and put this in a grande cup for you. Is that OK?” Why, yes, yes it was most certainly OK! What a great way to start the week!

3. I scanned many receipts into Fetch (including some that weren’t ours).
I’ve tried to be pretty faithful about scanning all of my grocery receipts into Fetch. Every so often I miss one, but I try to keep up with it! Although the points payoff for each individual receipt isn’t much, the effort is minimal, and we’ve decided to earmark our points savings for a Starbucks gift card to treat ourselves to coffee during our summer vacation. (We LOVE riding our bikes to Starbucks in the mornings at the beach – it’s one of life’s little pleasures!) It’s a fun little goal and keeps us motivated. Twice this past week, both LeeLee and I even “rescued” left-behind receipts that weren’t ours and scanned those too! No receipt is safe!

4. The “Free Keychain Library” came through for me!
Our neighborhood now has a “Free Keychain Library” (pictured above), and this week I made use of it after having a spare key made for our neighbors! I love our neighborhood for many reasons, but this is a new one. :)

5. As usual, the Leftover Revolution continues.
Nothing new here: We’ve been keeping up the Leftover Revolution day after day and week after week! This week so far we’ve enjoyed leftovers of mushroom tetrazzini and veggie “steak” and ale pie – so we’re not suffering in this endeavour!

What have y’all been up to in the frugal department this week? Let’s hear it in the comments!

:)

It’s been a busy week or so here – which explains my silence (and I’m sorry about that!) – but I’ve made it my mission to maintain some semblance of frugality all the while! 

1. I snagged some new pairs of my favorite running shoes at a deep discount!
I’ve been running for the better part of 20 years, and while overall it’s a pretty frugal sport (as opposed to my other great love, triathlon), the one major cost sink is keeping up with decent running shoes. Try to make the wrong ones work and you’ll end up with shin splints, or worse; run too long in and old pair and your feet will never forgive you. As I’ve aged, I’ve required more and more cushioning, which sadly comes at more and more of a cost. So I’m always on the lookout for deals. Thankfully, my local running shop, Pacers, hosted its annual warehouse sale a week ago, and I managed to grab two pairs of my favorite Asics for about 50% off apiece. That’s a deal I absolutely couldn’t pass up! And now my shoe closet is well stocked for months to come.

2. LeeLee recently advocated for a free hotel night – and won!
Poor LeeLee. His January was teeming with travel, which was fine, but every week he found himself fighting with the hotel about something, which was decidedly not fine! First, it was that we were charged a “late cancellation” fee when he had to check out early due to the city having no water, a charge it took me several weeks to set right. Then, he woke up one morning to realize his heat was out – and the temperature was in the 20s outside! Despite complaining multiple times throughout the day as he came and went, no repair person ever showed up, and by the time he arrived back after his workday, the room was a cool 60 degrees. I am generally a patient person, but I got so mad I called the hotel from two hours away and gave them the what-for. Before too long, a space heater was provided (as the hotel was sold out, they couldn’t move him to another room), and his frozen night was comped. I was admittedly hoping for his entire stay to be gratis, but I will take a night’s charge, at least.

3. I returned some overdue library books – but no fines were incurred.
Now, in my defense, the past month or so has been an absolute blur. But imagine my surprise when a week or so ago, I got an email from my beloved public library alerting me that several books I’d checked out were now “Presumed lost” and I was being charged to the tune of almost $100 in total! I gasped, and then I pulled the poor books out from where they’d been calmly waiting, so I could return them to the library at once. Before I went, I wrote a little note of apology on a sticky and put it on the front of the book, plunking the pile gently into the book return slot (because, let’s face it, I was too afraid to go in and atone for my sins publicly!). That evening, I peeked into my account online and found I owed … $0.00. ZERO DOLLARS! Our library system is fine-free, which I think is absolutely wonderful, but I expected to at least have to fork over a little bit as punishment. Libraries, man. They’re the best thing the nation has going, and I mean that. 

4. I fixed our garbage disposal!
Late last week, I flicked our kitchen disposal on and heard an absolute racket coming from the drain. I turned it off right away, got my trust flashlight, and peered inside, only to find 1) a bottle cap of undetermined vintage and 2) The metal top of our cheese slicing knife (!). I grabbed the tongs and began to fish things out. The bottle cap came out easily enough, but the metal knife was a bit more wily. It took a good 20 minutes of flipping it around with the tongs and cajoling it with alternating sweet talk and curse words, but in the end, I managed to snag it and bring it back to safety (or at least out of danger). Twenty minutes of work saved me what would have been at least a $100 service call – a win any day of the week!

5. And now, a (halfway) frugal fail: We splurged on Chinese takeout and it was lackluster.
We’ve really been immersed in the Leftover Revolution lately, but the other day I had had enough and proposed some Chinese delivery from our favorite takeaway spot instead. LeeLee jumped at the chance and we ordered, and it arrived right away – from one of our favorite delivery guys, to boot! We brought it in, opened it up, and … the steamed tofu just tasted Off to me. Not rancid, not poisonous, not outright BAD – just … off. Like maybe it had been hanging around for just a day or two too long. For his part, LeeLee had no qualms, so I didn’t call to discuss it with the restaurant, but I didn’t eat too much of the tofu, just the accompanying veggies and spring roll. We’ll definitely order again, and probably soon if I’m being honest! But the restaurant’s off night was not on my bingo card for our Splurge Night. Oh, well. Life goes on, and nobody got sick!

What frugal wins (or fails!) have you had this week? Let’s hear it in the comments!

:)

From new clothes to fun food to gift cards lost and found, it’s been a frugal week around here if I do say so!

1. Our wayward Best Buy gift card: Found!
Remember the Best Buy gift card I put in a very safe place the other week and promptly lost track of? I found it! And you’ll never guess where. Even I could not have guessed where. Last weekend I did some much-needed tidying and culling of our pantry cabinets, and there it was, behind the hot chocolate – my Best Buy gift card! I have no idea why I put it in the pantry (my guess it was a hurried cleanup effort before friends came over). But clearly it was very safe!

2. I bought some new snow pants on eBay.
This year has been a snowier-than-usual winter for us here in the Mid-Atlantic region so far, and my snow pants were getting a little long in the tooth. Well, actually, they were both long in the tooth AND short in the waistline. Ahem. In fairness, I’ve had them for 20 years now, and they’ve served me well all the while. Over the past couple of seasons, however, they have felt a little, um, snug around the midsection, and this year I am sorry to report they longer fit in a fashion where I can wear them out of the house. As they are snow pants, their main requirement is to be out of said house, so I needed a new pair. One quick search of eBay and voila! Jackpot — a new pair! And I do mean new – it still has the tags on. I picked this pair up for $39; a commensurate storebought version costs more than $100. I’ll take it! Here’s to another 20 years! (And if I do lose a bit of weight, my first pair will still be here waiting.)

3. I received an Amazon gift card from a friend.
A good friend of mine gave me an Amazon gift card as a thank-you, which I immediately deposited into my account (no misplaced gift cards there!) and will use in short order I’m sure. I often vascillate between saving these funds for something exciting and special, or using them for day-to-day items like vitamins; which do you do?

4. I’m fighting an erroneous hotel bill charge … and almost winning.
Remember how a couple of weeks ago, LeeLee had to head out of town earlier than planned so we used some soon-to-expire free hotel nights to help pay? Well, what I didn’t mention was that he had a second reservation scheduled for later that week, which he was going to pay for out of pocket as usual. But due to a confluence of weather-related events he needed to come home early and thus canceled the second reservation. So imagine my surprise when a $179 “late cancellation” fee hit our bank account the next day! I called the hotel, was assured it was in error, was told they’d fix it and … nothing got fixed. A week later, I called Marriott corporate to resolve the situation, and customer service must have written to the hotel in question, because in no time I received a nastygram (and I do not use that term lightly) from the hotel advising the issue was NOT their problem but that they’d refunded my money. Sure enough, the $179 credit is now listed as Pending in my account. I’m doing all I can not to name the specific hotel, but once this is all said and done I may change my tune. (The rude email made me Big Mad.) We’ll see!

5. The Leftover Revolution continues!
And what would a frugal roundup be without another mention of our wonderful Leftover Revolution? From spaghetti pie (pictured above) to tater tot casserole to a host of other leftover-friendly items, we’ve been eating like royalty over the past week! Stretching our grocery dollars while eating great food that reheats beautifully? No complaints here!

What have you been up to on the frugal front this week? Let’s hear it in the comments!

:)