Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Frugality Tips #17 & #18

Late Tuesday ideas for you. Hope they help you out! :)

Frugal Tip #17

Get a flu shot.

This is super frugal if you have insurance or a job that pays for it. Otherwise it's like $25 at a grocery store pharmacy or so which is still worth it. Some people have reactions to the flu vaccine, but that number is very small. In my opinion, the benefits outweigh the concerns on this. Getting the flu is horrible. I hate being sick in general, but especially with the flu. But when you and all your family members get a flu shot, your chances of getting the flu drop significantly. Even if it's not a good match, the flu shot will generally reduce your symptoms at the very least.

The ways this saves you money are many:
1) You don't have to miss a day or two or more of work because you're sick. Save those personal hours for something else!
2) Same as above, except because your children are sick.
3) You don't have to go to the doctor or the hospital if it's really bad.
4) You don't have to buy medicines to fight it off.

Flu shots are SO worth it, and hardly anybody gets them. I get them every year and it has been SO nice to not get sick. Although last year, the match between the virus and the shot was not good, so I ended up getting super sick anyway. But the 5+ other years I've gotten it, I haven't gotten sick... and before that, I would inevitably get the flu every year.

Frugal Tip #18

Sell stuff!

Craigslist and Ebay are my favorite places to go. I periodically go through the things in my house, and if I'm not using them, I post them on Craigslist or Ebay. If they're not worth much, I'll just freecycle them instead. Even with my broken computers, I'll take them apart and sell the pieces because processors, screens, keyboards, mice, all those things sell on ebay pretty well. And then I use the money to buy a new computer. :D

But seriously, go through your stuff that you don't use and sell it. After I get sick of my Wii games, I'll sell them for a decent amount on craigslist. Usually, I'll have bought them for the same price off the same place, so it ends up being cheaper than renting ($0 net). :P Old board games are worth a bit if they're still in good condition. You can sell clothes that are in good condition and no longer fit you or your children. Shoes you never wear. Your old couch.

My parents always gave their stuff in good condition to the thrift stores, but I can't really afford to do that, so I just sell it instead. And it makes me a fair amount of money! So I think it's definitely worthwhile.

Happy Tuesday!
-Hot Frugal Momma




1 comment:

nathaniel said...

I really like your blog! There are some great ideas and I appreciate your efforts--will be following it--keep up the good work!
(fellow Mormon-Utah mom trying to be frugal)

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