Saving on things we buy
- Used the rest of a grocery store gift card to offset 1/2 of a purchase to stock up on a few things that make lunches easier without a kitchen - chicken patty sandwich fixings that the boys can easily assemble using the toaster oven.
- We don't buy the kids sports drinks regularly, but do for summer sports camps, when the temperature is particularly warm. Found large containers of Gatorade that can be poured into water bottles, vs needing lots of smaller sized ones. Saves on plastic/waste, and we also pay a tax on each bottle purchase, so also saved a bit there.
Earning money
- More eBay sales & listings. Sold this week:
- Books
- A Crate & Barrel bar set, rescued & unused from our vacation house
- A jacket Sam outgrew
- A chess timer, won at a long ago chess tournament. Listed & sold the same day. Love those rare sales.
- A set of four new crystal glasses. If I've never used them after 20 years, time to let them go!
- Found $100 on the ground?! Split it with my sister, who was picking me up. Felt terrible for whomever had lost it.
- Sold a bike for $400. We invested $30 in a new part, and M & Nick repaired the bike so we could sell it. It went quickly, with lots of interest. Nick & I are sharing the money, as he spent quite a bit of time working on the repair (with M's supervision). He's investing in a bike stand and additional bike repair parts. His favorite book right now is a bike repair manual, and he is constantly watching YouTube videos about how to repair bikes. Potential future side hustle? :-)
Avoiding spending
- Continuing to make & eat meals at home, despite not having a kitchen. As I've mentioned, the meals are repetitive and not very glamorous, but we are getting fed.
- Cancelled a trip for my dad's 70th birthday. I would have far preferred being able to see him & celebrate together, but we will get together when it's safer
- Cancelled our anniversary trip. It may have been possible in October to go somewhere in driving distance & celebrate, but that would require my parents to travel, and I'm not putting them at risk. We will celebrate at another time.
My nephew turned 18 last week, and is currently working at his first job (fast food). I gave him spending money for his birthday, as well as money to start his first retirement account (allowed now that he has earned income). His project is to research how to create the account, and understand how the compound interest will work. He's quite interested, so hopefully this will put him on a positive trajectory for future financial success.
That's it for us. What about you? Any frugal wins to celebrate?
I could se Nick's new skills! I still havne't found a local lead to get my new to me bike tires repaired. I too feel bad for the person that loses cash. It is so hard to track a cash owner down. I will pay those windfalls forward.
ReplyDeleteOh, Nick might be able to start making money with his new skills right now with help. That is great he is interested in learning. I don't worry about glamorous food or different. We eat healthful food with snacks.
ReplyDeleteThat is so awesome that your son is developing such a specific skill. It speaks so well to his determination, and that should take him far in life!I
ReplyDeleteFrugality over here is primarily focused on following our meal plan, avoiding paying to park (we live near the coast, where paying to park is very prevalent), monitoring our utility usage, and sharing meals when we do go out (more for calorie control, but still!).
I will say that after eight years of doing these things, we have not needed to increase our budget for groceries or utilities, so it really does make a difference.