A quick(ish) post for your Wednesday with some recent frugal wins.
Free Anniversary Cheesecake
The restaurant where we go to celebrate our wedding anniversary each year always asks (when we’re making a reservation) if we’re celebrating a special occasion.
Yes indeed! It’s our anniversary… and we almost always get a free dessert. This year, it was cheesecake.
Desserts are expensive, and we rarely buy them at a restaurant—this little slice of cheesecake would have been $14!!!!—so it feels like a fun financial win to get something delicious for free.
A Discount on Already-Discounted Sneakers
John needs white sneakers for business-casual events. The problem with white sneakers is that they never stay white. Also, for what he’s using them for, investing in a high-quality pair doesn’t usually make sense.
So we went to a local discount store, and he found a pair of Nautica shoes that fit the bill.
There were a few small scuffs from people trying them on in the store. He knew they would come out with a bit of scrubbing. And, let’s be honest, after a day of him wearing them, there would be more scuffs anyway.
But, as my mom would say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
He asked at the checkout if he could get a discount because of the scuffs and ended up getting 10% off!
Hey, 10% is 10%.
Sale Prices and $10 in Bonus Points
A few weeks ago I needed to get a few items at a local drugstore and managed to find everything on sale. Hooray.
On a whim, I decided to check my points app for that store, and there was an offer for $10 in points if I spent $40.
I spent almost exactly that amount (on things I needed that were already on sale)… AND got $10 worth of points.
Second-Hand Clothes for a Growing Boy
Everything Indy owns seems to be getting too small.
When I was on the Finance Girlies podcast a few months ago, they asked if there was one category where I rarely buy new. My answer: my son’s clothes.
Aside from the occasional pair of shoes or sports club jersey, basically everything he owns is second-hand.
I figure I am renting clothes at best. He wears things out quickly, and he hits growth spurts suddenly and without warning.
He’s also quite particular about the fabrics he prefers: breathable athletic wear, preferably Nike or Adidas.
I wanted to find two more pairs of shorts and two more T-shirts to see him through the summer. Success! And for a literal fraction of what these items would have cost brand new.
Clearance Gatorade
Indy also loves Gatorade.
We rarely buy it—a few times a year, if we’re out on a hot day and he’s thirsty. But the week both kids were away at camp, we spotted limited-edition Team Canada World Cup Gatorade on clearance.
(I guess now that the World Cup is over, people aren’t feeling quite as patriotic about the team?)
It was 99 cents, so we picked up a bottle.
On his way home from camp, Indy happened to mention wanting Gatorade and was very surprised to find out we just so happened to have a bottle waiting in the fridge!!
Bonus Frugal Find: An Aritzia Sweatshirt
Belle buys a lot of her own clothes these days. She has an eye for fashion and the “in” brands, which tend to come with a hefty price tag.
Before heading to Europe, she splurged on an Aritzia sweatset. I had never even heard of Aritzia before that point, but apparently it is a VERY BIG DEAL.
Last week, she wanted to add another item to her collection and found a sweatshirt she loved that happened to be on clearance.
These sweatshirts are usually almost $100 (insert yikes emoji), but the colour she wanted (in the size she needed) was…50% off.
Yes, please.
Technically, this is her frugal win since the money was coming out of her bank account, not mine, but I was happy for her!
Your turn.
- Have you had any satisfying frugal wins lately?
- Do you ever ask for a discount when an item has a small flaw?
- What‘s one category where you almost never buy brand new?
Discover more from The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
