This week the majority of my savings came from repairing something I was convinced we needed to replace (and I admit to using it as an excuse to replace it with something I like better just for the sake of liking it better) and a surprise shopping spree for necessary items at the cheapest high quality store I know of – my house.
Here are this week’s money saving hacks that saved me a surprising $500 dollars this week!
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5 Frugal Things: How I Saved Money This Week
1. Several years ago I bought a pair of cream
Bass Oxford shoes similar to these thinking they would look cute with jeans (they do) but rarely wore them because I forgot I live in muddy and slushy Central Ohio. They sat in the back of my shoe closet for the longest time while I wore (and had repaired ) other fall and winter shoes. Those shoes are toast and instead of buying a replacement pair, I dyed the cream shoes with
blue suede shoe dye (learn more about it here.) Not only will the new color deal with dirt and mud better but it will definitely go with every pair of jeans I own. and they are fun! Savings: $60 (My feet are so small I have to shop in the kids department.)
(Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience)
New to me blue suede shoes!
2. Our
rain barrel rock (it looks like this) started to leak several years after I replaced the broken spigot with a
replacement rain barrel spigot kit like this one. I wasn’t sure if it was leaking due to a crack or hole but secretly hoped it wasn’t repairable so I had the excuse to buy a style that is a little easier to drain and clean when I winterize it.
Buying a replacement rain barrel wouldn’t put us in the poor house but repairing it would give us a little extra money for our bathroom renovation and repair. Turns out the area around the spigot was leaking instead of a crack in the bottom of the barrel as we first thought. I repaired the leaking rain barrel spigot by wrapping
silicone rubber plumbing tape (learn more about it here) around the spigot and finishing it off with a couple of coats of
this Flex Seal rubber sealant. Savings $100
No more leaks!
3. I sometimes spin flag and whatever color guard equipment they literally throw at me in an international community band organization and with that comes uniform requirements. I thought I had everything I needed to wear for our upcoming parade and concert until I recently got a clarification email that told me differently. Thrift, consignment, online, and conventional stores let me down. Given the other expenses involved with this performance opportunity, I didn’t want to lay out oodles of cash on some of their recommended items I knew I’d never wear again. In a desperate attempt I shopped my closet.
Let me just tell you I am glad I didn’t
follow Marie Kondo’s advice here exactly when I cleaned out and reorganized my clothes and shoes last winter. I hung onto some clothing that didn’t necessarily spark joy but as a just in case for band. Some of the items needed a little altering due to the extra exercise I’m getting while practicing at home (happy surprise – yay!) I came up with several clothing and shoe options that fit the uniform requirements. While I was at it I made a pair of red thrift shop pants I never wore into a pair of cute shorts that I now do. Savings: $280
Looking cute and spinning great in my thrift shop running skirt!
4. My husband and I had several situations this week where we had to get up and out of the house quickly. We had just enough time to make coffee but not breakfast. Instead of hitting the drive through, I flipped through Pinterest (
follow me @condoblues on Pinterest pretty please?) for recipe ideas, shopped the pantry, and made oatmeal and pumpkin breakfast muffins. The recipe isn’t mine or terribly inventive. I used a pumpkin muffin recipe and substituted oatmeal for nuts. I didn’t want to take the chance since we would be around several people with nut allergies. Savings: $50
5. I have another performance opportunity where I wear a jester necklace I’ve had forever as part of my costume. Unfortunately the chain is too long for the neckline of my dress and changing the neckline would be a pain. I really didn’t have time or energy to run to store to buy a shorter necklace chain. I shopped my jewelry boxes and luckily found a solution in the correct length. This was more of a time saver than a money saver but hey, 10 bucks is 10 bucks am I right? Savings: $10
It took me four months to make this costume from the bloomers, hoop skirt, quilted bodice, skirt, and hat. Sewing costumes like these is one of the reasons why I try to save money in other areas of my budget where I can! (Photo by Checkmate Photography)
What did you do to save money this week?
For more money saving options check out the following frugal ideas - and more!- below!
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