Cheapwad Finds--Opposite of Blow That Dough!

[Koolau]

My county hired some inept outfit to update assessed values for local homes, which is done every 2 years. Their numbers were off the charts- many people (in news stories and my town's FB page) saw their values double. I was bracing for an increase (based on the sale price of 3 similar houses on my street over the last couple of years) and mine went DOWN. No idea why. The County is overwhelmed with appeals, naturally, and has just announced that if you pay before 11/30 (due date is 12/31) they'll waive the usual 3% surcharge on credit card payments. Woo-hoo! I'll be paying early with my Fidelity Visa and getting 2% cash back.

Heh, heh, who says you can't beat City Hall? Nice!

 

[Koolau]

My FIL had one, and to make it less boring he put a TV in front, so he would be motivated to use it regularly and often.
It worked as he literally wore one out and had to buy another.

How did he wear out a TV?

 

[PandaBear]

Maybe not exactly a find but…was coming home from a weekend trip to Vegas . Southwest asked for volunteers to be bumped. I literally ran up there and was first in line. They offered $600 plus the face value of your ticket. So dh and I each received $923 in travel vouchers. We were delayed three hours (not a big deal to us). Since we travel the west coast on Southwest, we’ll use them and since we typically fly at off days and times (because we can) that will probably be 4 flights each!

 

[Cayman]

Maybe not exactly a find but…was coming home from a weekend trip to Vegas . Southwest asked for volunteers to be bumped. I literally ran up there and was first in line. They offered $600 plus the face value of your ticket. So dh and I each received $923 in travel vouchers. We were delayed three hours (not a big deal to us). Since we travel the west coast on Southwest, we’ll use them and since we typically fly at off days and times (because we can) that will probably be 4 flights each!

Nice deal PandaBear and you have two more trips with free flights in your future woohoo.

 

[4legsgood]

As usual in the holiday season Trader Joe's is carrying all butter puff pastry, comparable to Dufour (I think), but at half the price at $4.99.

 

[Toast]

As usual in the holiday season Trader Joe's is carrying all butter puff pastry, comparable to Dufour (I think), but at half the price at $4.99.

We eagerly watch for TJ’s puff pastry every year and stock up. It tastes so good! The “all butter” makes such a difference.

 

[pacergal]

We eagerly watch for TJ’s puff pastry every year and stock up. It tastes so good! The “all butter” makes such a difference.

Butter makes everything taste better

I will have to make a trip to TJ, I have never seen/tried their puff pastry. It sounds pretty good.

 

[4legsgood]

Butter makes everything taste better

I will have to make a trip to TJ, I have never seen/tried their puff pastry. It sounds pretty good.

The next decision is whether to do a sweet or savory recipe. I made a chicken wellington and a mango blueberry tart (different meals). Reheating needs to be done carefully in the oven.

 

[Music Lover]

Bought 18 - 40 pound bags of smoker pellets at an online auction, some bags had tears or holes in them with a small amount missing, and a couple were only half full. I estimate we got the equivalent of about 14 bags for about 45% - 50% of retail. The auction site actually said there were only 10 bags so they underestimated in our favour.

That should last us a few years...

 

[skyking1]

Not really a purchase but a DIY discovery for those of us with roman shades. We put them down in the evening and they do a decent job to help with the heating.
There is a small gap behind them when they are down. I had the epiphany that almost all sheet rock corners are made of steel. That goes for straight or bullnose.

I installed the round nose on these window corners, for example.
I put one refrigerator magnet on there and it sealed it off nicely!

A person could sew in or applique a few magnets in the right spots and really tighten up the effect of the shades. My sister made insulated ones and that would improve their performance significantly.

 

[pb4uski]

My cheapwad find is my 2023 Ford Maverick XLT Hybrid FWD. Great small 4 door pickup. I'm getting 41 mpg in mixed driving around town. Less than $30k out the door with taxes, title and registration and that includes some accessories like bed mat, tonneau cover, bluetooth dongle, etc.

 

[Koolau]

My cheapwad find is my 2023 Ford Maverick XLT Hybrid FWD. Great small 4 door pickup. I'm getting 41 mpg in mixed driving around town. Less than $30k out the door with taxes, title and registration and that includes some accessories like bed mat, tonneau cover, bluetooth dongle, etc.

Wow. That does sound like a bargain!

 

[old medic]

Flea Market score.... Brand new wood blinds, normally around $40, 2 for $8

 

[Chuckanut]

I spent part of this weekend helping a non-techy friend purchase a new Chromebook.

We found a model he liked. It was on Amazon at a price of $300 plus shipping which was another $50. Tired of the process my friend was ready to buy it when I suggested we try the WalMart. Sure enough the exact same Chromebook was available for $120 less and included shipping. Total savings after tax was approximately $182.

It's fun being a successful cheapwad.

 

[Badger]

Not really a purchase but a DIY discovery for those of us with roman shades. We put them down in the evening and they do a decent job to help with the heating.
There is a small gap behind them when they are down. I had the epiphany that almost all sheet rock corners are made of steel. That goes for straight or bullnose.

I installed the round nose on these window corners, for example.
I put one refrigerator magnet on there and it sealed it off nicely!

A person could sew in or applique a few magnets in the right spots and really tighten up the effect of the shades. My sister made insulated ones and that would improve their performance significantly.

We don't have roman shades but this is a great idea. Did you know there is also 1/2 inch self-adhesive magnetic tape in a long roll that you could stick to the back? Just a thought.

Cheers!

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I was working out and saw out the window that the home next door was having new appliances delivered and they were carting out the old appliances. They were all furnished with the same contractor grade appliances and my microwave handle had been broken since shortly after I moved in and I was able to go steal the handle off the scrapped microwave and repair mine with the part. Total cost 10 minutes of time. It made my day!

 

[pb4uski]

^^^ You cannibal!

 

[Koolau]

^^^ You cannibal!

DW and I take turns as we drive by stuff on curbs saying "Look at that! They're throwing out a perfectly good (fill in the blank.)" The "joke" is that the stuff is actually pure trash that should have been thrown out years ago by the look of it.

 

[pb4uski]

We were visiting friends in Cape Coral, FL many years ago and driving home from dinner out. About 1/2 mile from their waterfront home, there was a relatively new home with a huge pile of stuff on the lawn next to the curb... probably a renter that defaulted and the landlord piled all their stuff on the curb for trash pickup.

My friend went home with a brand new Kirby vaccum cleaner with all of the attachments probably used once and a brand new computer monitor that was still in shrink wrap.

 

[Palmtree]

I remember when we were building our present home about 18 years ago. I was going to put in a LOT of sweat equity so I needed a good used pickup truck for at least a year. Found one online and agreed to the price. When I went to the guy's home, there was a new-ish dishwasher at the curb. I asked if it had gone bad but no, his wife wanted a nicer model so they were throwing it out. I put in the back of my newly purchased used truck and installed it in the new house. It lasted for at least 14 years until we upgraded all of our appliances. Even then it was working so we donated it. Oh, the truck I sold 15 months later for more than I paid for it!

 

[Badger]

I remember when we were building our present home about 18 years ago. I was going to put in a LOT of sweat equity so I needed a good used pickup truck for at least a year. Found one online and agreed to the price. When I went to the guy's home, there was a new-ish dishwasher at the curb. I asked if it had gone bad but no, his wife wanted a nicer model so they were throwing it out. I put in the back of my newly purchased used truck and installed it in the new house. It lasted for at least 14 years until we upgraded all of our appliances. Even then it was working so we donated it. Oh, the truck I sold 15 months later for more than I paid for it!

I love hearing stories like this. Congratulations on the great find with the long life span. I wonder why those people didn't donate it themselves and had someone take it away for them. Your good luck though.

 

[Jerry1]

I was working out and saw out the window that the home next door was having new appliances delivered and they were carting out the old appliances. They were all furnished with the same contractor grade appliances and my microwave handle had been broken since shortly after I moved in and I was able to go steal the handle off the scrapped microwave and repair mine with the part. Total cost 10 minutes of time. It made my day!

That’s great. Congratulations on a good “steal”.

I did something similar. My grill fell off my deck (forgot to lock the wheels and the wind took it) and bent the lid handle. Months later, a guy online was getting rid of the exact same lid. The paint had failed and Weber sent him a new one. He was a few states away, but it turned out not too far off the path I used to go to my dad’s. He was nice enough to hold it for a few months until my spring trip and I picked it up. When I got home, I swapped out the handle and put the lid out for the metal scrappers. It was gone quickly. So, I got a new stainless steel handle for about a half hour out of my way drive. Nice!

 

[scfr]

Yesterday we visited a historic mansion dressed up in beautiful holiday decor using free passes that we got through the library.

 

[pacergal]

Yesterday we visited a historic mansion dressed up in beautiful holiday decor using free passes that we got through the library.

I love our free library passes! We have been to a local art museum, children's museum, and several local state parks with day passes.

 

[MarieIG]

Yesterday we visited a historic mansion dressed up in beautiful holiday decor using free passes that we got through the library.

That's wonderful!