Recent Frugal Efforts.

We received our tax return and put it all into savings.

I completed a survey from a Fred Meyer receipt for some fuel points.

I emailed Fred Meyer asking if they changed their recipe on some yogurt because it's been sour lately, and they mailed a $10 off coupon.

I put away the space heater and continually turn down the thermostat when my husband has it up too high.

My job search didn't go well, but I ended up getting a new position at the same company with a raise. That starts next week. Once I see what my new paycheck will be I can allocate the new funds to reach different savings goals.

I received some products free or cheap in an exchange for an honest review. Some of these are dress up things for part of my son's Christmas present, things for my coloring hobby, and a few household items that will make life in general easier to manage.

I met one of my newer neighbors, and we'll be getting grass fed beef from them in the Fall at a great price compared to stores. We'll be getting fresh eggs from them too at a good price, and we can buy just what we need so none go to waste. They even said in the Fall we could help ourselves to their orchard fruit because the trees produce too much for them. And they let my son chase after their goats and chickens. He thoroughly enjoyed himself. He even got to hold one of the chickens! I'll have to think of a way to thank them for their kindness.

The weather has been warming up. My husband put more air in the stroller tires so the little one and I can go for morning walks. Over the weekend we went down to the creek for the first time.

We're trying to be more mindful about leftovers and things in the fridge. I've been writing down our dinners on the calendar in the kitchen to aid me in my meal plan quest. We're buying less food so we can use up what we already have.

I got a refurbished Kitchen Aid mixer, and it will end up paying for itself soon enough. I'll make breads, waffles, muffins, oatmeal and raisin cookies and....I don't even know. I need to do more research on all the amazing things it can do.

My husband buys coffee every work day, and to minimize this expense he has agreed to bring coffee if he got an insulated stainless steel travel mug and a good grinder. We're in the process of this change. I'm waiting for the fancy grinder to drop in price. Until this change becomes a habit I need to remind myself to clean his mug and re-time the coffee maker so it's ready when he races out the door for work. We work different shifts so this will be fun to learn to manage.

I scored various free and cheap chocolate. I took an 18 count box of candy bars to work to share. I'll be bringing the free 5lb Hershey's bar to my new coworkers next week. Some of the other chocolate I kept for my secret mommy stash. Others I'll use for gifts. At this point my brother will receive a huge Amazon box of miscellaneous chocolate and snacks (that were free or cheap!). He'll love it.

I'm reading free Kindle books thanks to my library and Amazon slow ship credits.

I unsubscribed from a site that posted a lot of deals on Amazon. I love this site. Although I did save a lot of money I don't need that site right now. I'm stocked up on diapers, wipes, toddler snacks, soap, toys, and food stuff. I can always check it in a few months when I need more diapers. I'll be using the time I spent on this site on sites that encourage minimalism, simplicity, and good personal finance skills. (note on this "time" - it's the random moments when I'm trying to get the toddler to sleep or when I'm at work during a slow day or sometimes at night when I'm trying to unwind from a no good very bad day)


What did you do to save money recently?

Recent Frugal Efforts

I printed a page with shapes and colored them in for a makeshift shape and color poster for my son's wall.

I bought two kindle books that I've been wanting for a long time with the free digital credits I got from Amazon.

I took the survey on the Fred Meyer receipt for fuel points.

We went to the library and brought home a stack of books and DVDs for the little one. He immediately spent an hour stacking and sorting them all. I already requested more books for next week.

I reviewed items I got for free or at discounted prices from AMZ Review Trader. It's a website where sellers approve your request to review their products on Amazon. Some things I've gotten are a compost bin, toys, LED light bulbs, watercolor pencils, and more. They have food, clothes, etc. items are always added because sellers are always looking for honest reviews. Tip: I choose slow shipping for these items so I get a $1 digital credit to use to buy ebooks or shows on Amazon Prime.

I went on a job interview, and I'm applying to several jobs that pay more. They say if you want a raise you need to get a new job. (so true...)

I checked out some ebooks for free from my library's website.

My son got a play kitchen for Christmas, but some of the hardware was stripped. I emailed the company directly, and they sent me replacement hardware for free. What great service. My son was thrilled with his kitchen and plays with it everyday.

Last Week's Frugal Efforts

I reused some wrapping paper for my husband's Valentine's Day gift. (a stack of blank playing cards for 56 reasons why I love him that I got free thanks to a Swagbucks gift card.)

I purchased a used drying rack from the Amazon warehouse so I still get the great "warranty" in case something is wrong with it. I tried it out, and it works pretty good. I'm hoping it gets easier as the weather warms up. I'm shooting for a dramatic decrease in my power bill.

We turned the thermostat down by 1 degree, which is amazing because  my husband is dead set on a certain number.

I brought my toddler's uneaten leftovers to work for lunch so it wasn't wasted.

I unplugged three landline phones and a lamp that we don't use.

I started using Bing and InstaGC more frequently so I can use those earned gift certificates for upcoming gift occasions.

My son and I made some Valentine's Day crafts using scrap paper. We made paper chains, necklaces, bracelets, and pink snowflakes. He had so much fun. :)

We were finally able to return our Comcast modem because we bought our own, which is a savings of $10 a month.

What have you done to save money recently?

Recent Frugal Efforts

My husband and I attended a free Kindergarten prep class. They provided free materials and tools (toys) to help prep our toddler for Kindergarten. These free classes are from birth to age 5. Check here to see if there is a program in your area.

I put old toddler snacks outside for the birds.

I put up a huge mural in my son's room that cost nothing. (thanks to a reviewer discount and Swagbucks gift card) This will deter me from wanting to spend money decorating his room. It will be a useful tool to teach about the colors, animals, etc.

I got a new toddler pillow for free. (thanks to a reviewer discount and $1 Swagbucks gift card)

Instead of buying learning posters for my son (shapes, colors, etc.) I decided I'm going to make some.

I continue to bring food and coffee to work and reuse zip lock bags and glass containers.

I pack my husband's lunch and prepare coffee on the two days a week where I'm before he goes to work. This saves on him eating out.

While my toddler and I went for a walk my husband took two huge boxes and made a fort. We've been decorating it with markers, crayons, and stickers. Hours and hours of fun for cheap!

I'm trying to be diligent about keeping light off, devices unplugged, and the thermostat down after receiving our monster power bill this month. I've tried before, but I'm being more mindful now.

I've been trying to use up some of the foodstuff in our pantry and freezers. This results in a lower grocery bill and cleaner shelves that we can be more mindful about when we go to refill them. I'm still struggling with meal planning, so hopefully this "clean out" will help make it easier and more efficient. I've been bringing things we don't want to work to share with others, and I've given my brother some items too. He's like a garbage disposal, and he enjoys the random treats.

I'm on week 5 of online courses. (thank you, Pell Grant!) Already I can tell my time management skills have improved, and my outlook and views on life are changing. I feel more optimistic and open minded.

I set up the double hanging closet railing I got really cheap a few months ago in my son's room. I'm using it to hang the clothes he hasn't grown into yet. This will help me keep track of the things he has so I don't overbuy because of a good flash sale.

Last Week's Frugal Efforts

My toddler's food scraps that are suitable for the wild birds (muffins, waffles, bread, crackers, etc.) are put outside on the deck railing instead of being thrown away.

I've been entering the Dave Ramsey $100,000 Christmas giveaway daily. It's free to enter, and I signed up for reminder emails. You can enter here.

I've been using Swagbucks, Bing Rewards, and Perk TV as much as possible so I can earn Amazon gift cards for gifts, household needs, and food items.

At work I've been listening to Dave Ramsey's radio stations for free.

Friday night I checked out four ebooks from the library so I'm set on reading material for awhile. I chose The Happiness Project and the first four books of Game of Thrones.

I signed up for Everydollar.com It's a free budgeting software. I still need to finish entering everything, but so far so good. (I feel like a broken record here. haha. It's also from Dave Ramsey. I'm not affiliated with him at all. I'm just a fan!)

I enrolled in online college classes for the Winter quarter. Yay! Officially a college student (again.)

I continue to try to be diligent about recyclables. Both at work and at home. It can be tedious to sort, rinse, and separate things, but it's good for the environment. And recycling is free at the local dump.

I've been taking coffee and food to work and putting in more of an effort to prepare my husband's coffee and food for work on my days off so he doesn't eat out as often.

My husband and I went to a free parenting workshop. We learned a few things, the toddler got some social interaction, and they gave him a book and two toys. I already signed us up for the next free workshop.

Last Week's Frugal Efforts.

I got my toddler's shoe/boot size completely wrong for the rain boots I ordered last week. I'm going to keep the pair I received until he's bigger. I ordered a smaller pair using an Amazon gift card I received from Swagbucks.

I froze the leftover pizza sauce before it went bad. I usually forget to use it up so it gets wasted. Not this time!

My mother in law brought donuts so I had one of those for breakfast on the way to work this morning.

My husband surprised me by making a good and creative dinner using stuff we've had on hand for a long time.

We combined errands yesterday so we were able to "go into town" to get cat food, bird food, squirrel food, groceries, and take the toddler to his checkup. We followed my grocery lists! I picked up a bunch of free items. (future post about the free stuff)

I bought some yogurt at the store I didn't end up liking so I gave it to my brother so it didn't go to waste. (he's like my personal garbage disposal!)

I finally found something my toddler will eat that can be manipulated! Waffles! So I ordered a waffle maker using Amazon gift cards from PerkTV, InstaGC, and Swagbucks. I'm going to find recipes that use fruits and vegetables. I'm pretty excited. I love waffles, and this waffler maker has ceramic plates instead of toxic non-stick teflon.

I also ordered a permanent coffee filter for the coffee maker. My husband thinks the paper ones we got from Costco (one package lasted years!) makes bad coffee so now that we're almost out of paper filters we can try this permanent one out. I purchased on Amazon through Ebates so I was able to save 3%.

I brought leftovers and coffee to work instead of buying.

I mended a rip in my sweater.

I mended a pocket on my brother's jacket.

Last Week's Frugal Efforts.

Below are the ways I have been frugal and/or saved money over the past week. Feel free to comment with your own. I love finding new ways to save (and earn) money.

It's getting to be that time of year that my power bill gets lower because we can open the curtains up to let the sunlight in to warm the house instead of turning on the heater, and we don't have to keep our outside lights on as long.

I deposited an ebates check and Sprint settlement check into savings for a whopping $15! (savings = $15.00)

I borrowed books from the library on melt and pour soap making so I can find some simple recipes to make future Christmas gifts. Once I find what I'm looking for I can start pricing out the best supplies.(savings = $30+)

I used ebates to buy vanilla beans on Ebay for future Christmas gifts. I also used PayPal cash I received from an online writing gig so I spent $0 out of pocket. (savings = $16.33)

My husband and I are trying out a new cell service and phone. So far it looks like we will be switching. (savings = ~$43.65/month)

I brought food and coffee to work.

I didn't use the space heater at night for several nights. For the nights I did I kept it low.

Kept thermostat down day and night.

Used Swagbucks gift card to buy toddler rain boots via ebates for an extra 3% savings. (savings = ~$16.80)

Borrowed mil's angel food cake pan instead of buying one. (savings = $10+)

My mom kindly bought my toddler three pairs of new jeans that he will grow into very soon. (savings = $15+)

Took toddler to a playground for the first time. (savings = Priceless)

Sent some soon-to-expire yogurt and not-so-fresh spinach to brother to get eaten (technically didn't save me money, but it meant the money spent didn't go to waste.)

Tried out a free coffee creamer. I didn't like it (understatement!) so I brought it to work instead of dumping it.

Taught my toddler to hand me his snacks that he doesn't want to eat instead of throwing them on the floor. Crumbs were put outside for the birds to eat.

I printed two coupons for things I actually buy. (savings: $1.50 + $.20 for the $.10 redemption credit via Swagbucks = $1.70 savings)

I raised my 401k contribution to 8%! (my goal was to bring it up from my original 4% by the end of 2015) I also had a free financial advising appointment at work.

What did you do this past week to be frugal?

Last Week's Frugal Efforts.

Over the course of the last seven days here are some small things I did to save money. Big or small, these things add up over time.

I purchased a used copy of The Tightwad Gazette off Ebay using my Ebates account and PayPal cash I earned through a writing gig. I can’t wait to read it and be inspired to save even more.

I brought my meals/snacks and coffee to work (from home) every day.

I kept the house thermostat low and only used the space heater in the bedroom at a lower temperature than usual. Last night I didn't have it on at all.

I ordered a Republic Wireless cell phone (their cheapest phone at $99 plus their $10 per month plan) for my husband and me to try out. If my husband decides to go with this plan we will save about $35 a month. After 3 months this change will have paid for itself. If I decide to go with this plan, it will balance out against my current phone plan after 6 months, with a savings of $10 a month. Total potential savings: $40 a month.

The thought of two unlimited smart phones for $20 a month (plus tax) is amazing.

I ate the free oatmeal I received for breakfast a couple of times. I signed up for BzzAgent a few months ago, and I receive free products in exchange for spreading the word through social media, word of mouth, and reviews.

How did you save money last week?