Frugal Friday

The big news is that we just locked in a rate for a refinance of our house - a savings we estimate to be around $54,000, if we stick to our current payoff schedule. I'm trying to remind myself of this, as I deal with all of the paperwork fun of a refi. :-)


Saving on things we buy:

• I used a gift card to buy a drink at the airport on my flight out on Friday, as well as for a sandwich/drink at the airport on Monday.
• I used a discounted Uber gift card for my flight home on Monday
• I was able to find new swim trunks for Sam for next summer for $5 at Costco. His old ones are both getting to be too small, and also are filthy from adventure camp. 
• I used the self checkout line (always a mistake) & a $.50 coupon didn't come off. I stood in line at customer service & got the money back.
• I bought two pounds of ground turkey & a pound of spicy sausage for $.99/each. 

Earning money:

• I earned $54 on ebates/Rakuten & put the money (Paypal transfer) straight into our mortgage. 
• Sold a few things on eBay, one of which was a $340 item. Woohoo!!!!!!
• Tweaked listings & posted a few new things on Nextdoor & eBay. Sold a ceiling fan for $30 on Nextdoor within a few hours of posting.

Avoiding purchases/spending:

• M was able to take me to the airport on Friday, saving $25 or so
• For the most part, we ate at home (vacation house) for my mother/daughter trip. We did go to a wine bar for a beer 1x, and to a local pub for a beer another day. Total spent on food for three days was under $60 for my portion. My sister brought groceries. 
• Arranged for carpools to share driving/nanny expenses this week. I actually will use our nanny a few times, as the kids are at two separate camps, and have two different soccer locations at quite a distance from each other. But, still reducing much of the cost by carpooling where possible.
• My flight was delayed on Monday, but I scrambled around in the fridge & made a quick dinner of spaghetti & (frozen) meatballs. Crisis averted, everyone ate, and no money was spent on eating out. 
• Picked a few tomatoes from the garden.
• I had to go to the office to print & scan a few forms for our refi, and took advantage of the free lunch. (I have access to all of the facilities while I'm out, but choose not to go in because... it makes me feel like I'm at work.) :-)
• Took advantage of already paid for workout class, and did a double class on Wednesday (first cardio/barre, then rolling out + yoga). 
• Our math tutor unexpectedly had to cancel. While I would have paid the money to ensure Sam is learning well, we came up with a good workaround using some online resources, and saved $40. (We will continue to do in person tutoring other weeks.)
• Sam's camp group was having a potluck on the beach yesterday, and he needed to bring plenty to share. We had pizza rolls, 8 individual size servings of Doritos, and an unopened package of cookies in the pantry. The kids didn't want the cookies or Doritos, and I've been trying to wrap up the pizza roll package forever. Win/win!

What about you? Any frugal wins for the week for you?