What frugal thing did you do today?

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by mkc »

LadyGeek wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2025 1:45 pm
Jazztonight wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2025 11:07 am Not only friends by my DW loves it, and if you want the recipe please PM me. I'm happy to share.
Consider posting your suggestion in What have you baked recently?.
As a long-time rye bread fan (I'd rather have a slice with butter than pretty much any dessert), I strongly support this suggestion. I grew up on the stuff and miss the real thing.
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Beensabu
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Beensabu »

I planted two cherry trees.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Swampy »

After hurricane season last year, I bought a Ferrex pole saw from Aldi for $50, half the price of the least expensive pole saw anywhere else. It's also lighter and less cumbersome. With a little sweat equity, I was able to save hundreds of dollars as opposed to hiring arborists to do the jobs. When it died, they sent me a new one under warranty.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by GeMoney »

I patched a cracking plastic chairmat with a 2 pack of plastic chopping mats that I purchased at the dollar store and some clear Gorilla tape and it is working very well and doesn't look bad at all. If I ever buy a new chairmat, I may do this proactively before it starts cracking.
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Beensabu
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Beensabu »

I planted a pear tree.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by MN-Investor »

I'm going to have surgery this week and the medical documents I was given said that constipation could be an issue after the surgery, and that I should buy Colace for that possibility. Dutifully, I went up to Target this morning and looked for Colace - $9.99 for 30 capsules. 100mg of Docusate Sodium. Right next to the Colace is Target's generic version of Colace - $5.29 for 160 softgels. So... 33¢/pill or 3.3¢/pill. I have no idea how many pills I might end up needing, but this was a no-brainer.
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yankees60
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by yankees60 »

Beensabu wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2025 7:42 pm I planted two cherry trees.
Where do you live to do that??!! When will you first get cherries? How much did each tree cost?
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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yankees60
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by yankees60 »

Beensabu wrote: Sun Jan 19, 2025 6:36 pm I planted a pear tree.
I applaud you doing both that and the two cherry trees.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Beensabu
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Beensabu »

yankees60 wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2025 2:28 pm
Beensabu wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2025 7:42 pm I planted two cherry trees.
Where do you live to do that??!! When will you first get cherries? How much did each tree cost?
Southern California, in a valley where it gets cold during the winter, especially at night. They're cross-pollinating varieties that have low chill hour requirements (vs most cherry trees). 3-4 years. $40 each, bare root.
"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next." ~Ursula LeGuin
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yankees60
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by yankees60 »

Beensabu wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2025 4:58 pm
yankees60 wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2025 2:28 pm

Where do you live to do that??!! When will you first get cherries? How much did each tree cost?
Southern California, in a valley where it gets cold during the winter, especially at night. They're cross-pollinating varieties that have low chill hour requirements (vs most cherry trees). 3-4 years. $40 each, bare root.
Outstanding value!
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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tooluser
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by tooluser »

MN-Investor wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2025 12:00 pm I'm going to have surgery this week and the medical documents I was given said that constipation could be an issue after the surgery, and that I should buy Colace for that possibility. Dutifully, I went up to Target this morning and looked for Colace - $9.99 for 30 capsules. 100mg of Docusate Sodium. Right next to the Colace is Target's generic version of Colace - $5.29 for 160 softgels. So... 33¢/pill or 3.3¢/pill. I have no idea how many pills I might end up needing, but this was a no-brainer.
I found this sort of thing at Target for contact lens eye drops as well. The name brands are ~$13 per ounce, while the Target brand is ~$2. Crazy good!
Like good comrades to the utmost of their strength, we shall go on to the end. -- Winston Churchill
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yankees60
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by yankees60 »

tooluser wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2025 5:06 pm
MN-Investor wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2025 12:00 pm I'm going to have surgery this week and the medical documents I was given said that constipation could be an issue after the surgery, and that I should buy Colace for that possibility. Dutifully, I went up to Target this morning and looked for Colace - $9.99 for 30 capsules. 100mg of Docusate Sodium. Right next to the Colace is Target's generic version of Colace - $5.29 for 160 softgels. So... 33¢/pill or 3.3¢/pill. I have no idea how many pills I might end up needing, but this was a no-brainer.
I found this sort of thing at Target for contact lens eye drops as well. The name brands are ~$13 per ounce, while the Target brand is ~$2. Crazy good!
Buying my Boston contact lens solution at Amazon was half the price of what I paid for the same thing at CVS.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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LordMaxwell
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by LordMaxwell »

Slow-cooking the second half of a pork butt roast we purchased from Costco around 6 weeks ago when they were on sale--pulled pork for the next few days is going to be great.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by oldlongbeard »

Shovel my drive and deck. Again.
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yankees60
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by yankees60 »

oldlongbeard wrote: Wed Jan 22, 2025 4:55 pm Shovel my drive and deck. Again.
About the only non-frugal thing I do is pay for my driveway to be snow plowed. Decided that after the 1st time shoveling my 100 foot driveway 43 years ago. Money well spent. It's so well plowed that I usually don't have to touch a shovel.

When I was away from home for 11, 12 hours on a work day .. the last thing I wanted to do was deal with snow. Plus, I cannot get from the street through my driveway to the garage if my driveway has not been snow plowed. Finally, there's no place to put my car on my 40 mph 2 lane main road that I live on.

Otherwise, a 100% frugal!
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
CKMAN
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by CKMAN »

We went to see my son perform music and ordered some drinks and food for myself and my wife ($20 per drink ☹) at a fancy restaurant/bar. I mentioned to the bartender that we were proud parents of the musician. When I asked for the check, he replied the food and drinks were on them. The total would have been $90. I left a $20 tip and walked away.

I will go back there again 8-)
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by WoostaGal »

CKMAN wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2025 1:58 pm We went to see my son perform music and ordered some drinks and food for myself and my wife ($20 per drink ☹) at a fancy restaurant/bar. I mentioned to the bartender that we were proud parents of the musician. When I asked for the check, he replied the food and drinks were on them. The total would have been $90. I left a $20 tip and walked away.

I will go back there again 8-)
Great story! :D
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bikefish
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by bikefish »

WoostaGal wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2025 3:26 pm
CKMAN wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2025 1:58 pm We went to see my son perform music and ordered some drinks and food for myself and my wife ($20 per drink ☹) at a fancy restaurant/bar. I mentioned to the bartender that we were proud parents of the musician. When I asked for the check, he replied the food and drinks were on them. The total would have been $90. I left a $20 tip and walked away.

I will go back there again 8-)
Great story! :D
Agreed. Great story. Love hearing stuff like that.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by KneePartsPro »

Gave some of my free time to a local community organization.
Ask me anything about the artificial knees used in knee replacement. Tell me everything about investing.
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turtlebug
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by turtlebug »

Just switched from tissues to handkerchiefs.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by growfolio »

A week or so ago I bought a Swiffer PowerMop from Amazon. I had not had a chance to open it yet. A couple of days ago I saw a $10 off coupon in a mail flyer, so I checked Target where I had a $10 gift card from a recent promo. I added it to my shopping cart and noticed that Target already showed the manufacturer's coupon. Long story short, I returned the Amazon order (on my errand route) and picked up the same mop from Target (also on the route)...for a $20 savings.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by hmw »

I used the Pirateship to buy a USPS priority mailing label. Saved me $1.40.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by brandy »

turtlebug wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2025 3:52 pm Just switched from tissues to handkerchiefs.
Me, too. For WAY too long, I've been going through tissues like they were going out of style. A few months ago I bought a pack of 6 from Amazon and have been using them almost exclusively since. NOW I wonder if I wasn't allergic to whatever chemicals are in the paper tissues. I still have times of needing the hanky frequently/repeatedly, but it seems not nearly as often.
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Nicolas
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Nicolas »

Didn’t snow-blow my driveway three weeks ago as it was only two inches deep and our vehicles are snow-tire equipped, so no need. Wife complained as “it looks bad”. No snow since then and now it’s almost melted. And I’ve only snow-blowed once this winter so far and I’m in the upper Midwest. Same as last year.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by CoAndy »

Nicolas wrote: Wed Jan 29, 2025 11:07 am Didn’t snow-blow my driveway three weeks ago as it was only two inches deep and our vehicles are snow-tire equipped, so no need. Wife complained as “it looks bad”. No snow since then and now it’s almost melted. And I’ve only snow-blowed once this winter so far and I’m in the upper Midwest. Same as last year.
I used the broom on the driveway during the last snow we had. Worked great. Though a snowstorm we had a few weeks ago was too heavy and I needed to break out the shovel.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by dratkinson »

CoAndy wrote: Wed Jan 29, 2025 11:30 am
Nicolas wrote: Wed Jan 29, 2025 11:07 am Didn’t snow-blow my driveway three weeks ago as it was only two inches deep and our vehicles are snow-tire equipped, so no need. Wife complained as “it looks bad”. No snow since then and now it’s almost melted. And I’ve only snow-blowed once this winter so far and I’m in the upper Midwest. Same as last year.
I used the broom on the driveway during the last snow we had. Worked great. Though a snowstorm we had a few weeks ago was too heavy and I needed to break out the shovel.
Ditto. For light snows (<2"), I push a few separated snow-shovel-wide paths from garage to street/sidewalk to allow sun to more easily heat driveway/melt snow faster.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by blortchplop »

Repaired two quarter zip fleeces.

The first one I got from goodwill while in grad school over a decade ago. The zipper failed 1.5cm from the bottom of its travel, so I carefully aligned the teeth and got the slider back on track, then sewed across the zipper above the broken part so it can't come undone again. Still has plenty of travel in it.

The second one is new from my Mom as a Christmas gift. There's some elastic edging around the bottom, half of which came unsewn in the wash. Simple repair with hand sewing.

It's more about not wanting to throw out otherwise good fleeces that I like and less about the money, but it's still frugal I think.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by RacquetSports »

For lunch I ate the free snacks I got at a tennis tournament I played in over the weekend and then went to the free movie at a local senior community. 🍿
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by iamlucky13 »

Repaired a damaged microwave door latch...more complicated than it needed to be.

I tried to be only semi-frugal. After opening up the microwave and identifying a broken piece of plastic on the latch release button, I went to Panasonic's website to look up a replacement part.

Unfortunately, Panasonic didn't bother to include a parts diagram in their manual like normal appliance manufacturers do (or at least used to do), and their website led through an obnoxious number of clicks before redirecting to 3rd party site for buying parts...and that website was absurdly slow and returning database errors when I tried to navigate or search.

The broken plastic catch on the latch wasn't something that was likely going to glue back together successfully, due to its very small surface area, so instead I ended up sorting through a box of odd bits of scrap metal I keep in my garage for projects. An old kitchen drawer slide sacrificed a piece for its 2nd time (having also proven useful a couple months ago to make a replacement headlight retainer clip for my father-in-law's pickup). An hour or two of fiddling with a hack saw, files, torch, and solder yielded a clip that roughly mimicked the one broken off of the door latch. I super-glued that to the remaining stub on the latch, and it snapped into place as intended.

This was way more time than I planned to spend on this, but it looks like less time than it would have taken to continue trying to buy the part, and definitely preferable to buying a new microwave when this one is less than 4 years old.
KneePartsPro wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2025 3:44 pm Gave some of my free time to a local community organization.
Excellent! :beer
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yankees60
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by yankees60 »

Nicolas wrote: Wed Jan 29, 2025 11:07 am Didn’t snow-blow my driveway three weeks ago as it was only two inches deep and our vehicles are snow-tire equipped, so no need. Wife complained as “it looks bad”. No snow since then and now it’s almost melted. And I’ve only snow-blowed once this winter so far and I’m in the upper Midwest. Same as last year.
One of the few non-frugal things I do. Having my 100-foot driveway plowed. Have had several in the last few weeks of not a lot of accumulation.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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yankees60
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by yankees60 »

iamlucky13 wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 8:16 pm Repaired a damaged microwave door latch...more complicated than it needed to be.

I tried to be only semi-frugal. After opening up the microwave and identifying a broken piece of plastic on the latch release button, I went to Panasonic's website to look up a replacement part.

Unfortunately, Panasonic didn't bother to include a parts diagram in their manual like normal appliance manufacturers do (or at least used to do), and their website led through an obnoxious number of clicks before redirecting to 3rd party site for buying parts...and that website was absurdly slow and returning database errors when I tried to navigate or search.

The broken plastic catch on the latch wasn't something that was likely going to glue back together successfully, due to its very small surface area, so instead I ended up sorting through a box of odd bits of scrap metal I keep in my garage for projects. An old kitchen drawer slide sacrificed a piece for its 2nd time (having also proven useful a couple months ago to make a replacement headlight retainer clip for my father-in-law's pickup). An hour or two of fiddling with a hack saw, files, torch, and solder yielded a clip that roughly mimicked the one broken off of the door latch. I super-glued that to the remaining stub on the latch, and it snapped into place as intended.

This was way more time than I planned to spend on this, but it looks like less time than it would have taken to continue trying to buy the part, and definitely preferable to buying a new microwave when this one is less than 4 years old.
KneePartsPro wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2025 3:44 pm Gave some of my free time to a local community organization.
Excellent! :beer
Way, way, way more than I'd ever do. But I admire you for doing it.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by trueson1 »

Decided to do all my snow removal for the past 4 years. I live in Georgia and haven't had to actually do any of that yet. I saved money and effort.
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yankees60
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by yankees60 »

trueson1 wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 12:00 pm Decided to do all my snow removal for the past 4 years. I live in Georgia and haven't had to actually do any of that yet. I saved money and effort.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also decided to take on all the work necessary for ALL the palm trees on my Northeast (western Massachusetts) property!
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Tejfyy »

Faucet started to drip slightly, put a pan under it to collect it. Then put the pan in the (gas) oven, where I keep another metal jug of water, so I always have warm water to wash the dishes with.
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yankees60
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by yankees60 »

Tejfyy wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 3:10 pm Faucet started to drip slightly, put a pan under it to collect it. Then put the pan in the (gas) oven, where I keep another metal jug of water, so I always have warm water to wash the dishes with.
Is this a hot water leak? And, somehow your oven (without being on) keeps everything warm?
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Tejfyy
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by Tejfyy »

yankees60 wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 3:57 pm
Tejfyy wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 3:10 pm Faucet started to drip slightly, put a pan under it to collect it. Then put the pan in the (gas) oven, where I keep another metal jug of water, so I always have warm water to wash the dishes with.
Is this a hot water leak? And, somehow your oven (without being on) keeps everything warm?
No. That is hot water arrives only after running the water for some time. I don't know what this kind of water heater is called.
The gas oven has a pilot light and yes it generates enough heat over time to warm things and defrost them. Quite useful.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by ETK517 »

I successfully forced amaryllis bulbs that I saved from last year, one of which is well over 2' tall. By simply potting them up, putting them outside in a sunny spot for the summer, and keeping them watered and fertilized, the three ~$20 bulbs have provided another season of enjoyment. I'll do the same this year and hopefully can eventually divide them, making for free holiday gifts. Plants are pretty amazing.
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by 557880yvi »

ETK517 wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 5:42 pm I successfully forced amaryllis bulbs that I saved from last year, one of which is well over 2' tall. By simply potting them up, putting them outside in a sunny spot for the summer, and keeping them watered and fertilized, the three ~$20 bulbs have provided another season of enjoyment. I'll do the same this year and hopefully can eventually divide them, making for free holiday gifts. Plants are pretty amazing.
When they bloom, take a few stamens (the part that has the pollen), and brush the pollen on the stigma (if they plants are in separate pots, you can just touch them together, but it does not hurt them to break a few stamens off). This will produce a very large seed pod at the base of the flower, which will contain as many as 100 seeds. When the weather becomes very warn, spread the seeds in a large, shallow glass dish filled with water, cover with plastic wrap, poke lots of holes in the plastic, place in the sun and they will germinate! Plant in rich, composted soil and you will have amaryllis forever (but be patient, they can take 4-5 yrs to develop a bulb that will produce a flower).
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yankees60
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Re: What frugal thing did you do today?

Post by yankees60 »

ETK517 wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 5:42 pm I successfully forced amaryllis bulbs that I saved from last year, one of which is well over 2' tall. By simply potting them up, putting them outside in a sunny spot for the summer, and keeping them watered and fertilized, the three ~$20 bulbs have provided another season of enjoyment. I'll do the same this year and hopefully can eventually divide them, making for free holiday gifts. Plants are pretty amazing.
Excellent work!
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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