November is the start of what can be an expensive season. Here’s how we frugal-ed our way through it.
Frugal Wardrobe in November:
I have a small bedroom closet, so I like to keep my wardrobe fairly lean, but highly functional. Also, I tend to keep pieces for a long time, as I learned years ago that buying quality clothing lasts much longer than fast fashion. I tend to focus on certain brands that I really like and that fit me well.
Since November is always a big month for sales and coupons and the beginning of the cold season, I do most of my winter clothing shopping during this month.
While I like to shop at thrift stores, I have a hard time finding TALL length jeans for my 5’10 frame and I was in need of new jeans. My favorite pair had a hole in an unseemly place and my other favorite pair came with holes, and neither is appropriate for work. If I’m buying new jeans, it’s either from Gap or Old Navy since both offer TALL length jeans. Luckily, I found two pairs at Old Navy that were 50% off sale making them $17.50 each–AND, I got 10% cash back by shopping through the Rakuten portal. I won’t need to buy jeans for a few years.
$20 TOMS? Yes, please!
I received a DSW coupon for $30 off a purchase of $49 or more. At first, I thought my eyes were deceiving me, so I marched right into the DSW to see what shoes I could find around $49.
I found a really cute pair of TOMS shoes marked down to $49.99. Awesome, the new price will be $19.99 after the coupon, and I have a cute pair of work shoes that I’ll set aside for spring.
However, at the register, the shoes rang up at $29.99–there was an additional mark down on clearance! Great price, but I couldn’t use the coupon, so I did some more shopping and picked up $20 worth of stocking stuffers. I went back to the register and left the store paying $20.14 for the TOMS shoes and stocking stuffers.
I was also in need of winter shoes, preferably booties and at DSW I found a style that I liked, so I bought 2 different colors. They were on sale at 20% off, plus I had a coupon for an additional 30% off, bringing the two pairs of booties down to $67. I thought that was a pretty good price for TWO and they’ll last for many years.
Three new pairs of shoes seems excessive, but I will get a lot of wear out of them and the price was well within my budget. DSW might be my new favorite place to find shoes!
It wasn’t all about me in November, I have a teenager and soon-to-be teenager and they both want clothes for Christmas. I used coupons and shopped through the Rakuten portal and got a lot of deals at their favorite stores.
Frugal Kitchen in November:
- I stocked up on enough baking supplies at Wegman’s that should get us through most of 2021. They always have a big sale on their store brand flour, sugar, brown sugar, chocolate chips. I don’t shop there too often, because it’s not a convenient location for me, but I always stock up on their holiday store brand sale.
- I earned a free turkey from my regular grocery store, GIANT of PA. You have to spend $400 in a month’s time, and that’s not hard for us to do. We decided to donate the turkey to the food bank.
- I made homemade applesauce when the orchard was having an end of season sale.
- I made homemade chicken stock from bones that I keep in the freezer until I have enough to make a big pot of stock.
- My latest grocery routine is to place an online order for a Friday morning pickup. I started picking up my groceries instead of going into the store to shop last year, long before Covid. The fee at my store is $2.95, but it saves me so much time and is worth it to me.
Found Money in November: $440
Found money could be from anywhere, such as rebates, refunds, online sales, or even the ground. Yep, I found a $20 bill last year on the beach!
But in November, my husband put several large items on Facebook marketplace. We are finally finishing our basement, but before we could get started on it, we had to clean out 20 years of marriage and 19 years of home ownership…that was all stored in the basement! It was quite a job, and so far, he’s sold:
- a Broyhill 3 piece tv armoire and book case set: $300.
- a small gas fireplace: $100
- misc. stuff: $40
How did you frugal in November? Share your tips and strategies in the comments.