When I was thinking about this post I was thinking “Yeah, I totally mentioned that already”. Then I couldn't find it when I searched my site for it and I since I couldn't find it I guess I didn't mention it like I thought I did. So if I did already mention it and just couldn't find it, well, my apologies.
And on with the story.
This Spending Fast Tip maaaayyy be a little ghetto/oh my/no she didn't/yes she did/I hadn't thought about that.
Those are the best tips (and best things in general) though- when they are on just this side of crazy.
Can I get an Amen.
When I started the Spending Fast proper all the fancy coffee at coffee shops immediately left my days. If I wanted coffee I was brewing it up myself. I used up the old frozen coffee grounds that had been in my freezer for years and I started to notice the places that offered free coffee (the YMCA and meetings are great places to find free coffee).
With all this coffee I was brewing up and finding around town I needed a way to transport it. I needed a way to keep it with me.
COFFEE + ME + ALWAYS + PLEASE.
At the time I didn't own one of those cool travel coffee mugs and thought carrying around an open ceramic mug from my house might get a little messy on the bumpy bus rides and walks around town. Normally at this point pre-Spending Fast I would've just BOUGHT a travel coffee mug.
I mean, I needed one. It was obvious. BUT. Things were different now. Things ARE different now.
So. What did I do? I searched for the closest Lost and Found box that I could find and dug in.
I never knew until that day but my “day job” just so happens to have a gravitational pull to travel mugs. I had reached the end of the rainbow and it was pure gold.
If I didn't know better I would think they were breeding in that box while people looked away. There were THAT many in there.
After rummaging around for a bit I found the perfect travel mug. It was burgundy, had a handle, had a lid and only vaguely smelled. I asked if I had been there long. I wondered if the rightful owner was on there way. I asked if maybe I could have it? “Yes, you can.” So, I took it. I figured with a little sanitation it would be as good as new. And. It was.
Some mornings as I sip up my coffee I feel a little rough using my “pre-loved” coffee mug but then my thoughts drift back to that lovely Lost and Found box, all the the lost stuff in it and all those mugs just waiting for a new lease on life and a little sanitation.
Shameless frugality wins again!