Friday, November 8, 2019

Frugal Friday

It was a pretty typical week for us. It's an extra paycheck month, so I was able to put a large chunk into each of the kids college funds & also make a mortgage payment. I love those months. It feels good, particularly after all of our large expenses.

Saving on things we buy

  • I found ground beef chubs (1 lb) marked down to $.25 at the grocery store. I bought 4 lbs, and also showed another shopper the great deal. I wanted to clear the shelf, but held myself back. :-)
  • I used $5 in grocery store rewards to buy things we needed for dinner, paying just $.99 for four pounds of ground beef + pepperoni. 
  • Used 110,000 United miles to book flights for four to Whistler for the boys February ski trip. We're very excited! I've been saving my United miles for years, so it was great to have a fun way to use them. I was out of pocket about $300 after using the miles (taxes & fees, plus I had to buy about $100 of miles to round up to the full ticket price). I saved about $3,000 by using miles & was able to book while I still have Gold United status, to get premium economy for free. 
  • I stocked up on nearly a year's worth of gift cards for a restaurant the boys like to go to when I travel. It's inexpensive, and there are days when M just can't get dinner together and handle kid pickups & homework. As a result, we ended up with 5 meal vouchers that we can use between now & April.


Earning money

  • I didn't earn any money, but I did sell an item for my sister on eBay, and sent her the money right away.


Avoiding spending

  • I didn't plan well, and was starving when I was grocery shopping over the weekend. I was very tempted to use Starbucks credit to buy a salad. Instead, I came home & cobbled together a lunch out of various fridge leftovers. My carnitas/feta/egg combo was totally fine, although not what I was craving.

What about you? Any frugal wins for the week?

3 comments:

  1. Mine were so minimal. I already forgot from my post yesterday. I can't get over the ground beef sale. Yes, it would have been tempting to clear the shelves-I know from other blogs that is considered just rude, but not sure what quantities are deemed appropriate. What your family might need for the coming week, and an extra amount for the freezer? This could be a whole discussion point, but we don't tend to get those mark down in my area so probably would never need to figure that out. I know the UK with their yellow stickers it seems like quite the uproar if people take too much.

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  2. Oh Whistler! I've only been there in the summer but the peak to peak is amazing (see https://livingrichonthecheap.blogspot.com/2012/08/fabulous-whistler-trip-part-one.html and https://livingrichonthecheap.blogspot.com/2012/08/fabulous-whistler-trip-part-two.html). A great use of those miles!

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  3. Yeah on the extra paycheck month. I used to love those! I wish I could so well with $5.00. But I am thrilled for your deals. That is great savings on those tickets. Yeah on the restaurant gift card deal too. Mine are on my blog.

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