I buy Dr Bronner’s all the time. Have for years. Good products and they treat their employees/overseas suppliers well. Elsewhere I hang out online someone was saying you need to pay to get good products from companies that treat employees well. Next post, they were bellyaching about paying $12 for a bottle of Dr Bronner’s and wanted a cheaper alternative. Didn’t want to pay for a “name.” Sheesh. Make up your mind ..read more

A top item on my wish list was a long-sleeved gray t-shirt. LL Bean is my go-to for t-shirts, but for some reason, they don't make women's in gray. Saturday, sister and I went to a really nice thrift store in a nearby town that was new to us. On the clearance rack, I found a children's GAP, XL, gray, long-sleeved t-shirt for $1.00. I bought it, and it fits perfectly. This is the only time in my life I've ever fit into something categorized as XL, but apparently I'm the size of an XL child! I got some other good items there for very small money, but the t-shirt was my best score ..read more

DH had a brake light out on his vehicle. We checked Youtube, and it looked pretty easy, so he got the bulb from AutoZone and replaced it for a cost of less than $10. I know this was a pretty simple repair, but it's something we usually would have had our mechanic do, so it was noteworthy for us. I suspect it saved us about $100. DH was also able to cook a meal in our kitchen for the first time since 2/4, so we should be spending a lot less on meals going forward. Groceries may be expensive, but take-out and dining out are a lot more expensive ..read more

I've been reading about how great they are compared to standard electric stoves. Borrowed a standalone one burner induction hotplate from a friend to see if it would be faster for making coffee in the morning. (I have a standard French press and every morning I boil water while grinding the beans in a hand crank grinder.) The stove takes ten minutes to boil enough water for my coffee. Just tested out the induction burner (had to buy a kettle that works with induction since the only pan we own that works with induction is a cast iron frying pan, and the kettle arrived this afternoon) and it lit ..read more

I was chatting with a friend over the weekend. She told me she’s worried about finances as her company is threatening layoffs. I asked her if she had thought about what to cut from her budget. She was surprised at the question and I had to give her ideas such as streaming services, eating out, other subscriptions, etc. I put this question to the FB Tightwad Gazette group I’m part of. Some people had no clue. A lot of people did know what they would cut. My budget is pretty streamlined, but more careful grocery shopping would definitely be one thing. My only streaming service is $5/month for P ..read more

My Prime membership expires at the end of the month, but I’m not renewing. Danged convenient, but dealing with all the boxes is a pain. I had a ton from when I was laid up with Covid and otherwise sick in January. Walmart is too huge for my bad knees, but I have a nice Target nearby and I’ll go back to shopping there. A lot of the prices are close to Amazon, when I checked on Target’s app. I took lunch to work all this week ..read more

Yes, the chick that is always hot is now raving about fleece lined leggings. While I like cold, and keep home heat set at 60, the fact is that my legs are often quite cold to the touch. My regular leggings are quite thin. The hot flashes are on my torso anyway. So I shelled out $38 for a pair on Amazon. They’re meant for cold weather outside workouts. High waist is nice. I was sort of between sizes and sized up. They’re a bit big, but that’s OK, too long but I’m short. I can deal with that. The fleece lining is thin and not bulky. So wire them today at work and not hot at all. Legs were notic ..read more

Want to start the new year with a good mindset of saving and using what I have. Starting off by actually using ALL my clothing allowance from work. Will be submitting the paperwork this week. So, pretty much my first new year frugal is free clothing! Happy New Year, everyone ..read more

I have two small items from this past week: The prior week we bought a couple of pre-cooked lobsters at Market Basket for lobster rolls. One of them wasn't good; we think it might have been dead when they cooked it. It was $8.90, so I went to the service desk this week and got a refund. I bought a set of "wooden sculpting tools for pottery" on eBay, and they were made entirely of plastic. The buyer gave me the runaround, but I got eBay customer service involved, and I got my $8.50 refunded. Both of these transactions were small potatoes, but if I pay for potatoes, then I want my damn potatoes ..read more

I am thinking about replacing our 20+ years old loveseat that we have in our very small "TV room" down in our walk out basement. It is very worn and offers little support anymore. The thought of two side by side recliners appeals to me since they are comfy and can be used for napping and reading and are easier to move. Or I can just get another loveseat. Which would you prefer for a small space ..read more