I’m popping by with another random assortment of frugal wins!
- I used gift bags as shopping bags. A few weeks ago I was at Dollarama with Belle, and we were picking up a few fall decor items and some snacks for lunchboxes. Of course, when I darted in, I thought I was only going to get a couple of things… and emerged with an armful. Belle had a single reusable bag with her, but between the two of us, it wasn’t going to be nearly enough. I was loath to buy a reusable bag at the cash register (several dollars), because I have no need for more tote bags at this point. BUT, something I always seem to need a steady supply of is paper gift bags. So I bought a few of those, opened them up, and used them to carry all my purchases out of the store. I seriously felt like a genius in this moment!
- I got a $4 cuticle cream! I’ve heard a variety of people rave about the Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, but the price tag always made me shy away (about $11 regular price at our local pharmacy). A few weeks ago I was trying to hit a minimum spend for a points deal, so I figured buying it full price would still be “on sale” in a way, since I’d get points that have a tangible dollar value. Imagine my shock—AND DELIGHT—when it rang up as $4. I have no idea if it was a clearout or what (it was labelled full price on the shelf), but I wasn’t going to complain.
- I rescued a giant container of Greek yogurt. When we were in Denmark visiting my brother and sister-in-law, they had Greek yogurt with fruit and granola every morning as part of their breakfast spread. So when they were coming to visit us, I made sure to have Greek yogurt. But no one ate ANY of it. The expiration date was fast approaching, and I wanted to make use of it. I have a high-protein waffle recipe that uses Greek yogurt, so I made a double batch. Let me tell you, this recipe already makes a big batch, and doubling it makes… a really big batch. But they freeze well, and hooray for having the impetus to use things up! There was even enough yogurt left to make a small batch of cinnamon muffins.
- We’re still making most of our coffee at home. Belle and I went to Starbucks on a little mom-daughter date, and it was wonderful. Also: expensive! We can make so many cups of coffee at home for the price of a single latte there. It makes going out feel special and gives me a wonderful shot of money-saving joy that we mostly make it at home!
- We’ve had some great thrift store finds. I bought three dresses (two of the three pictured above; each one only $5.95), Belle found two ADORABLE sweaters, and Indy got some indoor shoes and cleats for school/soccer, some new fuzzy PJs, and a snorkel set (still in the original packaging; it’s something he’s been asking for, and it will go under the tree at Christmas!).
- I inherited Belle’s Christmas PJs. Speaking of Christmas… Belle went through her closet and downsized a pair of festive PJs (the red ones in the top left). I am in my PJ set era, and they are red and wintery and so happy, and I love them! I bought them for her for last year, but she prefers a VERY SPECIFIC set of bottoms with a VERY SPECIFIC (random) T-shirt. They were a sunk cost, even though she didn’t wear them very often. If they hadn’t fit me, I would have packed them up for consignment, but they fit! Hooray!
- We used $65 in consignment credit. Speaking of consignment, when we bought Indy’s pajamas and other paraphernalia listed above, I had a store credit of $65. That meant the out-of-pocket price was less than $30.
That’s a wrap.
Your turn.
- Tell me some recent frugal wins in your world!
- Best thrifted find lately?
Discover more from The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
So much fun and you look GREAT in those dresses! Hmmm – my best thrifted find lately is probably a floor length gown for $12 I’ve already worn to two formal weddings this year – that looks amazing yet I can roll it up in a ball in my suitcase if we’re going somewhere LOL. Not sure it’s my favorite find of late but it definitely has been one that filled a real gap in my wardrobe at just the right time! Would you share your protein waffle recipe? I’m always in need of higher protein breakfast options!
Wow, that is a thrifted find that just keeps on giving. And the fact it travels well is a huge bonus!!!
My waffle recipe:
1/2 cup fat (melted butter/oil)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I bought the high-protein kind)
1/2 cup high-protein milk (like Fairlife)
1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1.5 cups flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
Your thrift deals continue to astonish me. Especially boy clothes/shoes. And yogurt is so handy for baking- even if it’s past it’s sell-by date. I use it in muffins all the time; it replaced buttermilk in a cake I made Sunday.
I did find some cute baby clothes at the thrift store ( for my canceled trip to my granddaughter; I’ll have to mail them now.) But I’m on the hunt for some very specific plates- I’ll keep checking.
I did save by stacking savings at Dollar general and Target- stacking sales and coupons to save over ten dollars on 25 dollar purchase at each place. ( soda and household cleaners at one place; card games for future gifts at the other.)
Keep up the thrifty good work!
We are CONSTANTLY needing to find Indy shoes. It’s insane how quickly he goes through things. He is so, so, so hard on footwear.
Yay for thrifted baby clothes. They get worn for such a short period of time and thrift stores are incredible for finding high-quality (adorable) clothes for literal pennies.
Hooray for being to stack savings.
Huray for using up food and avoiding food waste! Also, love the bag hack.
I went to a thrift store last weekend, and found 6 sweaters and a scarf for the rest of the family. And the best thing? They were all blue tags, and that day, blue tags were 50% off. My spend was less than 20 euro! That compensated the socks I bought – people go through socks here at an insane rate I feel.
Also, to prep for our trip to Norway I bought merino wool socks and underlayers. Even at 50% off these things are expensive!
I was so proud of that bag hack. I knew there was no way I could carry everything out, but I knew I had no need of a cheap, canvas bag. But gift bags are in constant supply. Of course, I keep/reuse the ones that come into my house, but I feel like there is never enough.
Isn’t it THE BEST when you buy something at a thrift store and then it’s marked down even further.
I’m sure you’ll be very thankful for every dollar spent on those socks when you’re in chilly Norway 🙂
That is a great idea to use gift bags as shopping bags and those waffles look so good!
The waffles are yummy and very filling!
Awesome finds! I never have good luck at thrift stores.
Is there yogurt in the waffle recipe? Or do you use the yogurt as a topping?
There’s yogurt in the recipe! (I posted it in response to a comment above AND FORGOT TO ADD THE LINE ITEM FOR YOGURT. Oops. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. It’s fixed now…)
You know what I love most about this post- you are talking about CHRISTMAS!!! The season is starting!
Last week I was cleaning up and rearranging my son’s room (aka the guest room, now) and I decided I needed a little bedside table. I went to Goodwill and found on ein good condition that matches the rest of the furniture (more or less) and it was $3.99! i also got two t-shirts while I was there, for $1.50 each. Clearly I need to go to Goodwill more often.
It is VERY hard to beat finding furniture for $3.99, Jenny! And a shirt for $1.50 is awesome (also, reduce, reuse, recycle… right??!!) Hooray.
Belle wants to decorate for Christmas already. I’m not quite ready for THAT yet.
I love the wins!!!
I’m coming up dry on recent frugal wins…I mean for my most recent trip hotel rooms in Albany were ridiculously expensive in cash but a very good value with points, so I nabbed a free stay. I couldn’t help but laugh when I got there and learned the reason for the prices…of all things Ringo Starr was in town for a sold out show.
It remains WILD to me that members of the Beatles still tour.
Hooray for points. That is a very frugal win, indeed.
I generally have zero frugal wins because I am the opposite of frugal, but today I had a periodontist appointment and I had two cards with funds from various health savings accounts because we switched accounts at the start of the year. I remembered to use the account with only $25 on it, so it felt like a free $25. I mean, obviously it wasn’t free, but it felt like it. I hate dealing with multiple plastic cards!
I have to admit that I am super picky about what I wear to bed and I’ve never met a pajama set that met those expectations, so I’m feeling Belle over here. I don’t want buttons, zippers, ruffles, or weird seams. Necklines have to be just so. I definitely want pockets. Can you even imagine what it’s like shopping with me?
$25 NOT out of your pocket is a frugal win in my books.
I’m not generally picky about clothes, but I do find pants to be my nemesis. They NEVER fit right on my body. Pajamas just need to be warm and cozy and I’m generally happy. I tend to avoid buttons, but they don’t bother me.
Shopping with you sounds like an adventure! Hey, it’s good to know what you like/don’t like.