Frugal Friday

 

Saving on things we buy:

• Picked up a Friday Freebie drink at the store
• Bought a larger enchilada sauce than I needed (it was cheaper than the small one) & froze the rest for a second meal
• Took advantage of a few Black Friday deals:
• Buy 1, get 2 free granola bars
• Inexpensive nuts (we go through a lot of nuts, due to M's keto diet)
• Got a gift card off of my nephew's wish list, and earned $10 in Rite Aid Rewards
• A neighbor gave me an expiring flight reward that she couldn't use, saving me $120 on a flight. I offered to pay, but she wouldn't accept any money.

Earning money

• Continued to list things on eBay & made a few sales:
• Sold a kids shirt that was outgrown (from the vacation house). Still selling things I listed this summer. Sometimes it takes a while, but it's nice to sell a few things. Junk out, money in.
• Shin guard sleeves (soccer) x2
• A set of espresso cups/saucers that we don't use
• Sold the car mats for our electric car we no longer have. Made $20

Avoiding spending:

• I find that this time of year involves lots of creative leftover usage, and we've been doing well incorporating small bits & bobs into our meals. A few examples: I made a stuffed acorn squash dish that called for farro cooked in apple cider. I substituted rice for farro & used the remainder of a flat sparkling cider (kids Thanksgiving drink) to cook the rice. It added a nice flavor. I've been using cranberry sauce on almost everything, we've eaten Thanksgiving sides for lunch, & I was able to incorporate kale & leftover goat cheese spread (both from Thanksgiving items) into the stuffed squash mix. There have been a few wins like that, which always makes me feel good about making the most of what we have. 
• Ate all meals at home

For others:

• Spent an hour tracking down a refund my parents were due & hadn't received. Saved them $500, so well worth the time. My dad wears hearing aids, so these types of calls are challenging for him.
• Packaged up two large shopping bags for neighbor girls who came by collecting food donations for the local shelter. My son (same age as them) was helping me gather items, & the amount of shyness on all sides was hilarious between the kids. :-) 
• Shared pumpkin pie & cranberry muffins with our neighbor
• Made a food bank donation, as a thank you to another neighbor, who wouldn't accept money for the flight credit. She's very active with a local food bank, so I made a donation as a thank you for the credit.
• Gave away a brand new "Elf on a Shelf" that I found in our Christmas decorations. 
• Continued volunteer work