The Frugal Girl

MARCH 5, 2024

1. I got a $77 ticket for $10 I learned that the symphony here offers student tickets for $10, which is a crazy good deal. Last Friday, Zoe was working and I had no plans, so I called the office and asked if they had some seats for that night’s concert. They did! I just had to email over a picture of my student ID and poof! My $77 ticket immediately became $10.

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Frugal Sewing Tickets Student 216

The Frugal Girl

MARCH 4, 2024

Today’s submission comes from Mary, who usually signs her comments as “Mary – Reflections Around the Campfire”…so that’s what I titled the post! 1. Tell us a little about yourself Hello, everyone! I’m Mary, and it’s a pleasure to participate in Kristen’s Meet a Reader series. I’m in my 60’s, I’ve been married to the love of my life for 44 years and we have two adult “kids.

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Green And Frugal Kids and Family Hotel Frugal 178

The Frugal Girl

MARCH 1, 2024

What I Spent I went into this week with absolutely no menu plan…I was just winging it all week long and still, we didn’t eat out at all. I don’t know if this is a change in me, or if it’s just a function of it being easier to wing it with two people, but I will say: my self from 10 years ago would be shocked at my behavior. Ha.

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Menu Planning Menu Plans Green And Frugal Freezers 192

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

This will be a bit short because I need to leave for an exam. I wanted to get this up so you guys could participate, though! This week, I am thankful: for little green leaves I’m starting to see them when I go for my walks! Yay!! that daylight saving time is coming up It’s only a week from Sunday! Sweet. That will temporarily make early morning walks a challenge, but the days will get longer pretty quickly, and it’ll be light out at a decent hour again soon.

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Thankful Chiquita Green And Frugal Instruments 130

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Today we have three mostly random questions. Let’s go! How do you stay focused when your life feels overwhelmed with financial and parenting issues? Everything I do seems to make matters worse. I feel I will never get rid of my credit card debt and I am so disappointed in myself that I let the balances get so high. I would like to retire in 6 years but that does not seem possible.

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Money Debt Credit Cards Goals 201

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

1. I made pudding with slightly sour milk Milk is a challenge for the two of us! It seems like we are always either running out too soon, or we have too much to use in time. I will figure this out eventually. But since I haven’t figured this out yet…I used some slightly sour milk to make this chocolate pudding. And the rest was just enough to make some cinnamon bread , so I froze that, labeled appropriately, so that I remember what it’s for!

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Frugal Chiquita Sewing Gift Cards 130

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Hello! Today we’re meeting a reader who’s been here since 2009 (!!) and she’s had a bunch of interesting jobs, including being a private investigator on the side. So cool! Here’s Beth: 1. Tell us a little about yourself. I live just outside of Richmond, VA with my husband, 18-year-old twin daughters, and our two dogs. I’m 52.

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Daughter Green And Frugal Money Grandmother 130

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

What I Spent Part of this week was spent being under the weather, so this is not gonna be The Most Exciting Week of Eats. ? I spent: $36 at a ramen place $41 at Sam’s Club And that makes $77. What We Ate Saturday I remember that Zoe was at work, but I cannot for the life of me remember what I made for myself. Something very basic, or I’d have remembered it.

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Credit Card Rewards Leftovers Burritos Dinner 203

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

This week I am thankful: that I have “kept us here with words” In Maggie Smith’s book, “You Could Make This Place Beautiful”, there’s a short essay called Full Disclosure. I’ll just put a photo of it here for you, and for context, I’ll tell you that in other parts of the book, she shared that her husband was quietly resentful of her writing work and also resentful of the fame that happened when one of her poems went viral.

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Thankful Re-use Girls Sunshine 223

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

It’s a Wednesday morning, and I don’t have any posts ready to go. And you know that that means: STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS TIME. ? __ I am trying to decide if I want to hire someone to do some yard clean-up for me or not. I think it would probably cost around $300. Another option is to borrow my neighbor’s lawn tractor/leaf collector and do the work myself.

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Niece Re-use At&T Chiquita 196

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

1. I got 50% off a breakfast sandwich I met a friend at Panera for breakfast, and my app blessed me with a 50% off discount on a breakfast sandwich. Sweet! I drank a cup of tea there too, which was $0 because of my Unlimited Sip Club membership. 2. I inadvertently got a great deal on a skirt for Zoe I had stopped in at Hot Topic to buy her a birthday gift, and I happened to notice a little Godet-style black skirt that I thought she would love.

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DIY Frugal Zappos Chiquita 130

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 18, 2024

1. Tell us a little about yourself My current lifestyle would probably qualify as frugal-lite compared to many others. I was a bit intimidated by this, but then I figured I probably wasn’t the only person out there who isn’t ultra-frugal at the moment. I have had times when it was necessary to stretch every cent, but thankfully we have more wiggle room these days.

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Kids and Family Home and Garden Money Frugal 184

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

What I Spent It’s the end of week four in second semester, and so far we’ve had four exams, plus the competency testing. Nursing school is a little crazy. But ya know what? We’re 25% of the way through this 16-week semester already! I spent: $15 at Target (for two bags of Starbucks coffee) $30 on a Hungry Harvest box $51 at Sam’s Club $17 at Safeway So, $113.

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Leftovers Safeway Club Dinner 130

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

This week, I am thankful: that my internet is all fixed, for free I’d been having issues with it, and I thought I’d gotten it back up and running, but then it went down again. A call to Verizon showed that my equipment was not even showing up virtually on their end, so they sent a tech out to look at it. Apparently, my outside box was on the fritz, so he replaced the entire thing and now I am good to go!

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Repairs Thankful Green And Frugal Health 220

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

Hey everyone! Today we’re meeting a reader who only found my blog a few months ago; I love that she already volunteered to do a Meet a Reader post. Here’s Andrea: 1. Tell us a little about yourself I’m Andrea, I’m in my 20s. I live in the Midwest with my fiancé (soon to be husband in March!), two cats that look identical but are not biological siblings, and one unruly golden retriever.

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Friends And Family Sale Library College Cars 190

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

When I posted my last painting project : …some of you had questions/comments that I wanted to answer in a post so that all of you could see the answers. So, here you go. I wish I was nearby & could be your apprentice for a few projects, and then learn to do them myself. I’m always inspired by your work! It would be so much fun to have a furniture rehab class with all of you.

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Painting Freecycle Furniture 2005 176

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

I know, we always do Five Frugal Things on Tuesdays. But last week I did one on Wednesday and now I’m doing on on Monday. That’s because it’s Sunday night as I’m writing this, I don’t have any Meet a Reader submissions in the queue, and I needed a somewhat quick post to write because I’ve spent allll day studying for my Monday exam. this is a brain crammed with knowledge about diabetes and respiratory disorders 1.

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Frugal Sewing College Tuition Thrifting 201

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

What I Spent I cut open an avocado earlier in the week, and it was just perfect. But the next one I cut open? SO disappointing. So much pit. But hey, at least the edible part was still perfectly ripe. I spent: $48 at Aldi $17 at the Hispanic grocery store $26 at Noodles and Co. So, $91. What We Ate Saturday My friend Mia and I cooked together; she made some fried plantains, and I made chorizo and potato tostadas, topped with cilantro, queso fresco, and Mexican crema.

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Leftovers Flights Dinner Dominos 177

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

This week, I am thankful: that my exam grade was not as bad as I anticipated I got 20/25, which is 80%. That’s my lowest exam grade ever, but it’s not exactly a tragedy. I can definitely pop back from that. This first exam basically got split in half this semester; we got one-half of the material this week, and we’ll have the other half of this module’s material on next week’s exam.

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Thankful Cat Ohio Student 210

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

I know…I’m a day late with the Five Frugal Things this week. My friend left on Monday night, and then on Tuesday morning, I had an exam bright and early. Not gonna lie, I felt pretty bad when I left that exam room. It was the first exam of my school career where I felt a little blindsided. I don’t think I failed, but I do think that I’m gonna have to study even harder for this Med-Surg class.

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Frugal Food and Drink Re-use Drinks 194

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 5, 2024

Hey there! Today we are meeting a reader from my neck of the woods over here in the Mid-Atlantic. ? Readers get multiple questions to choose from, and AF chose to answer the “What’s a funny frugal story?” question. I love it when participants do that! Here she is: 1. Tell us a little about yourself I am in my late 30s, I am a lawyer for a local government, and live outside DC with my husband and four-year-old.

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Virginia Kids and Family Library Frugal 183

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

What I Spent I know it’s not relevant to today’s post, but…I passed all of my competencies yesterday! WHEW. I am so happy and relieved. And now it’s time to study for the exam next Tuesday. Ha. I spent: $61 at Lidl $30 on a Hungry Harvest box $50 on a dinner out with Zoe So, $141 this week. What We Ate Saturday I went to visit a friend who has a broken foot, and we ate sandwiches up at her place (Because of course.

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Leftovers Burritos Homemade Freezers 130

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

This week, I am thankful: that there’s lots of sun in the forecast coming up It was so gloomy out all day yesterday, I was feeling a little bit blue. This is just a lot of nope for me. But I looked ahead in the forecast and there are LOTS of sunny days coming up. Woohoo!! That will be good for my mental state. ? And knowing that there’s sun ahead helps me get through the cloudy days. that my office has a window When I moved in here, I purposely put my desk right by the window.

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Thankful Car Seats Health and Beauty 2018 201

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 31, 2024

Zoe loves to build Lego kits, and she didn’t have much of a place to store some of her bigger pieces. So, I told her I’d poke around on Facebook Marketplace to see what I could come up with. Eventually, I came across a teal solid wood bookshelf for $25, so I went to pick it up. However, when I got home I was like CRAP! I didn’t take into consideration that the shelves were pretty close together, which did not leave enough room for Zoe’s taller buildings.

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Lego Painting Re-use Furniture 198

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 30, 2024

I did not plan this to be themed, but today’s Five Frugal Things is gonna be all food-related! It’s basically a tour through my adventures in trying to avoid food waste. 1. I baked all my sweet potatoes When I got back from Hawaii, my Hungry Harvest box included a bunch of sweet potatoes. Zoe’s not a fan, so it’s up to me to eat these.

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Food Waste Frugal Food Freezers 195

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 29, 2024

Hello! We’re meeting an Arkansas reader today and initially, I thought she was the first one! But then I realized that we’d met Jane before, and she hails from the Hot Springs area of Arkansas. Anyway! Here’s Jennifer. ? 1. Tell us a little about yourself Greetings from the NW corner of Arkansas, where I was born (around 40+ years ago) and raised.

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Arkansas Frugal Kids and Family College 180

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 26, 2024

What I Spent I did get a Hungry Harvest box and I made a small trip to Aldi, but I haven’t done an honest-to-goodness grocery shopping trip since we got back from Hawaii! I’ve done some freezer scrounging to come up with things to eat, so…yay for using up what’s on hand. squirrel-watching I spent: $ 6.99 on Domino’s pizza $30 on a Hungry Harvest box $39 at Aldi What We Ate What happens if I leave my cabinet doors open for a sec Saturday I made bacon and cheese quesa

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Freezers Dominos Hawaii Chiquita 191

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 24, 2024

You know how yesterday I was talking about the Guardian article on the topic of joy? And how one of the challenges was to take a tough circumstance and find the good in it? Well, my oil-fueled boiler that heats my house has been out of commission this week (a week that has delivered some of the coldest weather we’ve had in a long time!) It’s a long story that is not quite over (and it includes the fire department being called because of a semi-explosion in the boiler!

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Thankful Heaters Landlord Hawaii 189

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 24, 2024

I’ve got a couple of relevant articles to share with you guys today…and I’m throwing in a reader question too. Should you wash your clothes inside out? We frugal people are very interested in making our clothes last as long as possible, so I thought you’d like this Lifehacker article about the pros and cons of washing your clothing inside out.

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Clothes Clothing Toaster Ovens Work 190

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 23, 2024

1. I got 50% off a Starbucks coffee When I landed in a cold Chicago airport after a night of zero sleep, I thought a hot coffee was in order. Sooo, I walked to the nearest one in the airport, opened my app, and oooh, there was a coupon for 50% off a coffee. Woohoo! And of course, I used a gift card from my Erie YourTurn rewards to pay for the remaining 50%, so this was $0 out of pocket.

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Frugal Starbucks Hawaii Gift Cards 180

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 22, 2024

Hello, everyone! Today we’re meeting a reader who is an artist, a homeschooler, a boy-mom, and a renter by choice. Here’s Karen: 1. Tell us a little about yourself I’m Karen A. I’m fifty years old, married almost 25 years, with four sons of various ages ranging from all grown up to still-working-on-it. ? Clark, our cat, the day after we brought him home from the shelter.

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Rent Son Frugal Home and Garden 180

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 19, 2024

What I Spent I’m mainly skipping this part again. ? I did make a small trip to Aldi when we got home ($39) and I got a Hungry Harvest box ($30). What We Ate Saturday We walked around Waikiki and saw the sunset there. For dinner, we visited a food court, where Zoe got Raising Cane’s, and I got a BBQ chicken meal from a local Hawaiian grill spot.

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Hawaii Flights Chicago Green And Frugal 180

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 18, 2024

If you follow me on Instagram, then you already knew that! Sorry I didn’t update you all yesterday. This week, I am thankful: that we got to see Lisey Of course, this has to be number one. ? It made our hearts happy to be with her; she is just so much fun! Also, I was so glad to be able to see where she works and where she lives. Now when she calls me, I can picture where she’s at. for beautiful hikes I did several hikes during my time in Hawaii and wow, the scenery is definitely an

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Thankful Home Chicago Flights 198

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 16, 2024

I’m typing this from a freezing cold Chicago airport. I don’t know what temperature it is in here, but I do know I’m not quite dressed for it. Zoe and I were both supposed to fly home Sunday night and get home Monday afternoon. But I did not make the standby list, so Zoe got on the plane without me. I tried several other flights for standby, but no luck.

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Flights Chicago Hawaii Tickets 217

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 12, 2024

What I Spent I’m just skipping this section because I have spent way more on food than normal this week! Heh. I will be frugal on food when we get home, but notttttt this week. ? What We Ate Saturday After leaving the beach, we went to a place called Stix Asian, which is sorta like a food court made up entirely of various Asian restaurants. I got loco moco, and this version was chunks of meat in teriyaki sauce on top of rice, with an egg.

Hawaii 195

Hawaii Green And Frugal Tacos Pancakes 195

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 11, 2024

I’m typing this from the middle of the ocean; Hawaii specifically! Zoe and I hopped on a plane to sneak in a visit to Lisey before our semester starts, and we are so happy to see her. Obviously, Hawaii is nice too, but the main draw is seeing Lisey. ? So, here’s some Hawaii-themed thankfulness. This week, I am thankful: that I was able to get on the flights Zoe isn’t 18 yet, so she can’t use Lisey’s flight benefits.

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Thankful Hawaii Chiquita Flights 237

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 10, 2024

Quick question: How do you manage to keep such a positive outlook during challenging times? -Jennifer Hmmm. I’ve probably answered something similar to this before, but three things briefly: 1. I roll with the sadness/grief/anger when I feel it I do better if I don’t fight the feelings that we label as negative; they move through faster if I just sit with them instead of fighting them.

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Buy Buying Luggage Work 187