Fresh Friday Frugalities

I felt like alliterating.

Here are a few frugal things I've done lately:

1) If I got it, I eat it.  I've made do with the food on hand.  When I've gotten down to the point where that was not working well enough (e.g. yesterday I was down to sardines, balsamic vinegar, mustard and tomato paste), I find something to work with what I've got and make a few more meals.   I got bread and bag-o'salad.  I can have sardines on a salad dressed with the vinegar.  The bread can go with the end of a jar of jam and one of the emergency nut butter packs in the car and voila...sandwich.  The bread and salad were both on sale.   As a treat, and because it was on sale, I got 1lb of sliced roast beef to take the edge of the series of sardines and pj&js.  The grand total was 11$ and with existing pantry stock, it was about 8 meals with bread and sardines left over for another day.  Then I just ate the bread...oops.

2) Alternated which car I'm driving.  I have the truck now.  I jockey the vehicles so I do about 1 fill up per rig per week.  This keeps the batteries from running down in the cold/wet weather and makes me more conscious of planning when to buy gas and where. 

3) Setting "No Spends" goals each month.  This month I'm shooting for 11 days with no active spending.  I'm still burning gas and heating wood and eating food, but by making sure I have many days a month where I do not buy anything or pay bills, it makes me more thoughtful about when I do spend

4) Paying off the credit card twice a month.  This makes double sure I don't pay interest or fees.  When I'm on paying the balance, I also check the number of "reward credits" and when there is the minimum usable amount of reward credits, I trade them in for cash back on the bill.  I use the credit card for fuel, airline tickets etc. 

5) Paying cash for groceries and general household expenses (TP, baking soda and vinegar for cleaning, laundry costs).  I get 200$ cash each time I get paid and that generally lasts me until the next paycheck. 

6) Taking my change in to the bank and trading it for folding money.  I have little change sorter thingies I got at a thrift store.  Each night I'm home, I put my change into these.  They are sized so that once full, that stack goes in a coin roller (which I get at thrift stores).  The rolled coins go in a little tin.  When the tin is full, I go to the bank and get 20$ or more in folding money.  I often put the quarters right into the laundry kit since I go to the laundromat.  Rarely have to buy quarters at the laundromat.

7) Actually use those hotel soaps.  Since I shower at the gym all winter, I use the little hotel soaps.  I wrap the bar in paper towel bits or put it in the little box it might have come with, between showers and it goes in the gym bag in the car.  The gym does have shower gel/shampoo in a wall dispenser in the showers. I use that in a pinch but I end up with full-body itchiness.  I think it's just Tide or maybe some liquid version of Ajax.  Pretty harsh stuff.  I also actually use the hotel lotions.  I keep one in a coat pocket (I have lots of coats...) since my hands are crusty dry all winter.

That's enough for now and are things that all came into play within the last week.