Today's Frugal Happenings

By definition, frugal is the characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources. Another source, indicated that frugal is being careful about spending money or using things when you do not need to. The second definition is true for us. We probably don't need to be frugal, since we do have money available to save. And the truth is we aren't frugal in everything we do. But I personally find it fun!

Here is a little sampling of the frugal things I did today:

• finished leftover bean dip and chips for lunch
• returned an unopened item for a refund
• used samples of shampoo and conditioner received in the mail
• used half a dryer sheet in the dryer
• paid bills online, rather than mailing a check
• opened a tube of hair product to get the last amount out
• turned off lights after I was in a room
• used a tea bag twice
• used the back side of printed paper for my errand list
• checked out two books at the library
• washed reusable sandwich bags for tomorrows lunch
• snapped the zipper pull tab back on a piece of clothing (at first I thought the zipper had been rendered useless, but after inspecting the pieces I realized they could be snapped back together)
• our thermostat is set to drop to 62 degrees at night in the winter

I'm sure there may have been other frugal things I did today. In fact, most of those things above, I do out of habit.  I did really think for a few moments that I had lost that piece of clothing because the zipper tab came off. The odds of finding a zipper to replace it with would have been slim. Now I can get more use out of a perfectly good item! I find it is in my nature to first consider if something can be repaired before I toss it out. Of course, there are times where repairing an item isn't possible or it doesn't make financial sense.

What frugal things did you do today? Is there something frugal you can start doing that you weren't before?