Remember: Return the Duds

I am a big believer in saving little bits of money; over time, they add up. Lately there has been a lot of cleaning up and out in our frugal home, both for happy reasons and sad ones. Many transitions.

Miss Em is getting ready to return to school soon. As the neatest and most organized member of our household, she gets it done. Today, she got together stuff that needs to be returned.

I am always recommending sticking to shops with unconditional guarantees. To wit:

Garnet Hill: two sweaters (she's keeping the shoes)
Nordstrom: some shoes that, alas, did not fit well
LL Bean: her backpack ripped at the seams

These guarantees are great, but only if you make use of them. I am always quoting my late frugal dad: You're paying a lot of money for that guarantee, so use it.

Additionally, she is returning items to two stores that you may not know stand behind their merchandise: Sephora and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Yes, if the eyeshadow doesn't please, bring it back.

Being a good consumer can yield more than a few dollars back. The total for the above is going to be SOMETHING, even though everything was bought on sale.

Have you been a good consumer lately?

Tiny Frugal Tip for Air Travelers, with PG Tips

Miss Em came home yesterday from her four weeks at Oxford, where she took two classes and visited London, Edinburgh, and Wales. She was VERY careful about money because, even with a gig as assistant to one of the profs, the trip was expensive.

One of her frugal moments came about by accident. She had many types of tea, including the famous PG Tips. She went to a fancy coffee spot in the airport and asked if she could buy some hot water. She could. It was 50 cents. She got a big cup and a top. She repeated this several times during her airport time. EAch time, she saved about $2.00.

I am always annoyed by the high prices and generally low quality of airport food. We generally bring emergency provisions. Now we can also enjoy tea.


Good job, Frugal Girl.

Any other tips for the airport?

Major Decluttering Event Ahead: Happy News

To get right to the point. Frugal Son GOT A JOB. Not a well-paid job, but a worthy job that will look good for the future and will give him a bit of time to see what he wants to do next.

He is working at a lycee in New Orleans, wonderful because he will use his French AND because post-Katrina, New Orleans has attracted the hippest 20-somethings anywhere. Also, Mr FS and I will be happy to visit him now and again: we saw him for 4 days once he returned from his year working in France.

The DECLUTTER EVENT: he will be living in an old half-double in New Orleans so he can take a lot of the excess OUT OF THE HOUSE. One of my friends remarked--apropos her first chronically unfaithful husband moving out and taking half the furniture: At least the house looks better. Our house will look better because of a happy event.

Anyone who knows a 20-something knows what I'm talking about in this long recession: he's lucky to have a job.

Olive Oil and Salt Scrub: Dipping My Toes In

Ah, how to return to blogging after a long hiatus? Mr FS and I were in France for almost six weeks, three with Miss Em: perhaps details of our adventures will creep into posts now and again.

Anyone who knows me (either IRL or in the blog) knows I detest wasting things. One of my last activities in France involved a salt and olive oil scrub for my tired feet.

You see, we had a kitchen in several of our abodes, so I bought a liter of olive oil the first week and we schlepped it around in our rental car. We didn't use it up though.

There we were in our airport motel with my olive oil and some salt. I had been in misery over dry skin for a while, owing to time in the South of France (Nimes, Arles, Avignon, to name the most well-known spots). I was planning to leave my olive oil in a prominent position, in case the motel cleaners wanted it (doubtful). Then I remembered the salt scrub: mix oil with salt (or even sugar) and rub on your feet. Then wash it off or you might slip.

This was pure bliss: everyone knows that exfoliation is a good thing, right? Then I did it again in the morning, leaving the bottle of oil in a prominent spot as planned.

By the way, this activity was performed standing on one leg (with one foot in the sink) of a cheap motel. Imagine how luxe it would be sitting on the edge of a bonafide bathtub--of which we had only one in all six weeks.

Try this if you haven't yet. I'm sure everyone has dry skin from the hot summer.

Fermeture! Wish you were here!

Ici ou ici.

Shout Out to Nordstroms: Price Adjustment

I'm still on vacation (in mind only, alas). Still, I wanted to remind everyone to ask stores to adjust prices. Miss Em bought three pairs of shoes at Nordies in late May. The other day, we got a "Final Markdowns" notice--and there were her shoes, minus $18. I called and--true to their reputation--we were given an immediate $54 refund.

I spend so much time saving pennies and dimes. It's nice to have an occasion to save dollars. Also nice to have a GOOD customer service tale for a change.

Vacation Mode: No Comments, Please

I just realized that I have been on vacation! And--though I may check in now and again--my vacation may continue till August.

I have also disabled the comments (sorry! love comments!) because some icky people have left some icky links in comments.

However, my ability to paragraph is restored. Happiness.