A Practical Walk

Since I shared that I’m viewing my job right now as making our dollars stretch, I thought it’d be fun to share some of the ways I’m doing that on a weekly basis. Personally I’ve really enjoyed reading this type of post at The Frugal Girl, The Prudent Homemaker and The Non-Consumer Advocate, so why not do it here on my own blog?

Got another raised bed ready. Remember that bathtub my husband removed last week? Well, we got it cut, filled and ready to be used as a raised bed! Both our raised beds are made from scrap materials, the other one is made from old wooden house siding.

We live in a desert, so we’re trying the method where you bury jugs in the dirt. We put holes in them first, and made sure the top of the jug is poking out. That way we can fill the jugs with water and they’ll slowly water the plants.

I’m continuing to list items on ebay. Nothing has sold yet (although I’m told that’s not uncommon for items to sit on ebay a while). Before listing an item I get it packaged up. I’m saving boxes, bubble wrap and all kinds of packaging that we get to pack these items up in.

Went to Goodwill. Dropped off a bag of a few things and got my 20% off one item coupon. My son got some t-shirts, my daughter bought a pair of shorts and a Coach purse (only $6, and apparently Coach is an expensive brand). I got 10 hangars for 59 cents, that’s about 6 cents a hangar, can’t beat that.

I also got a special treasure! An Emilio Pucci scarf! Until a couple weeks ago I’d never heard of him, but apparently Emilio Pucci stuff is super expensivo! I got it for $1.99, and a lot of his scarfs sell for over $100 on ebay! Hopefully this week I’ll get it posted to sell. Let the Pucci scarf and Coach purse be a reminder that you can get high-end brands dirt cheap at thrift stores!

Ate some vegetarian meals. This really can save money as meat is usually the most expensive part of a meal. We had bean bowls with pinto beans and rice as one of our main meals. We eat beans and rice almost every week because:

• We all love it.
• I can vary it with all kinds of toppings (cabbage, cheese, radishes, cilantro, salsa, corn, etc…). And I can change up the type of beans or the seasonings.
• It’s one of the cheapest meals we eat.
• It’s super healthy!

Stitched up a dress. I was given this green dress at Christmas and thought it’d be a good one to wear on Easter. Unfortunately it didn’t fit quite right on the top, so I tried stitching the sleeves which made it fit me much better. While my sewing skills are very minimal, just knowing a tiny bit can go a long ways.

What things did you do this week that saved you some money?