1. I got a free Firehouse sub

Sunday was my fifth day in a row of being at the hospital (one day was just a five hour education day though!), and while I'd managed to avoid buying all of my meals up to that point, I clocked out Sunday night with no dinner plan.

But, I did have points for a free sub at Firehouse, so Zoe and I basically got a buy one, get one free deal.

2. I cut some bread into cubes before work

I had part of a loaf of store-bought French bread on my counter, leftover from when I made French toast for dinner. And one morning before work, I was like, "OH NO! That's probably gonna mold any second."

So, I took a minute to cube it up, and then I threw the cubes into a bag in the freezer. Crisis averted. 😉

I could have just put the whole thing into the freezer, but it's better for me to have it already cubed.

You know how I say that sometimes the freezer is just a pit stop before the trash can? Well, cubing the bread before I freeze it is one way to avoid that; if it's cubed, I'm more likely to actually use it!

3. I'm going to a paid online meeting this morning

We have an online quality council meeting for my unit this morning, and since I happen to be off of regular hospital work today, I'll log on and join.

I have no idea what happens in a quality council meeting, but hey, I will find out, and I will also get paid for a very easy hour of work.

4. I sold a tool of Lisey's

She had a tool from aviation mechanic school that she'd bought and then never ended up needing. So, she left it here when she moved to Hawaii, and I listed it on eBay, mainly to try to get it into the hands of someone who needed it!

(I imagine if you send this kind of thing to the thrift store, it will likely get thrown out. It's too specialized.)

And of course, I sent the money to Lisey, since she's the one who bought the tool in the first place.

I love the way eBay and Buy Nothing groups allow me to be a Stuff Matchmaker of sorts; I get rid of extra things, and I have the joy of knowing they are going to a person who wants those exact things.

5. I...

• sent all my required year end tax payments/paperwork on time (my CPA sent me a page of instructions to follow for my S-corp stuff.)
• packed lots of lunches
• packed the eBay sale in reused packaging
• used up shampoo/lotion samples from my dermatologist
• spent most of the last week working, which left little time for spending!

Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to lately?

The post Five Frugal Things | an airplane tool appeared first on The Frugal Girl.

This one is honestly more resourceful and waste-reducing than frugal, but I'm including it anyway!

I had ordered a set of navy blue Figs scrubs several months ago, and they came in a pretty big shipping bag.

I came across the bag the other day and realized it could serve as a small trash can liner.

Since small plastic shopping bags are no longer a thing in my area, I do my best to conserve the stash I have here!

2. I got a great price on some iron pills

As I've mentioned, my iron levels are improving, but I need to continue with supplements for a bit because my stored iron levels are still too low.

I'd bought the name brand Slow Fe iron before, but this time I opted for CVS's generic version. Each bottle is usually $14.99, but they were buy one, get one free, plus I had several coupons and extra care bucks, so I got two bottles for $6.61!

I was very pleased with myself, and I figured that 120 iron pills should be enough to finish off my iron supplementation journey (unless I donate blood again. Ha. Which we know I will.)

3. I used my Amazon credits (partially)

Somehow, I had managed to accumulate $358 in Amazon credits from one of my credit cards (It is an Amazon-branded card, but you can use it anywhere, and I just have it auto-set to pay some of my bills).

It is one of the few credit cards from my married years that had me listed as the primary cardholder, so I have hung onto it due to the very long associated credit history.

Anyway! I obviously haven't checked my credit balance in a while, but once I discovered I had so much credit to use, I ordered a few personal care items for $0 out of pocket (some lotion, some shampoo, and the spray I use for my dry eyes.)

4. I touched up my Christmas tree stand

This one is from 1997 (!!), and a few years ago, I sanded it down, removed the rust, and repainted it.

The rehab job is holding up pretty well, but after I took my tree down this week, I saw some tiny spots of bare metal peeking through.

So, I gave it a few quick coats of spray paint (which was free from my Buy Nothing group). And now we should be good to go for next Christmas.

I love how heavy-duty this stand is; I see so many current models that are made of thin, flimsy metal. Sooo, I'd like to keep this one going as long as possible.

(Spray paint does have temperature range specifications; if you're gonna do this in the winter, be careful, because freezing temps + spray paint don't mix well. I was lucky enough to have a warmish afternoon!)

5. I booked a 50% off haircut

I had been thinking I needed a trim (which I usually get twice a year), but hadn't gotten around to making an appointment. But then I got a "We haven't seen you in a while!" text message from Hair Cuttery, offering me 50% off.

Soo, I'm going in at 10 this morning.

And don't worry: I will tip on the full price. 🙂

Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to lately?

The post Five Frugal Things appeared first on The Frugal Girl.

1. I put my ripe avocados in the fridge

You know how avocados are perfectly ripe for about 33 minutes before they go bad?

Well, I had a bunch from my Hungry Harvest box, and I managed to notice that mine were all at the perfect ripeness stage simultaneously.

So, I stashed them in the fridge, which means I can eat one a day, and the rest can just sit there and wait for me.

Obviously, the fridge doesn't hold them forever (they will rot eventually!) but the chill buys me enough days to get through a reasonable stash.

2. I paid my Honda loan off right away

I financed the minimum amount required to get the finance bonus, and as soon as I got the email to set up my account, I logged in and paid that sucker off.

I know it can build credit to make monthly payments on a loan like this, but my credit score is already excellent (perks of being a frugal girl), so it was more beneficial for me to just pay it off.

3. I finished applying for a scholarship at work

I thought the BSN help through my hospital would be just straight tuition reimbursement. While it is partly like that, you also have to apply for some scholarships and grants.

I already finished the one grant application that was due in December, and this week I finished the scholarship one that's due January 9th.

It was a looooooong application with two essays required, plus you have to get signed papers from three people at work and also from anyone who can verify your volunteering hours outside of work.

I really wanted to quit halfway through the process!

But then I reminded myself that probably everyone else wants to quit at that point too. So if I hang in there, I will be part of a smaller crowd that actually ends up in the scholarship pool.

Honestly, sometimes I am astounded at the amount of paperwork I have done in the last few years; scholarships, grants, nursing school application stuff, health status forms, clinical forms, NCLEX forms, to name just a few.

4. I submitted my year-end tax info to my CPA

If I am not timely with getting these numbers to the CPA office, my tax return doesn't get done in time, and then I have to file an extension, and the whole process gets more expensive.

Sooo, I got it submitted in a very prompt manner, which means I should be good to go without any extension being necessary.

Also: I am going to swallow my pride and admit that I did use my new Excel skills to tidy up the income/expense spreadsheet I was using (a big accomplishment for someone with a severe allergy to spreadsheets).

So, I may not use the skills from The Worst BSN Class Ever in my work at the hospital, but I did at least use them a little in my personal life.

5. I froze bread cubes

You've seen this before because it's a mainstay! I had about four neglected slices of whole wheat sandwich bread that had gotten rather dry.

So, I sliced 'em up into cubes and added them to my bread cube bag in the freezer.

When it's full enough, I'll make an overnight French toast casserole. That recipe is very forgiving and still works if you use random combos of bread; my batches often have cubes from whole wheat sandwich bread and various buns or even bagels all mixed together, and it's always fine.

(As long as you don't use garlic bread or everything bagels, all is well. Ha.)

Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to lately?

The post Five Frugal Things | avocado life appeared first on The Frugal Girl.