What frugal thing did you do today?

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Trader Joe
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Trader Joe »

I spent $0.00 today. No need to spend. Extremely frugal day.
Wings5
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Wings5 »

Interesting looking at the previous poster’s name.

I bought Trader Joe’s Hefeweizen and summer beers. Saved $8 over what I would’ve paid for premium craft.
“Spending money to show people how much money you have is the fastest way to have less money.” - Morgan Housel
chuckb84
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Location: New Mexico

Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by chuckb84 »

Finished the long, gradual winter project of changing all the 30 year old gold door handles and locks to a nice bronze finish that we like. And learned how to install this hardware, which is trickier than you'd think, and also how to (mostly) correct bad installs of the original hardware. It was 23(!!) doors total and this save a LOT of money. Of course....we spent hundreds on the hardware alone :).
josehde
Posts: 61
Joined: Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:55 pm

Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by josehde »

Haha, same here. Not spending on anything today is the most frugal thing I've done. And I'm the odd one from people I know who are currently finding comfort in online shopping. I did skim some retirement articles like this read but did nothing big, just for future consideration. Who knows what the following months, years have in store. Declutter, which I do every now and then. Found some unused and well-packaged toiletries that can still be used in the future. Reused a teabag. It's not black tea so it's fine.
Broken Man 1999
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Location: West coast of Florida, near Champa Bay !

Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

chuckb84 wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 11:37 am Finished the long, gradual winter project of changing all the 30 year old gold door handles and locks to a nice bronze finish that we like. And learned how to install this hardware, which is trickier than you'd think, and also how to (mostly) correct bad installs of the original hardware. It was 23(!!) doors total and this save a LOT of money. Of course....we spent hundreds on the hardware alone :).
I'm considering changing a lot of our handles, locks and swichplates from antique brass to satin nickel.

What did you do about door hinges? I could be anal about the hinges, but I am curious.

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
chuckb84
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Location: New Mexico

Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by chuckb84 »

Broken Man 1999 wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 2:40 pm
chuckb84 wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 11:37 am Finished the long, gradual winter project of changing all the 30 year old gold door handles and locks to a nice bronze finish that we like. And learned how to install this hardware, which is trickier than you'd think, and also how to (mostly) correct bad installs of the original hardware. It was 23(!!) doors total and this save a LOT of money. Of course....we spent hundreds on the hardware alone :).
I'm considering changing a lot of our handles, locks and swichplates from antique brass to satin nickel.

What did you do about door hinges? I could be anal about the hinges, but I am curious.

Broken Man 1999
Shop Wayfair. Best deals and selection I found. Our door hinges were not in the bright gold color, except for the front door. Now that the weather is warmer, (well, warm-ish here!) I'm going to measure the hinges, find the closest "burnished bronze" hinges I can find and replace those two.

The main problem with this project was learning as I went along. I started with the simplest, dummy handles on closet doors, then went to door handles without locks, then door handles on bathrooms with locks, then a couple of exterior doors and the front door last. So, the project took several months, working when I felt like it and when we found the next set of hardware that we wanted. I'm very slow compared to a commercial installer, but I'm also very cheap compared to the pros :).

Satin nickel sounds nice, too.
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quantAndHold
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Location: West Coast

Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by quantAndHold »

Bought paint. Doin’ it myself.
zeal
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by zeal »

So today I changed to a new roll of TP. Nothing frugal about that... Except that I noted the date I last changed the roll (Apr 25) to determine how often I go through them. Estimating that my wife uses more than me, I figure we go through ~7 rolls a month since we have no visitors these days. I did this out of curiosity to see how much we spend on TP but also in case we have to start rationing this hot commodity...

I also adjusted our monthly budget for the upcoming month. Based on the last two months, we are mainly spending less on food/groceries, transportation, travel, and entertainment/socializing. The savings will just go to beefing up our emergency fund for this odd new season.
Broken Man 1999
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Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:31 am
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

chuckb84 wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 6:32 pm
Broken Man 1999 wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 2:40 pm
chuckb84 wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 11:37 am Finished the long, gradual winter project of changing all the 30 year old gold door handles and locks to a nice bronze finish that we like. And learned how to install this hardware, which is trickier than you'd think, and also how to (mostly) correct bad installs of the original hardware. It was 23(!!) doors total and this save a LOT of money. Of course....we spent hundreds on the hardware alone :).
I'm considering changing a lot of our handles, locks and swichplates from antique brass to satin nickel.

What did you do about door hinges? I could be anal about the hinges, but I am curious.

Broken Man 1999
Shop Wayfair. Best deals and selection I found. Our door hinges were not in the bright gold color, except for the front door. Now that the weather is warmer, (well, warm-ish here!) I'm going to measure the hinges, find the closest "burnished bronze" hinges I can find and replace those two.

The main problem with this project was learning as I went along. I started with the simplest, dummy handles on closet doors, then went to door handles without locks, then door handles on bathrooms with locks, then a couple of exterior doors and the front door last. So, the project took several months, working when I felt like it and when we found the next set of hardware that we wanted. I'm very slow compared to a commercial installer, but I'm also very cheap compared to the pros :).

Satin nickel sounds nice, too.
The problem started when we decided to change the front door. It has glass in the door, and the sidelite panels, caming is satin nickel. So, the locks and door knob were being changed anyway, as they were original, and the antique brass wouldn't have looked very nice with the satin nickel caming. So, door hardware replaced.

But in the foyer we have two other doors, four switch plates and an electrical outlet all with antique brass hardware/covers. Apparently that was the rage in 1989 when our home was built. I have no intention of changing all the hardware in any of the other rooms, just in the foyer where the current difference in hardware resides.

First world problem, but I don't like it.

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
bearcub
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by bearcub »

I bought a macro beer instead of the more expensive craft beer. Felt very nostalgic. :beer
travellight
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by travellight »

I changed a solenoid which was a new experience for me.

I also changed a ceiling fan light switch.

I bought a bunch of 4" pop up sprinklers at 2/3rds off normal price.

I have been doing my own pool maintenance with backwashing etc.

To offset all these DIY projects, I have spent over 2k at Costco just consuming.
364
Monsterflockster
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Monsterflockster »

zeal wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 10:11 pm So today I changed to a new roll of TP. Nothing frugal about that... Except that I noted the date I last changed the roll (Apr 25) to determine how often I go through them. Estimating that my wife uses more than me, I figure we go through ~7 rolls a month since we have no visitors these days. I did this out of curiosity to see how much we spend on TP but also in case we have to start rationing this hot commodity...

I also adjusted our monthly budget for the upcoming month. Based on the last two months, we are mainly spending less on food/groceries, transportation, travel, and entertainment/socializing. The savings will just go to beefing up our emergency fund for this odd new season.
This has me perplexed on many levels. First... you’re tracking how long it takes you to use a roll of toilet paper. But then you say your wife uses more...and the kicker...7 rolls a month.

You went through 1 roll in nearly two weeks. To use 7 rolls that aboutnone every 4 days. So many questions, like how are you missing TP? Do you actually have a spread sheet of TP use? Is this Costco or a name brand? How big are these rolls and what ply? Do you have an emergency TP fund?

I mean if we are tracking and budgeting TP here could you please post I n bogleheads format. 😂
zeal
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by zeal »

Monsterflockster wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 12:37 am
zeal wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 10:11 pm So today I changed to a new roll of TP. Nothing frugal about that... Except that I noted the date I last changed the roll (Apr 25) to determine how often I go through them. Estimating that my wife uses more than me, I figure we go through ~7 rolls a month since we have no visitors these days. I did this out of curiosity to see how much we spend on TP but also in case we have to start rationing this hot commodity...

I also adjusted our monthly budget for the upcoming month. Based on the last two months, we are mainly spending less on food/groceries, transportation, travel, and entertainment/socializing. The savings will just go to beefing up our emergency fund for this odd new season.
This has me perplexed on many levels. First... you’re tracking how long it takes you to use a roll of toilet paper. But then you say your wife uses more...and the kicker...7 rolls a month.

You went through 1 roll in nearly two weeks. To use 7 rolls that aboutnone every 4 days. So many questions, like how are you missing TP? Do you actually have a spread sheet of TP use? Is this Costco or a name brand? How big are these rolls and what ply? Do you have an emergency TP fund?

I mean if we are tracking and budgeting TP here could you please post I n bogleheads format. 😂
Emergency fund: 1.5 months of TP saved (would like to get this to the recommended 3-6 months)

Debt: We don't owe anyone any TP

Tax filing status: MFJ

Tax rate: Sales tax 4.3%

State of Residence: VA

Age: 31/27 him/her

Desired asset allocation: 100/0 two-ply/one-ply. Aggressive, I know, but we just don't feel comfortable with one-ply.

Current retirement assets: Unfortunately we haven't been able to accumulate any long term TP assets at this time.

Contributions: We hope to find a 9-roll pack every month.

Available funds: Sorry I can't find expense ratios
Wal-Mart
Target
Kroger
Big Lots
Food Lion
Food City
Dollar General
General Store
Gas stations

Questions:
1. In response to Monsterflockster: Two bathrooms. We each almost exclusively use our own... So two rolls are in use at a time. I might change mine every two weeks, so that would be 2 rolls a month for me. My wife more than likely uses more, so (conservatively) I just doubled my usage (new roll once per week, or 4 rolls per month). 2+4=6. Then I added one more to be even more conservative: ~7. That said, we need to work on our emergency fund...
2. I wish I could pick just one fund, but I guess we probably need to diversify. We get Wal-Mart once every two weeks, but a family member made a large gain with Big Lots recently. What do others recommend?
3. As far as I know, Dollar General and Gas Stations are one-ply only, so we will not be choosing those funds for our portfolio. Are there any other funds available to SW Virginians that I didn't mention?
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Doom&Gloom
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Doom&Gloom »

^^^
LOL
SundayMorning
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by SundayMorning »

@Zeal

LOL, prompts so many questions. But to limit a to a few:
1. Do you limit 1 square per visit?
2. Do you use both sides?
3. Could you accelerate "winning the game" if you installed a bidet?
May benefit by International Diversification of at least partial bidet use.
4. Do you include TP in your Net Worth?
5. How do you pick your TP?

:twisted:
Dottie57
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Dottie57 »

I need some new clothes but haven’t bout (l0st weight). Frugal? Maybe, but now think fool hardy.
neilpilot
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by neilpilot »

SundayMorning wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 12:16 pm @Zeal

LOL, prompts so many questions. But to limit a to a few:
1. Do you limit 1 square per visit?
2. Do you use both sides?
3. Could you accelerate "winning the game" if you installed a bidet?
May benefit by International Diversification of at least partial bidet use.
4. Do you include TP in your Net Worth?
5. How do you pick your TP?

:twisted:
Bogelheads often trade ideas on how to control unnecessary expenses to lower their expenses. In a similar fashion, Zeal should consider a liquid diet to greatly extend TP assets.
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tooluser
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by tooluser »

zeal wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 5:13 am
Questions:
1. Two bathrooms. We each almost exclusively use our own... So two rolls are in use at a time. I might change mine every two weeks, so that would be 2 rolls a month for me. My wife more than likely uses more, so (conservatively) I just doubled my usage (new roll once per week, or 4 rolls per month). 2+4=6. Then I added one more to be even more conservative: ~7.
You could greatly improve your modeling by compiling usage data for all 30-day rolling periods over the past history, from which you could then generate the statistics for a 95% confidence level in your SWR (Safe Wiping Rate).

I apologize for decreasing the quality of this thread. :|
Monsterflockster
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Monsterflockster »

zeal wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 5:13 am
Monsterflockster wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 12:37 am
zeal wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 10:11 pm So today I changed to a new roll of TP. Nothing frugal about that... Except that I noted the date I last changed the roll (Apr 25) to determine how often I go through them. Estimating that my wife uses more than me, I figure we go through ~7 rolls a month since we have no visitors these days. I did this out of curiosity to see how much we spend on TP but also in case we have to start rationing this hot commodity...

I also adjusted our monthly budget for the upcoming month. Based on the last two months, we are mainly spending less on food/groceries, transportation, travel, and entertainment/socializing. The savings will just go to beefing up our emergency fund for this odd new season.
This has me perplexed on many levels. First... you’re tracking how long it takes you to use a roll of toilet paper. But then you say your wife uses more...and the kicker...7 rolls a month.

You went through 1 roll in nearly two weeks. To use 7 rolls that aboutnone every 4 days. So many questions, like how are you missing TP? Do you actually have a spread sheet of TP use? Is this Costco or a name brand? How big are these rolls and what ply? Do you have an emergency TP fund?

I mean if we are tracking and budgeting TP here could you please post I n bogleheads format. 😂
Emergency fund: 1.5 months of TP saved (would like to get this to the recommended 3-6 months)

Debt: We don't owe anyone any TP

Tax filing status: MFJ

Tax rate: Sales tax 4.3%

State of Residence: VA

Age: 31/27 him/her

Desired asset allocation: 100/0 two-ply/one-ply. Aggressive, I know, but we just don't feel comfortable with one-ply.

Current retirement assets: Unfortunately we haven't been able to accumulate any long term TP assets at this time.

Contributions: We hope to find a 9-roll pack every month.

Available funds: Sorry I can't find expense ratios
Wal-Mart
Target
Kroger
Big Lots
Food Lion
Food City
Dollar General
General Store
Gas stations

Questions:
1. In response to Monsterflockster: Two bathrooms. We each almost exclusively use our own... So two rolls are in use at a time. I might change mine every two weeks, so that would be 2 rolls a month for me. My wife more than likely uses more, so (conservatively) I just doubled my usage (new roll once per week, or 4 rolls per month). 2+4=6. Then I added one more to be even more conservative: ~7. That said, we need to work on our emergency fund...
2. I wish I could pick just one fund, but I guess we probably need to diversify. We get Wal-Mart once every two weeks, but a family member made a large gain with Big Lots recently. What do others recommend?
3. As far as I know, Dollar General and Gas Stations are one-ply only, so we will not be choosing those funds for our portfolio. Are there any other funds available to SW Virginians that I didn't mention?
Thank you sir. Absolutely brilliant. Post of the month!!!
:sharebeer
Lalamimi
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Lalamimi »

Bathed both dogs on the patio. We used the pet room at Tractor Supply several times pre-Covid - $20 total. I had called a mobile groomer last month -she quoted $120 each for the border collies. So we really saved! The cats get theirs tomorrow.
Jason95357
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Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2020 12:01 pm

Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Jason95357 »

FrankTheViking wrote: Wed May 06, 2020 7:34 pm Didn't mow the lawn.
I'll one up you: didn't water the lawn.
Ed 2
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Ed 2 »

Today I used shopping plastic bag for the trash instead garbage plastic bag. Yesterday I didn’t let the plumber to screw me over garbage disposal. He was claiming it needs to be replaced instead I double checked it didn’t. So, there I saved $320 he wanted for.
"The fund industry doesn't have a lot of heroes, but he (Bogle) is one of them," Russ Kinnel
zeal
Posts: 246
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by zeal »

SundayMorning wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 12:16 pm @Zeal

LOL, prompts so many questions. But to limit a to a few:
1. Do you limit 1 square per visit?
2. Do you use both sides?
3. Could you accelerate "winning the game" if you installed a bidet?
May benefit by International Diversification of at least partial bidet use.
4. Do you include TP in your Net Worth?
5. How do you pick your TP?

:twisted:
These are some excellent questions and point out flaws in my current plan. I need to determine how many sheets are in a roll and determine average daily usage to get a better picture of what lies ahead for our TP needs--my plan is missing some serious details. I'm ashamed to admit I haven't taken the time to write out my TPPS. For those of you who have, I encourage you to stay the course.

I'll need to do some research on bidet installation costs. On the other hand, the shower in my bathroom does have a showerhead with a hose... Which brings us back to the original purpose of this thread. "Used my showerhead as a bidet today. Spending a tiny bit more on electricity for my well pump, but saving time and $$$ by not having to search for and buy TP."
civility
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Joined: Mon Jun 17, 2019 9:35 pm

Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by civility »

Had a road trip from rural wyoming town to Denver. The round trip is 390 miles. Drove 5mph slower than posted speed limits. My car dashboard says I averaged 45 mpg for the trip, hopefully saved some fuel and emissions.
IowaFarmWife
Posts: 564
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by IowaFarmWife »

zeal wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 5:13 am
Monsterflockster wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 12:37 am
zeal wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 10:11 pm So today I changed to a new roll of TP. Nothing frugal about that... Except that I noted the date I last changed the roll (Apr 25) to determine how often I go through them. Estimating that my wife uses more than me, I figure we go through ~7 rolls a month since we have no visitors these days. I did this out of curiosity to see how much we spend on TP but also in case we have to start rationing this hot commodity...

I also adjusted our monthly budget for the upcoming month. Based on the last two months, we are mainly spending less on food/groceries, transportation, travel, and entertainment/socializing. The savings will just go to beefing up our emergency fund for this odd new season.
This has me perplexed on many levels. First... you’re tracking how long it takes you to use a roll of toilet paper. But then you say your wife uses more...and the kicker...7 rolls a month.

You went through 1 roll in nearly two weeks. To use 7 rolls that aboutnone every 4 days. So many questions, like how are you missing TP? Do you actually have a spread sheet of TP use? Is this Costco or a name brand? How big are these rolls and what ply? Do you have an emergency TP fund?

I mean if we are tracking and budgeting TP here could you please post I n bogleheads format. 😂
Emergency fund: 1.5 months of TP saved (would like to get this to the recommended 3-6 months)

Debt: We don't owe anyone any TP

Tax filing status: MFJ

Tax rate: Sales tax 4.3%

State of Residence: VA

Age: 31/27 him/her

Desired asset allocation: 100/0 two-ply/one-ply. Aggressive, I know, but we just don't feel comfortable with one-ply.

Current retirement assets: Unfortunately we haven't been able to accumulate any long term TP assets at this time.

Contributions: We hope to find a 9-roll pack every month.

Available funds: Sorry I can't find expense ratios
Wal-Mart
Target
Kroger
Big Lots
Food Lion
Food City
Dollar General
General Store
Gas stations

Questions:
1. In response to Monsterflockster: Two bathrooms. We each almost exclusively use our own... So two rolls are in use at a time. I might change mine every two weeks, so that would be 2 rolls a month for me. My wife more than likely uses more, so (conservatively) I just doubled my usage (new roll once per week, or 4 rolls per month). 2+4=6. Then I added one more to be even more conservative: ~7. That said, we need to work on our emergency fund...
2. I wish I could pick just one fund, but I guess we probably need to diversify. We get Wal-Mart once every two weeks, but a family member made a large gain with Big Lots recently. What do others recommend?
3. As far as I know, Dollar General and Gas Stations are one-ply only, so we will not be choosing those funds for our portfolio. Are there any other funds available to SW Virginians that I didn't mention?
Oh my goodness, best laugh I've had in a long time. :)
"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." Yogi Berra's financial wisdom.
jumbopapa
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by jumbopapa »

I started going to the gym in the morning, which means I only shower once a day instead of twice. My routine used to be shower, work, gym, shower, but now that I go to the gym in the morning it's just gym, shower, work.

I also enjoy my evenings more now that I don't have to worry about finding time to exercise.
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1210sda
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by 1210sda »

Called Delta Faucet to invoke their "Lifetime" warranty on a shower head and a couple of faucet cartridges.

Got them free within a couple of days. (your must be the original purchaser or owner).
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quantAndHold
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by quantAndHold »

1210sda wrote: Tue Jun 16, 2020 10:17 am Called Delta Faucet to invoke their "Lifetime" warranty on a shower head and a couple of faucet cartridges.

Got them free within a couple of days. (your must be the original purchaser or owner).
I did this a few months ago with a Pfister faucet. After some confusion about the style, they sent me two brand new faucets. We installed one and sold the other on Craigslist.
shariq1989
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by shariq1989 »

Deciding to be intentional about looking for stuff on Craigslist or offer up before looking on Amazon has saved us money
cheesepep
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by cheesepep »

Lately have been taking the subway to work instead of driving. Driving costs me an arm and a leg, not for oil/electricity, but for parking. It is $10 a day to park which went up last week to $12. I only drive once a week tops now. Saved me a bundle.
shunkman
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by shunkman »

Using a razor knife, we have been cutting our select-a-size paper towel rolls in half. Usually half of a select-a-size sheet is all that we really need. Of course some will dismiss this and say we shouldn't be using any paper products.
Monsterflockster
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Monsterflockster »

shunkman wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2020 6:40 am Using a razor knife, we have been cutting our select-a-size paper towel rolls in half. Usually half of a select-a-size sheet is all that we really need. Of course some will dismiss this and say we shouldn't be using any paper products.
Do you do this with toilet paper too?
JimSmiley1850
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by JimSmiley1850 »

Ordered my shoo fly pie mix with the special pa Dutch molasses $4.00 for Thanksgiving
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quantAndHold
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by quantAndHold »

Changed the air filter on my Sprinter. The shop wanted $160 to do it. I bought the filter on Amazon for $30, and spent 20 minutes wrestling with it until I found the trick, and it slid right into place. The only tool I needed was the Torx screwdriver that came with the van.
stoptothink
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by stoptothink »

quantAndHold wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2020 9:27 am Changed the air filter on my Sprinter. The shop wanted $160 to do it. I bought the filter on Amazon for $30, and spent 20 minutes wrestling with it until I found the trick, and it slid right into place. The only tool I needed was the Torx screwdriver that came with the van.
In typical German engineering fashion, changing the engine air filter on my jetta requires taking apart half the engine and more than two hands. I've never even considered paying someone to change an air filter, but it crossed my mind after watching a few youtube videos. The dealership wanted $120 :shock:, the wife and I figured it out.
johnegonpdx
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by johnegonpdx »

Food frugality 101:

1. We try to shop and cook according to what is on sale at the local grocery store, and tend to cook in volume. We have simple tastes and are fine eating the same dish multiple times throughout the week. Just made a big pot of miso soup (with tofu, cabbage, mushrooms, daikon, carrots), and a pork roast for the family.

I picked up this habit from my paternal grandmother. Popo was raised on a sugar cane planation in Hawaii, and married into a family of blue collar workers (construction, irrigation, carpentry, etc.). Grew up hearing and experiencing how she made cheap, filling and tasty meals for her extended family, who always came home with voracious appetites at the end of the day. Take great pride in this part of my family history.

2. We also like to try out cheaper home versions of take-out meals we have enjoyed. Recent example. A local bakery has a killer veggie sandwich that costs $10. We figured out what made it so tasty (came down to the baguette and pickled peppers in oil). Turns out we can buy a the full baguettes from the bakery, and big jars of the pickled peppers from Amazon. Adding in all the other ingredients, I estimate we are now paying $3 per sandwich with no compromise on taste. Given how often we eat this sandwich, we are saving over $100 a year.
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quantAndHold
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by quantAndHold »

stoptothink wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2020 9:36 am
quantAndHold wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2020 9:27 am Changed the air filter on my Sprinter. The shop wanted $160 to do it. I bought the filter on Amazon for $30, and spent 20 minutes wrestling with it until I found the trick, and it slid right into place. The only tool I needed was the Torx screwdriver that came with the van.
In typical German engineering fashion, changing the engine air filter on my jetta requires taking apart half the engine and more than two hands. I've never even considered paying someone to change an air filter, but it crossed my mind after watching a few youtube videos. The dealership wanted $120 :shock:, the wife and I figured it out.
Yeah, this was six screws holding the lid on a box, right on top of the engine. The trick was that the screws had to be in a certain position so that the lid could slide a certain direction.

I’m not even going to try to replace the serpentine belt. The guy on YouTube had to make a second video because he didn’t get it right the first time. The Sprinter is actually super easy to work on, if you have the right tools. Loads of space under the hood, and things are easy to get to. But every tool is some specialty item that doesn’t exist in a standard toolbox.
protagonist
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by protagonist »

I cleaned my gutters without leaving the ground by using gutter cleaning extensions on my electric leaf blower.

I didn't do it so much because it saved me money (though it did). I did it because it made me feel good to do it myself without risking my life. Sense of accomplishment.
The extensions cost something like $40-50 a set on Amazon....I have some high gutters on a 2 story home with an attic so I needed 2 sets to reach the highest ones. The lower gutters were pretty easy to manage and quick. The upper ones took some physical strength and patience as it was hard to control, but still I managed to get it all done in about an hour or less.

A good electric leaf blower goes for about $100. Maybe less on sale.
matti
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by matti »

I'm not sure this is exactly "frugal," but I always eat the cores of my apples. I ate four apples at breakfast today, core and all. It used to gross my wife out, but she's okay with it now :)
shunkman
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by shunkman »

Monsterflockster wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2020 9:07 am
shunkman wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2020 6:40 am Using a razor knife, we have been cutting our select-a-size paper towel rolls in half. Usually half of a select-a-size sheet is all that we really need. Of course some will dismiss this and say we shouldn't be using any paper products.
Do you do this with toilet paper too?
No need to do this with TP. Most TP manufactures have already substantially shrunk the size of the sheets.
IowaFarmWife
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by IowaFarmWife »

Hubby and I stayed home today due to a snow and ice storm in our area (insert teacher snow day happy dance). We made our meals out of what we had stored in the pantry and the fridge and used some leftovers in the process.
"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." Yogi Berra's financial wisdom.
UpperNwGuy
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by UpperNwGuy »

I didn't do any frugal thing today, or yesterday, or the day before that. But I also didn't spend any money.
Da5id
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Da5id »

Raked my own lawn. Spent no money today. During COVID my spending is way down. No travel. Much less entertainment. I'm not much on random shopping, but less of that too.
Dottie57
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Dottie57 »

Nothing frugal or un-frugal. Uneventful gray november day with bits of snow coming down.
Lalamimi
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Lalamimi »

Took our 17 yr old sick cat to a new vet - researched costs, etc. first. Only cost me $315 for complete exam, blood work, etc., 4 medications. And since she is technically our daughter's cat, she is paying half.
Barefootgirl
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Barefootgirl »

Staying at a hotel using points while waiting for my snowbird home to be ready soon.

Hotel provides meals at little or no cost.

Expenses are few I guess except for auto and health insurance....gas when I go out to buy a few things like pods for my Nespresso ;)
How many retired people does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Only one, but he takes all day.
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quantAndHold
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by quantAndHold »

matti wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2020 10:41 am I'm not sure this is exactly "frugal," but I always eat the cores of my apples. I ate four apples at breakfast today, core and all. It used to gross my wife out, but she's okay with it now :)
Our dog thinks apple cores are tasty treats. So she gets them.
Wanderingwheelz
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Wanderingwheelz »

quantAndHold wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 10:20 am
matti wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2020 10:41 am I'm not sure this is exactly "frugal," but I always eat the cores of my apples. I ate four apples at breakfast today, core and all. It used to gross my wife out, but she's okay with it now :)
Our dog thinks apple cores are tasty treats. So she gets them.
Yes! My dog eats everything I’d normally throw away. Broccoli stalks, the extreme ends of cucumbers, apple cores. I hardly ever switch on the garbage disposal. Lol
Being wrong compounds forever.
livelovelaugh00
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by livelovelaugh00 »

Before ground freezes, I dig a big wide hole in fenced veggie garden in my backyard. I leave kitchen scrap in the hole and it freezes quickly and may covered by another snow in a few days. In early spring, when the dirty starts to thaw, I cover the kitchen scrap accumulated in winter with dirty . My tomatoe plants are great in summer.
Monsterflockster
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Monsterflockster »

My wife and I shared a super burrito today. She actually only ate half of her half so will have lunch tomorrow too. :beer
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