It was another busy week, so I'll just echo what I said last week. Good frugal habits help so much during weeks where frugality isn't top of mind. Because, sometimes life comes up, but good habits allow you to be frugal even without much time/effort.
Saving on things we buy
- Combined a store sale + a Fetch offer to buy a couple of boxes of cereal for $1
- Contacted a company about a missing item, & received the credit, plus a $10 loyalty credit, which was awesome.
- Combined a store sale, discounted "sell now" meat offer & a promotional credit to get 3 lbs of lean ground beef for $1.70 (total). What a deal!
- I'm still hoping we can go visit family for Christmas, and purchased flights months ago (at the start of the pandemic). I decided to trim one day off the trip, and adjusted my dates - turns out, it saved $200 ($50x4)!
- Took advantage of two Amazon prime deals & earned $20 off of things we'd purchase anyway
Earning money
- Sales have been very slow, but I've continued to list items & eBay & make a few small sales. Here's what I sold this week:
- A workout tank I don't wear
- A kids cookbook. Nick has another one he loves, and this one was a little too young for him
- A pair of indoor soccer cleats that were outgrown during COVID
Avoiding spending
- A few weeks ago, I picked up a Friday Freebie of coffee creamer. My sister was in town, and prefers creamer, so it was great. Since she left, I've been using it in my coffee in place of my preferred almond milk. It's almost gone (it was a small sized container). Hurrah! I hate waste, so prefer to use it, but will be happy to see the end of the container. :-)
- Used a free movie credit from work to rent a movie. We watched McFarland, which we all enjoyed.
- Went through our freezers & created a list of things we should use up (e.g. things I've forgotten were in there, and/or need using up reasonably soon.) I'll plan these into our upcoming menus.
- I cut up a pineapple & a mango that were about to go bad. Now that they are chopped & in the fridge, the kids will use them for their morning smoothies. They are too lazy to do all of that while they are still waking up. ;-)
- I picked up a few books off a neighbor's "free" table, and also did a book exchange at a local lending library.
- A neighbor dropped off a few lemons from her tree, as a thank you for sharing our herbs.
For others
- Helped a neighbor fix her printer
- Gave a neighbor garden produce
- Gave another neighbor a box of Hot Pockets that no one in my family will eat. (It was a Costco sized box!) I'm glad to have it out of the house, and being used by someone else. I felt terrible about potentially tossing it, and frozen foods are hard/impossible to donate, so this was a great solution.
- Signed up for two volunteer activities. One is one time help, the other is a more consistent level of volunteering. I've committed to signing up for more volunteer options & getting out of my comfort zone a bit. One activity benefits womens shelters & the other benefits girls in technology.
- I made a couple of donations
What about you? Any frugal wins or kind deeds to help this week?
Sold one of my listings so that was exciting. Fed the missionaries all9 of them sub sandwiches. The cheapest meal I can make with out buying take out. Went out to reservation for gas 20 cents cheaper a gallon.
ReplyDeleteAwesome news on the listing! And, sub sandwiches sound delicious.
DeleteNo frugal happenings here. We did run a meal to a friend who is struggling with health issues right now, and other than being extra kind to the few people I have any contact with, I did nothing out of the ordinary.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's the little things that really help someone out & cheer them up!
DeleteI sold a cookbook on eBay this week too. I used up the last of some broccoli and carrots to make soup for dinner tonight. Like the creamer, I don't like to see food waste either. And it's so true what you said about good habits allow you to be frugal even without much time/effort.
ReplyDeleteIt's true - the good habits make it easy to be frugal even without much effort.
DeleteWe gave single mother food from boxes we received. Her father just died.
ReplyDeleteThat's so nice you were able to help out!
DeleteKind deeds: Continuing to let waiting drivers in front of me, which appears to be much appreciated. Worked my tail off at a food bank on Wednesday, and now have a better understanding of what foods to buy for donation going forward: PB & Jelly, pasta and pasta sauce, meals in a can/box, canned beans, fruits and vegetables. How thankful am I that I am able to purchase or make or grow these last three fresh? 😞
ReplyDeleteFrugal wins: Picnic dinners at the beach or a park instead of take out or dining in, as our way of getting out of the house on weekends during the pandemic. And slowly redistributing my yard succulents as they get too large, as a way of continuing to make our yard even more low maintenance than it already is at zero cost.
Love that you were helping out at a food bank! I've been stocking up on really inexpensive cereal & hiding it (the kids will eat it for a snack) to donate. I know it's also in high demand for our local food bank. We live in a very nice area, and 120 kids in my son's school are now homeless/living in shelters. It's so, so hard to imagine. The school has been doing lots of fundraisers & food donations. There's another one coming up in a week or so, and I need to remember to keep my eye open for good deals at the store for easy items as you mentioned.
DeletePicnic dinners at the beach sound fabulous! We need to figure out how to make our yard lower maintenance/more drought resistant. I say that, as it was 95 today. In October. :-(