1. Ordered the wrong bottle of cod liver oil. Let me explain! During the winter I take fermented cod liver/butter oil as a source of Vitamin D (and other good stuff). The brand I buy is super expensive, but it is supposedly the best and it's about the only supplement I take... ever.
So, normally I buy the capsules. These were priced at $62.31 for 60 servings. However, this time I actually ordered the straight oil, which cost $53.10 for 96 servings. Not only was it a better deal, but the straight oil is easier to take than the capsules, and there are no fishy burps. The oil is a very strong cinnamon flavor, so sometimes you get cinnamon burps with a tiny hint of fish. But it's really not too bad.
This is a mistake I'm going to continue making in the future.
2. Line dried one load of laundry.
3. Bought some fancy cheese for Christmas using a rebate. Originally priced at $6.00 each, I used Ibotta rebates and bonuses to get two packages for $2.50 each.
4. Kroger sales: I took advantage of some more great sales. These included flour at $0.20/lb., sugar at $0.25/lb., eggs at $0.60/dozen, cream cheese at $2.00/lb. ($1.00 per package), and an orchid plant that was on clearance for $2.00.
5. Re-covered an RV cushion! This was one of my favorite December projects. This winter I would like to re-cover ALL of the cushions in our little RV. I purchased the fabric at Joanns for $10.00 per yard (used a coupon, rebate, AND bought it on sale), so this was not a free project. However, I will be able to reuse the zipper, some of the foam and the vinyl side of each cushion. I was also able to cover the buttons with my new fabric instead of buying new buttons.
You can see the "before" picture at the top of this post.
To re-cover, the cushion, I took it apart first. I set aside the buttons, zipper, and piece of vinyl that had been on one side. Then I used the old carpet-like fabric as a pattern, and cut a new piece out of the brown suede I bought. Even though the old fabric was a little warped, it still worked okay. After I cut the new piece out, I simply re-assembled the cushion as it had been put together in the first place. Then I inserted the old foam back into the "pillowcase" and zipped it up. The last step was to attach the buttons. I used a heavy-duty thread (from an old lady's garage sale) and my special upholstery needle to attach the buttons on each side.
6. Bought used gift cards online. I bought a Tractor Supply card for 7% off, a Dollar Tree card for 8% off, and a Joanns card for 9% off. Discount gift cards are an easy way to save because they don't expire and can be stacked with sales, clearance items, coupons or rebates. If I buy something at Joanns and use a 40% off coupon with my 9% off gift card, the item is almost 50% off.
7. Used paper grocery bags to wrap a few gifts. If you are going to do this, you have to ASK for paper bags, otherwise you will automatically get plastic. I usually go through the self-checkout, so remember that the paper bags are only available in the regular checkout lines.
8. Made yogurt and cheese.
9. Melted the wax out of some almost-empty glass candles. I will use half-melted free candles from garage sales to re-fill the glass candle jars. Cool fact: You can buy wick string and metal wick-holders for the bottom of your candles at Joanns. Probably for 50% off if you use a coupon and discount gift card.
The glass candle jars, if cleaned properly, can be used for flower vases or other home decorating projects as well. Some of my jars had lids, so I will be able to reuse them for bath salts or other non-food items.
9. Pressure canned black beans. Usually I don't buy black beans because they are more expensive, but I had two pounds of black beans in the pantry that I got from the bent 'n' dent for very cheap. We were almost out of home-canned dry beans, so I thought I might as well soak the beans and see how much two pounds would expand. I ended up with six pints of black beans for a cost of $0.10 per pint (not including jars, lids, or rings, which I reuse).
10. Made a birthday cake for Hubs out of ingredients that were mostly on sale. The recipe (it's for a "cheesecake fluff" type dish) used cool whip ($0.75 on sale), jello ($0.35 at the bent 'n' dent) and cream cheese ($2.00 on sale). I also used some graham crackers that we had bought (but not used) for a camping trip this summer. Normally this dish costs $5.00-$6.00 to make, but because some of the key ingredients were on sale I was able to make it for under $4.00.
That is all for now!
Til next time,
Bethany