Life has been hectic this week, and I was coming up empty in terms of post ideas. Writing about frugal things is always a good fall-back plan.
At first, only two things came to mind and I wrote those up and was going to call it a day, but then the post kept growing and growing.
As referenced in my latest frugal post, I took a bag full of recyclables (metal cans) to the depot. It takes months to accumulate enough to take in, but a few times a year I get $5 in cold, hard cash which… isn’t nothing. Last week was the week to make $5.
I bought some brand-new Columbia socks at a thrift store for $1.15/pair. Hard to beat that price!
This is an old picture of the colour, but last week I painted my nails in LA Colours Mermaid Magic (in Mystical) which was a gift from someone years ago. So the only thing I paid for to complete my at-home manicure was the top coat which ends up costing me pennies per application.
I have now been skiing more than enough times to “pay off” my season pass. I know it’s all semantics, but at this point it feels like I’m getting a “deal” and/or skiing for “free.” Regardless of how you spin the narrative, it feels frugal and I like it!!
One other thing that’s great about a season pass is that since it’s a sunk cost, I can be more flexible with timing. If I was buying passes throughout the winter, I would feel the need to buy partial days (cheaper), book the night before (cheaper, but risky because weather can change, etc). With a season pass, if I go to the hill for an hour or a whole day, I just do my thing and don’t have to think about the cost or timing.
*I feel low-level anxiety when I buy any sort of passes because I feel like I MUST maximize the savings potential. So it’s a relief to get to the point where I have made the upfront investment worthwhile.
You might wonder what, if anything, John brings home as souvenirs from all his travels.
While the kids do each collect key chains from around the world (Belle has a glass jar full of them and they have a few on their school bags), the main thing he brings home is consumables. Primarily chocolate. (He visits many places over and over again, so once he brings back one key chain, there’s no need for more!)
This means we get to sample chocolate from around the world, and it isn’t a souvenir that goes to waste!!! The chocolate pictured above was particularly delicious on a recent snow day. After lunch (when I had the kids settled in various activities), I sat down with a hot cup of decaf and a row of this white-and-milk Finnish chocolate bar. Bon appetit.
Last week he arrived home from Korea with coffee and tea samples (from the hotels! free! delicious!), and face masks for Belle and I (along with green tea Kit Kat bars and key chains).
Belle doesn’t have a beanie-style toque and we spotted a Carhartt one for $7.99. It had some fuzzies that I trimmed off with a lint trimmer and then it was like new! They’re $28.99 regular price, so this was a great deal.
I also bought a brand-new (with tags) Canada toque. We have a lot of family that visits from out of the country and prefer gifts that have something to do with Canada. When I see an item with tags on that hasn’t been worn, I love to scoop it up for gifting purposes!
I didn’t take a picture, but we recently bought some flat-rate chicken at the store. Regardless of the size of the tray, it was $9.94. We went through and found the tray with the highest weight; it was the equivalent of almost an entire extra chicken breast for free!!
We are not big Valentine’s people, but John bought Belle and I a beautiful bouquet of roses the day after Valentine’s. He knows flowers are not my love language, but mostly because I hate spending money on something that will die. These were heavily discounted because it was the day after Valentine’s which automatically makes me like them even more! I have to chuckle because some women might be UPSET their husband’s bought discounted flowers where I’m the opposite. Why buy flowers on Valentine’s Day when you can buy them the day after for a much better price?
The people I surround myself with tend to be frugal. I think some of this has to do with living in the Maritimes. I think some of this has to do with being a Christian. And I think some of this has to do with like being attracted to like. Most of my friends enjoy thrift stores as much as I do and I appreciate that we’re excited to share second-hand deals/finds with each other. No shame; in fact, more often a mix of pride and excitement!
As much as I LOVE my Helly Hansen raincoat (each blogger who has met me in person comments on getting to see it), it is a bit on a snug side so I can’t really layer warm things underneath. Also taking it on a 3.5-month trip would mean… A LOT OF PICTURES with blue stripes.
So I’ve been on the hunt for a black rain coat. Belle also needs a rain coat.
I’ve been looking at thrift stores for a few months with no luck. John and I went to a sporting goods store last week and I found a Columbia raincoat (with a removable liner which is PERFECT since I run cold and we will be in Europe through spring) that was almost 50% off! I didn’t take pictures wearing it yet (and I’ve left the tags on because I’ll continue keeping my eyes open at thrift stores)… but you will see PLENTY of it while I’m in Europe.
We also found a Helly Hansen coat that was heavily discounted and picked it up; Belle tried it on but it was a bit too big… and then the next day she a like-new Columbia raincoat for $20!!!!! So back the Helly Hansen coat will go.
That’s all I have for today, but I’ll be back tomorrow with a Happy Things Friday post!
Your turn. Any frugal things to share this week?
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My frugal is smalll- I did not drive to big city and spend $$ at Sam’s club. There are things we need, so I did an online order and had it shipped to home. I’ll save a trip to big city for when I have multiple reasons to go there. I saved gas and time.
You have such great thrift stores- the ones in my town have mostly sad clothes and lots of bric-a-brac.
I think that’s a huge win! The time, the gas money, and the fact you’re likely to have bought more by going in-store = big savings.
Haha, the flower one! I thought I was the only woman on this planet who thinks that way about getting flowers!
I always feel like it’s throwing money into the compost bin.
Discounted, day-after roses that look exactly the same but cost half as much are so much better simply because it’s a lot more sensible. I love that John gets you so well.
My frugal win is about to happen: I’m with a Swiss phone company that is very expensive, I had to sign up with them to get my number back. I was super-annoyed at the time. However, they have announced another price raise, which means customers can cancel penalty-free. Perfect timing – I’m out!
YES! Throwing money into the compost bin is exactly how I feel! House plants are a different story, but even then I want non-flowering ones!
Yay for being able to ditch the pricey phone plan!
Our power went out yesterday right before dinner (no idea why, it was a beautiful day, if a little windy!), and I had the rice cooker all set to go and taco meat staying warm in the crockpot. My husband, who is a problem solver, extraordinaire, set up one generator to power a Playstation for our ill kiddo so he could watch movies, and that generator also powered the slow cooker to keep the meat at a safe temperature, as well as the rice cooker, which he had to put outside. I joked I was just like Ma Ingalls in the Kansas prairie, cooking dinner outside. Another generator powered the fridges (yes, we have two, because we have four boys) so that we didn’t lose any food and could open the fridges to get to our food. So we didn’t lose any food, and while everybody in our neighborhood decamped to go eat out, we ate a homecooked meal and enjoyed watching a movie by candlelight.
Since we are in the middle of a new chronic medical diagnosis for our son, there are not many frugals, but I felt pretty proud of ourselves for rolling with the punches. The power came back on right around 8 pm, just in time so we could get ready for bed!
Ma Ingalls indeed! (Can I just say, I am so glad I don’t have to live without electricity most of the time!).
I’m so glad your supper was saved and wise move to power a playstation for some entertainment.
I’m so sorry you’re walking through a new chronic diagnosis. That kind of news can feel so overwhelming. It makes sense that “little wins” matter extra right now. I’m thinking of you and here if you ever want to talk <3
I’d be so excited to try chocolates, coffee, and teas from around the world! I took Middle Child bra shopping yesterday when I realized how bad of shape all of her current ones were. We found four that were Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price and I was also able to get a senior discount of 15% off, so one bra ended up being free.
I loathe bra shopping; one way to make it feel a bit happier would be a good deal. Gold stars for finding those discounts!!!
Yes- I don’t like flowers either for the same reason. I would MUCH rather get flowers on sale the day after Valentine’s Day. Nice that you and John are on the same page. I also love the gifts he brings home (chocolate, coffee, tea…) It must be exciting to welcome him back and see what he has each time.
I do have a frugal win from this past week- I cut my own hair! Although, the word “win” might be overly optimistic. I did save the money, but let’s just say I’m going to need my daughter to fix things, ha.
i loveyour nails!
Consumable gifts are very fun (and delicious!)
My hair really needs a trim and I’m debating doing it myself. I’m loathe to spend $30 for a trim at the hairdresser. Maybe I could get Belle to do it???
I never have flowers in the house, not because of frugality but because my husband is allergic! Sometimes people will very kindly bring me flowers, and then I have to immediately give them away. This worked well in Calgary because my next door neighbour was an elderly lady who loved getting bouquets! I mean, my next door neighbour now is an elderly lady (my MIL) so maybe it would work here too.
I’m glad you found a rain coat!
I know a few people who are allergic to flowers. One friend is DEATHLY allergic to lilies and has such a hard time around Easter in stores because so many are on display. She basically can’t go to the grocery store in March and April.
Yes on the discount flowers! My husband has opted to get me a potted plant a few times, and one of them has managed to stay alive for over five years now! That is a record for me.
Our biggest recent frugal win is that my husband installed new side mirrors on our SUV. The driver side one unfortunately got hit when I was parked on a street at our church last week (no parking lot for our church, which has been an issue with this very snowy winter). Instead of paying likely over $1000 to get it fixed at the dealer, he found a set online for $200 and did the work himself. It took an entire Saturday!
We enjoyed the indoor waterpark at the end of last week, and did eat out once, but all the other meals (one each of breakfast, lunch, and dinner) were brought from home and/or a potluck collaboration with my parents and siblings.
Eeks! That’s a great ROI to save $800 on the mirrors. (Car repairs are so pricey!)
Yes to getting the most out of sunk costs! I don’t do this with everything, but I built a little spreadsheet that calculated my cost per lesson with my Pimsleur subscription. It was about $160, and currently my cost per use is $2.30.
I learn something new every day… I’d never heard of Pimsleur before today!!!
Congrats on that $5 in cold hard cash!
I agree with you about sunk costs. I like to buy a membership to our local Fine Arts museums, because if I have a membership I will go more often. I do consider the upcoming exhibits though, because I don’t want to spend the money if I’m not likely to go at least twice. If we had skiing closer than 4 hours away, and if I liked to ski (I used to love it, but I don’t feel drawn to it anymore), a season pass would definitely be the way to go.
I had to laugh when you said that perhaps one source of your frugality was being Christian, because I’m thinking of 4 or 5 of my closest Christian friends, and not a one of them is frugal. Think Hermes and Tiffany. I guess their churches don’t teach all of the same lessons that yours does. 😉
Hey, $5 is $5, right?!
While I don’t think there is necessarily a moral issue with buying luxury goods, it doesn’t really fit with my beliefs of wisely stewarding the money God has entrusted to me. Let’s just say I do NOT adhere to the “health and wealth” prosperity “gospel” at all!
Thankfully, I can confidently say that none of my friends believe in that “gospel” either! I like your mindset, though.
How cool that you can recycle and get paid for it. It doesn’t happen here and those socks are a real bargain! When you buy something like a season pass it encourages you to get out there and do something like skiing!
That is so cool that John brings home all the souvenirs!
It’s fun to receive something each time he gets home… and it’s nice to know everything will get used and appreciated. He comes home from Norway tomorrow and I’m expecting some chocolate 😉
Green tea KitKat! Yum. And those socks were a great deal. Look forward to seeing your new raincoat in pics.
It’s a plain black raincoat so VERY boring. But I need something that’s versatile and will go with everything. I haven’t taken the tags off yet just in case I come across one at a thrift store before we go. If not, it was a great deal and I think I’ll get many years of use from it.
I dragged Curly to a consignment shop to look at prom dresses before we went to another store. I told her I could make her a dress. Feel free to imagine how hard that made her laugh. I called a consignment shop that I love, and they admitted that they had no formal dresses so that saved us a trip. The other consignment we went to did not work out, but at least we tried. I was encouraging Curly to look beyond the dresses with issues, promising that I could pull off a Pretty in Pink number. Ha.
It can be so hard to find that needle in a haystack item at a thrift store. It’s SUCH a thrill when it happens. All the best with the prom dress search <3
I love your nail polish color! I’m like you – flowers are not my love language. Jewelry isn’t either. I think it’s fun that John brings home free tea & face masks from the hotels. Your thrifty finds are always fun to see!
Jewelry is not my love language, either!
To be fair, my love language is by FAR acts of service, so it makes sense that gifts aren’t my go-to thought. Though I sure do enjoy all the chocolate 🙂
What a full post of frugality! I am envious of the steals you get. Our thrift/consignment shops do not offer such low prices. I still save money by going there but not nearly as much as you!
I love having a membership to places. I do figure out what the “breakeven” is to make it worth it. On Monday we went to the Zoo and it was absolutely MOBBED with people because it was a government holiday and it was gorgeous out. I have never seen it so busy. There was a 1/4 mile line to get in! We only lasted for an hour because the boys got very frustrated by the crowds (I was frustrated too and was so relieved we weren’t using a stroller!). It was nice to leave after a short visit and feel zero guilt as we’ll be back plenty of other times for loooonnnggg visits. I’m also getting a lot of use from my unlimited OTF membership. I try to get there 3 times/week to make the price point worth it. I’d love to get there a few more times/month but haven’t been able to swing it. But someday when the kids are older/more independent I will have less restrictions on when I can go! So I’m proud of myself for fitting in 3/times week. It’s a pretty big time commitment since the class is 60 minutes and it’s about a 10-15 min drive on either side of the class.
We are fortunate with the thrift stores (and variety of them) in our local area.
I am so jealous of your zoo membership. I think that would have been AMAZING when the kids were younger. And yes, being able to LEAVE quickly if it’s busy is a wonderful perk of having unlimited access.
All the gold stars for your faithful attendance of OTF!!
My frugal thing this week was 1/2 off valentine’s candy!
Yum 🙂
Those roses are so beautiful! I got my tax refund so off I went to Walmart to buy my new microwave. I did not allow myself to wander the aisles because that always gets me in trouble 🙂 I had a very short list and stuck to it. Microwave. A jar of Dill. New underwear. (When did underwear get so expensive??) I found a package in my size and put them in the cart, was heading up to pay when I passed by a display of clearance underwear for $1 a pair! They had six pairs in a cute pink and white pattern in my size! I put the other ones back and saved myself ten bucks!
Yay! I cannot live without a microwave. And hooray for a tax refund <3
I also need new underwear and yikes it is PRICY. I'll keep my eyes open for clearance pairs 🙂
I love your attitude about the flowers; I am right there with you. I can’t believe how expensive they are now too; I was going to buy some for fun for my mom and her twin for their birthday and after the cost + delivery, I decided to take them out to a nice dinner instead. I would rather spend that money on time spent with them than something that will just die. However, they ARE pretty! I usually grocery shop based on price rather than on a specific meal. For example, I went the other day and ground beef was on sale, so I had ground beef. I don’t get too attached to an idea; I just go with what is in season or on sale, or in the case of where I am now, what is local. Currently tofu is super cheap (like 0.50 for a container that would be at least 1.50 at home if not more), and so I am eating a lot of tofu.
I would choose a dinner out over flowers 100 times out of 100!
I almost always shop based on price, too (I go through the flyers each week). I think that’s one reason I struggle to meal plan because I don’t like locking in on something because I refuse to pay full price for most things, especially meat products.
I worked for a while as the administrative assistant for the history dept at the Uni I graduated from, so the profs all knew me well. Whenever they would travel abroad for research they would bring me back chocolate from whatever country they’d been to – and would tell international speakers to bring a chocolate offering as well. It was awesome! 😀 (And yes, I know I was spoiled: it was an amazing post-grad job while waiting for the right library spot)
Mr doesn’t buy me cut flowers for Valentines, but he *does* buy me rose bushes for Valentines. Slowly building a rose garden 😀
That sounds like an AMAZING (and delicious) job.
Rose bushes are the flowers that keep on giving. That’s lovely and very romantic AND practical!