Category Archives: A Few Frugal Things

Austin Goodwill Outlet Haul

Posted by Candice@Shopahoicsavers.com on August 2, 2016 None comments

This past Saturday I was spending time with a friend who had mentioned she had started selling some old jewelry on the site Postmark and was interested in eBay too. I was telling her my experience about the Goodwill outlet in Austin, Tx. We were a short drive away so we decided to go. I had only ever been to the Goodwill outlet on one other Saturday night. This time it was super busy and hot. We did still manage to find some good stuff. Here is what I found:

I plan on selling this brand new Stephen Colbert book on eBay and keeping the Jim Gaffigan book. Ive already started reading it! Books were 4 for $1.

I picked up this Little Golden Books out of curiosity. Turns out they really don’t sell for much on eBay but i might just list them anyways!

A story book from 1981.

We found so many old interesting books this visit. I believe the maroon book is a 1961 reprint from 1879, the blue book is the complete collection of William Shakepshere published in 1926, and the small brown book is a shorthand dictionary from around 1916!

I found both these mugs to sell on eBay. If I sell just on I will make enough money to pay for my whole shopping trip!

Lastly, I found four small like new Ikea plates I was going to buy a few months back, but for some reason decided against. I found two pyrex bowls, one anchor bowl, and a vintage Welchs Looney Tunes jar from the 80’s.

I also found a Maxi dress from Charminig Charlie (at least $40 in store), a pair of Jessica Simpson maternity shorts (at least $34 at Motherhood Maternity), and a cute tank top. My total was $10!

7-24-16 A Few Frugal Things

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on August 2, 2016 None comments

(Our Fridge Full of Leftovers)

Last night we had a dinner party at our townhouse. This is one of the first times we have had friends over and we have lived here for over a year! We had a great time and although buying food for 8 people isn’t the most frugal choice it was worth every penny and we had a great time.

Dinner Party Frugal Things-

– I chose Tacos because they are fun and require little cooking since I am still finishing Summer B semester. All of the groceries were purchased at ALDI and Dollar Tree (Our friends love ALDI too!)

– We have fantastic friends who brought food and drinks with them too which is always fun!

– As always, we bought way too much food and drinks so we will have leftovers for a week! Yay for not having to cook again!

– We played Catch Phrase with a Catchphrase game that I bought at Goodwill a while ago. We watched an Orlando City Soccer Game on our Goodwill flatscreen TV using the antenna (no cable). We ate at the beautiful bamboo real wood table that my sister gave me when she moved because I had always loved it. We sat on the double recliner, Lazyboy couch I got free when someone moved out of my old college apartment complex and was throwing it away. I heated the food on my buffet warmers from my stainless steel cookware set that my father gave me for Christmas one year.

– We had extra seating from the flat folding sofa my mom bought my for my college dorm room and the $12 funky, fun, 80s, folding table and 4 chair set I bought at Salvation Army a few years ago. When you live in a semi-small space owning some flat folding furniture is always helpful when having people over.

– I used all of my Pyrex, Anchor, etc. clear glass food storage containers with lids to set out all of the food and cover it after we ate. This made for especially easy clean up at the end of the night as I only had to put everything in the fridge to put it away.

– I also bought paper plates, cups and napkins since we usually don’t buy paper products; however, I do feel that once there is a certain number of people eating we are saving money by not washing dishes, napkins, cups, etc. Not the most eco-friendly but frugal and very efficient.

– I deep cleaned the entire house and tackled some projects that I had been putting off. There is nothing like having company to motivate you to clean the house (Not that anyone would have cared if the house wasn’t spotless). I LOVE, LOVE having a clean house and this is like killing two birds with one stone because we have company coming to stay in a few weeks and we will *try* to keep up with it.

– I used rags, rubbing alcohol, vinegar and some old toilet cleaner my mom gave us to clean the house which means I didn’t have to buy anything to clean the house and there was very little waste.

– We were able to recycle a lot this weekend which I am always proud of. I want to always have more recycling than trash and we are working on it.

Other Frugal Life Things-

– I bought snacks and paper products for my end of the semester class parties at Dollar Tree. I spent less than $20 for 4 class parties.

– B washed his phone in the washing machine and while that is certainly not frugal, we had an extra phone that was the same as the one he was using and the Metro PCS store activated it for free so this didn’t cost us anything. (Metro PCS stores in our area all have different owners, prices and policies. We are lucky to have 1 good one nearby surrounded by really bad ones that try to rip you off…long story)

– During my cleaning spree I also went through our entire kitchen and got rid of a lot of things we no longer need. I also matched containers with lids and got rid of odds and ends. I should be ashamed to admit that this is the first time I have really organized our kitchen since we moved in but I’m not because instead I was accomplishing more important things. However, that’s not to say it wasn’t driving me crazy. We also decided to get rid of almost all of our plastic storage containers in favor of glass ones. And one of my friends was more than happy to take them. My mother wants our second blender. Everything else we are getting rid of will be donated to a local thrift shop.

– I found some great finds at the thrift store on half off day this week but haven’t had time to post about them including a shower curtain, sheets, a table cloth, a hand towel holder, some clothes, a matching curtain set, a couple very expensive university hats and a fog machine! I have always wanted a fog machine and it was only $2! B does not approve lol

6-16-16 A Few Frugal Things

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on June 16, 2016 None comments

-The three toys above are the three our cat Pickles pulled out of her toy box and dragged into our room. She has way too many toys for one cat and yet of the three she chose none are actually cat toys. One was given to us and the other two were clearance Christmas ornaments. They are:

An alligator
A pink elephant
A coffee cup

-Taking a Frugal Trip to Texas. I’m flying a discount airline, received a $50 rebate for the flight, staying with my sister so no hotel costs or rental vehicles, and I’m packing all of my stuff in a personal item bag (more on how to do that will be posted soon).

– I made a huge pot of split pea soup (Mmmmmm my favorite!) using leftover ham my mom gave me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have anything besides the spices and ham so I had to buy carrots, an onion and the peas. Thankfully that only came to about $4 and B was given a gift card. We have soup for lunches and dinners for a week for FREE!

– Downloaded some free Kindle books to occupy me on my flight this week.

– My dad was given a free sewing machine for my sister, packed it up and wanted me to mail it to her in Texas. Instead I figured out how to take it on the plane as my mom’s personal item bag for free! I can only guess but I’m sure a sewing machine is expensive to mail and I feel more confident it won’t get damaged if I can deliver it directly.

– Got $200 worth of free Publix groceries thanks to 2 gift cards B was given for his Bday.

– I skipped the 50% off day at the thrift store today because I need to work since the Summer B semester starts on Tuesday and I fly home Sunday.

– I am now teaching a 4^th summer class which is great because it’s only 6 weeks long and little additional planning mostly just more grading but nothing too bad. This will also raise my income for the year if when we start trying to buy a house.

– Did another sponsored Swagbucks post

6-15-16 A Few Frugal Things

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on June 15, 2016 None comments

– I cut open our bottle of organic ALDI ketchup and got a huge amount of ketchup out of the bottle for the current meal we were having after I had been repeatedly assured it was “empty.” I try to always use up everything to the last drop and if you don’t do this you will be shocked at how much is left in “empty” product and food bottles.

– I used the above Betty Crocker double ended spatula that I love that can be found for $1 at Dollar Tree! I love it so much I own 2 and I think I’m going to buy one for everyone’s stocking this Christmas.

– I mailed out a couple of items I sold on eBay this week

– I resisted going to the thrift shop to look for other items to sell because I have some items here that haven’t been listed yet

– I ran on my thrift store bought treadmill at home for free exercise

– I’m watching free TV (We don’t have cable) on my Flatscreen TV from Goodwill

– I received a $50 rebate in the mail for a plane ticket I bought at the end of last year

– I don’t have to buy any groceries this month because B was given some Publix gift cards for his Bday

– I’m combined a work errand that was an hour away tomorrow with visiting my mom and going to some local thrift shops. Unfortunately, I had to drive an hour each way but I’m glad I can combine work with fun.

– I listed more items on eBay, I’m using my free listings and eBay is running a deal where they are capping their final value fees at $20 for the whole month so I would love to sell enough items to get over that amount

5-18-16 A Few Frugal Things

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on May 18, 2016 None comments

Yay! Summer is here and I have been getting a lot done and not spending much money, even with family visiting.

– We went to Disney Springs- Free!

– We have gone running at a beautiful local park around a lake

– We also went to the beach which only cost $10 and unfortunately we don’t qualify for a beach pass because we moved out of the county.

– Clearing out my closets and house and getting rid of junk! Mostly going through my clothes and I’m going to try to sell some of them to local consignment stores or on eBay.

– I will be relaunching my eBay business soon and I’m excited to get rid of more and more junk!

– We really have been enjoying staying home and our online steaming services are great for having the tv on in the background when I clean. Click the banner above for your free trial of Amazon Prime.

– I constantly use my iPad that was free from the college I teach at!

– We are trying to clean out the fridge and pantry after a busy school year which means we are eating what we have before going grocery shopping. This isn’t as bad as it seems as last night B cooked steaks that we had frozen a long time ago and they were amazing!

– I got out my sewing machine and some nice flannel shirts we bought at the Goodwill Outlet and I made rice heating pads for us and various family members. More sewing projects to come this summer!

– I returned some stuff to Publix and Goodwill that saved me almost $30 and I have more returns too. A lot of people don’t take advantage of the ability to return items that don’t work or you will never use and this ends up costing a lot of money!

– Pro: Finally getting rid of items I have been holding onto to give family members, Con: My mother gave me several more boxes to disperse by way of another family member so I couldn’t refuse them. UGH! I’m trying to clear out the house!

– Bought a beautiful and brand new Shabby Chic quilt from Goodwill for $3.99. We finally have enough bedding for having our whole families come stay with us at the same time but I’m also having to come up with more storage space in our 2/2 Townhome.

– I have been doing a lot of research on under the seat person item bags for flying our local discount airline. They have especially strict baggage guidelines and I want to get the absolutely biggest bag I can fit under a seat for free with my ticket.

– We went dumpster diving and I got a bag of clean clothes, a fold up suede chair (see the above picture), and a $30 shower rack all in great shape and all items that will be used again instead of going to the landfill.

– Instead of buying bedding for our snake I used a pillow case that I was getting rid of. Snakes like soft things too!

– I needed mascara and my sister just happened to give me some expensive mascara when she visited. I love when that happens.

– We had so much free fun when we gave some leftover food to the squirrels in the tree outside our sliding door and watched them grab pieces of it and sneak away

– I received my new muffin/cupcake pan from Amazon. It’s chemical free silicon and supposedly doesn’t even require paper wrappers for the muffins which will eventually save money and reduce waste. My old cupcake pans were cheap metal and I donated them when I started ridding the house of nonchemical free cookware and just have made due without but now I’m starting to make a lot of blueberry breakfast muffins and I felt it was worth the small price for the amount of use.

– I haven’t had the time to go to the grocery store with spring semester ending so rapidly so we have been doing a good job of eating out of the fridge and pantry. I hard boiled a bunch of eggs in the oven and made egg salad and just plain boiled eggs for breakfast and snacks. Healthy and cheap. I’m also glad that I’m clearing out the fridge before I need to buy some food for company.

– I’m a member of our local buy nothing group and I was given a free printer! I’ll do an individual post on that soon.

You Can Get Free Gift Cards For Shopping, Searching and Discovering What’s Online at Swagbucks.com

– I took advantage of a Swagbucks offer to post an infographic for which I will receive $5 worth of gift cards.

– I bought a few more things to sell on eBay and eBay is now my job for the summer.

– I relisted my eBay listings for free at the end of the month so I have 50 more free listings this month that I fully plan on using.

4-28-16 – A Few Frugal Things

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on May 16, 2016 None comments

– My students brought so much stuff to our end of the semester class parties I have ended up giving some away and bringing some of it home so it wouldn’t get thrown away. What is in the picture above is only a small portion of the leftovers I ended up with (and that’s after asking my students to take everything they wanted!). Unfortunately, almost none of it is healthy but I will try to distribute it so it doesn’t go to waste.

– I made it to a community garage sale and found some great summer clothes and a few pairs of jeans to sell on eBay

– We are making meals mostly out of food we already have in the house

– I returned 10 items to Dollar Tree that didn’t work or we weren’t using. They do exchanges so that saved me $10 off of the items I was buying for my end of the semester class parties with my students.

– I brought my own water and coffee with me to work, I love the free water fountain refill stations at some of the colleges I work at

– Instead of making an additional trip to put gas in my car I made the time during my trip today

– Our cat has fleas! This is not frugal, it’s expensive! We don’t normally flea treat our cat because she has never had them before and I don’t use chemicals unless I have to. This means that we have had to wash/put away all of the rugs and blankets in the house. Instead of washing and rewashing all of them and we are saving time, energy and money by living without rugs for a couple weeks.

– I just requested a new PayPal Debit card to use for my eBay business. Once you have used up our PayPal balance the money comes directly from your checking account and you get 1% cash back! I’m wondering if this could be a good alternative cash back debit card. My only concern is how long it will take the money to come out of my checking account.

– I found 2 quarters on the ground

– I got a free coffee from racetrack with a coupon we received in the mail

– I have run out of time to buy candy prizes from Dollar Tree for my students review games in my college classes. I still plan on buying candy in the future but I do realize I have saved money not buying it. Now I tell them we are playing for knowledge and we all laugh!

– I took advantage of my remaining free eBay listings on the last day of the month to relist any expired listings

Not so frugal

– Buying lunch on my 10 hour work days because I have been too exhausted to make it; however, if you look at the income vs. time vs. savings ratios then I still am better off buying lunch if I need to.

– Paying for flea treatments for the cat and washing everything!

3-27-16 A Few Frugal Things

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on March 27, 2016 None comments

– We were going to meet my Mother at Cracker Barrel for Easter today but instead Mom decided to make a big Easter dinner. She only spent $33 for a whole ham dinner because of discounts she receives from working at Target. We are bringing dessert. I wanted to make a Peanut Butter Pie but our Dollar Tree was out of all natural peanut butter so I am making a Devil’s Food Cake with chocolate icing for $2 from Dollar Tree. Cheaper and I didn’t have to make another trip to the store. And Mom said she is sending us home with leftovers!

– We have been using paper towels instead of snake bedding and a cardboard box with a door hole for her house for the snake’s tank because we are trying to get rid of mites. This is also significantly cheaper than her regular bedding. (See picture above)

– I continue to give my college students paper that was printed on one side but blank on the other to write their in class essays. This way the paper gets used on both sides and not thrown away. While this doesn’t actually save me money I feel that it is a good life lesson for my students and it does save the colleges a small amount.

– I was completely out of blank paper for copies but several of the schools I work for give us free school supplies. I asked about paper and although they don’t normally provide it they did give me an entire unopened ream of paper because I asked. Another school gave me free expensive pens. I LOVE new office supplies, something about being a teacher maybe! I try not to buy any that are provided for free from my jobs and I actually end up buying very little.

– I have really been enjoying reading a few free Kindle books. Amazon offers so many books for free that I am trying not to buy any. It’s been a long time since I have actually purchased a kindle book.

– We really get a lot of use out of our Netflix and Prime Video streaming services and I just signed up for a free week of Hulu. Even if I keep the HULU subscription it’s still much cheaper than cable and I can cancel at any time.

– I just received another free $5 Amazon.com gift card from Swagbucks and did an activity that will earn another $5.

– I lost my nice stainless steel reusable water bottle so I have been using a disposable Gatorade bottle until I get another.

– I ran out of my chemical free toothpaste so I have been cutting open the ‘empty’ ones and this lasts a lot longer than you think.

– I wore out the wheels on my professor rolling bag, my father has some I can use to replace them, and in the meanwhile I am using my back up rolling bag that was less than $1 at the Goodwill Outlet in Austin

– There are a few things that I would like to buy to add to my teaching wardrobe but I don’t NEED NEED them and I am committed to not buying any NEW clothing for a year. So instead I looked on eBay but didn’t find what I wanted so I added them to my thrift list.

– I have realized that a gray pea coat jacket would make my life a lot easier because it doesn’t have to be lint brushed as much as my black one (I have a white cat and her hair is very, very noticeable on black). The exciting part is that I bought one at the Goodwill Outlet in Austin, TX when I visited my sister. I couldn’t bring it home on my last trip but she saved it for me.

– We bought a few things for the same price or cheaper on Amazon Prime. This saves even more money because then we don’t have to go to a store and possibly buy even more. We also get free shipping materials for our eBay business.