Category — frugal, cheap or stupid

I am so having the best freebie week ever. Just check out a few of my freebies below.

Pretty impressive, eh? And I totally did not put all the freebies in the pic!

Okay, so this week I got…

I got a free celebration charm from Lean Cuisine. I found out about this freebie from SlickDeals. It’s a cute little charm and it was totally free. You can still sign up for one.

I got some free Oil of Olay (just a sample size) from Vocal Point.

I got a free $5 gift card from Guitar Center for doing a short little survey a few weeks ago. I dunno how or why I got to do that survey. I am on their mailing list and they randomly sent me a thing asking if I would do a survey in exchange for the gift card. Who would say no that?

The 12-pack of water is a sad story. You see, yesterday we went to Target so Riley could drop off a prescription. It was pouring rain and that water was sitting on the bottom of a shopping cart in the cart return thingie. I commented on it and drove on past. Then Riley said to go get it cause Target would just put it back on the shelf and re-sell it. She was probably right, so I got it before Target did. But it sucks for the person that forgot it

The Pledge Wipes are exciting. Every time I get my little email from Clean Home Journal I eagerly reply to try to win the gift pack. This time I did win! Woot, woot! My prize was the 25-pack Pledge Multi-surface wipes as well as a bunch of coupons. How exciting.

And I also managed to talk Riley into crawling under the vending machine at her work twice in pursuit of forgotten coins that she saw under there. (one was a nickel and one was a dime).

And that is the best freebie week ever.

In the name of saving money or being frugal, I do a lot of silly things. These things could be considered only one of three things:

• frugal
• cheap
• stupid

So, which is it? You be the judge.

Baggies

I always try to re-use sandwich baggies. Of course, there are some that can’t be saved. For instance, a baggie that has had a PB&J in it usually has some residue that makes it not usable again. I’ve even been known to wash out baggies in the past. I think I remember Riley recoiling in horror at that.

Moldy cheese

I am a cheese snob. It is just one of those things where I have tried to go generic and just can’t. I have to have Sargento cheese. I even tried Target brand cheese. And Target brand everything is always good in my experiences. Well - not their cheese. It is Kraft. So if you like Kraft cheese then buy Target brand. Anyways, so, I spend a lot of money on cheese which means that I do not like it to go to waste. Just this week I was trimming mold off of some Sargento cheese cubes. I looked it up online and it is perfectly safe for hard and semi-hard cheese to do this. I just can’t bear the thought of wasting some lovely Sargento cheese.

Heat and A/C and unnecessary electricity

I hate high electric bills. For the past two months our electric bill has been around $100 and that is just unacceptable for a tiny 2BR apartment. That means that I am always looking for ways to cut electricity. I do things like plug all electronics in a room into a power strip that I turn off when the stuff is not in use. I unplug toasters and coffee makers too. And if it is cold outside I will bundle up and even use candles that I have been given for free. All to avoid using the heat. Sometimes I will let it get below 60 degrees before turning on the heat. But it is hard to type when my fingers are frozen. The same applies for the A/C, only in reverse of course. I will try to endure up to 80-something degrees inside before turning on the A/C - until Riley says to freaking turn it on! But I can make it with shorts, a tank top and some ice water!

Buying ugly

Today I had to go to Big Lots to get a gift bag for a birthday present for Riley’s brother. I went to Big Lots because they usually have great prices on solid color gift bags. When I finally found the aisle with gift bags I was met with two viable options. They had a solid purple bag for $1.00 or the hideous bag below for $0.80. Yup, I chose the ugly one to save $0.20. And before you say that it is not that ugly - remember, it is for a grown man. (I think Riley would have preferred the solid color bag - but his gift is blue, so I think it will be okay)

Office klepto

I have been known to come home from work with staples or scotch tape. However, if I need a lot then I will buy it myself. For instance, around Christmas I will go to Big Lots and buy tape instead of swiping it from work.

Shop at discount stores

I *love* going to Big Lots. They always have the best prices on stuff. And if you have not signed up for their email Buzz Club then do it - NOW! Every so often they email out 20% off coupons to Buzz Club members. I used one of those on a mattress once - it was awesome. Then I ended up selling the mattress for more than I paid for it. That was really sweet.

Free samples

I love free stuff. So I am always filling out things online for free samples of this or that. And that just means that I end up with a cabinet full of random shampoo samples in my bathroom. Well, in my experience, those samples are not enough for two hair washings but way too much for one. In the past I have been known to pour them all together in an empty bottle. Just give it a good shake when you’re done and you’re good to go. Of course, the actual shampoo might be an ugly brown color, but don’t let that deter you.

Free condiments and napkins

We do not dine out often. And we go to fast food restaurants even less. But when we do end up at a greasy fast food place I take a little extra ketchup, napkins and such to bring on home. Sure, it can be tedious opening up several packets of ketchup to refill your bottle, but you could always leave them as individual packets.

Going “college clean”

Typically I will wear my pants more than one time before washing them. That is assuming that I do not spill anything on them. Not only does this save money on detergent, water and such but it also extends the life of the clothes. Most things I wash after one wearing, but pants almost always get worn more than once.

Library card supa-star

I heart the library and all of their books and movies. I have not been in a while, but I love being able to get the latest books and movies for free from the library. The important thing is to be mindful of those due dates so that you do not end up paying late fees. And sometimes you have to wait on a list to get something popular, but instant gratification is for the Joneses!

Buy used movies and re-sell

I think we have gone to the movies three times in the past year - and one of those times we used free passes! We hate paying movie prices and movie food prices. And rental prices are not cheap either (unless you have a RedBox near you). If we watched movies regularly then I suspect Netflix would be a good deal for us. Instead, we watch for Blockbuster to do their “4 for $20″ sale on used DVDs and make a shopping trip. We look for not only things that we want to see but things that we think we will be able to re-sell. Indie movies are awesome for this as their retail price is pretty high. We typically end up making money on the indie movies that we have scored for $5 used from Blockbuster. Of course, with some of the movies we buy we either can’t sell for a profit or just plain can’t sell at all. In the end though I think we come out ahead.

Foil

I admit it - I re-use aluminum foil. Often.

Target bags as trash bags

I never buy trash bags for our small trash cans. Why? Because Target bags and other similarly sized bags make perfect trash bags. I must have inherited this one from my dad - except he has a serious bag problem. No joke. The cabinet under the kitchen sink in his house is packed full of bags. My mom tries to toss them at times - his feelings get hurt. It’s almost too comedic to be true, yet it is. (Riley says everyone uses bags like Target bags as trash bags. Well, everyone - do you?)

Thoughts? Tips? Suggestions? Profanity? Throw ‘em in the comments.