Frugal Friday

 The boys had the week off, and it was Sam's birthday, so more splurges than normal. However, our original plan was to ski in Whistler, which would have been infinitely more expensive. Here are our frugal wins for the week.

Saving on things we buy

• Bought Home Depot gift cards at the grocery store, and earned $60 in rewards for future grocery purchases. 
• Used a manufacturer's coupon for $1 off of two boxes of tea, at Rite Aid. Rite Aid also had the tea on sale for $2/5, and there was an iBotta offer for $1 off of each box, plus a $.20 offer. So, all told, I got two boxes of tea for $1.80 ($.90 each). I drink a ton of tea, and even more when I'm fasting, so this was a great deal - total of 38 bags. 
• M bought me a Valentine's Day gift (flowers & chocolates) & I noticed there was an iBotta offer on the chocolate, so added the receipt to save $1.25. ;-) 
• I promised Sam Subway for lunch for his birthday, and purchased a (slightly) discounted gift card at Raise (saved $1.87). I also clicked through Rakuten, who gives you 1% back on purchases made at Raise (saving $.23). It's not a large savings, but a bit here & there. 

Earning money

• eBay sales were quiet this week, but I sold
• An outgrown NFL kids shirt
• Over the ear headphones (I now run with a different kind)
• A pair of swim trunks
• Uploaded all receipts to Fetch

Avoiding spending

• Sam decided he'd rather have a homemade cupcakes vs bakery cupcakes, so we made him chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting for his birthday, saving quite a bit
• In an attempt to treat the kids this week with no school, I dug out my Panera gift card, and picked up lunch one day. I also used my free birthday reward, spending $0 out of pocket for two lunches & a cookie. 
• On a similar note, I used my Uber gift card (previously used for travel, back & forth to the airport) for Uber Eats for Sam's birthday dinner. The food was delicious & will provide lots of leftovers. That said, one of the items was beyond burned. It took some effort to get the feedback to the right place, but I filled out a form & received a refund for the item. 

Food savings/eating what we have

• Sam found leftover Greek food in the fridge, and had that for lunch. I'd planned to toss it by the end of the day, so I was grateful someone was able to use it before it needed to be thrown out. 
• Used lemons from our tree as salad dressing
• Somehow managed to eat through the abundance of leftovers in the fridge with minimal waste (1/2 serving of tomato soup was the only casualty)
• M had taco slaw for dinner, when Sam & I had sliders. I added extra cabbage & the last of the salsa to bulk it up. I ate more of the taco slaw for lunch one day. 
• Used up a taco shell (leftover from a Hello Fresh), a bit of goat cheese spread (leftover from Super Bowl crostini) & an egg for breakfast one morning
• Turned another Hello Fresh meal (2 portions) into three servings, by serving M's sloppy joes on veggie "noodles", making the meat portion smaller, and adding more cabbage to the coleslaw. We were all very satisfied after, and the dinner was delicious. I love it when the meals stretch to serve 3.
• Made myself a "fridge salad", using a variety of leftovers. A chicken patty that had been cooked up but not eaten, lettuce leftover from a lettuce wrap meal, garden tomatoes, crumbled goat cheese from the crostini, & a dressing I found leftover in the fridge. All in all, delicious & using up all things on hand. 
• Used the last of a container of yogurt + the remainder of cranberries (freezer) & "yard oranges" to make cranberry orange muffins for M. They are his favorite, & were part of his Valentine's gift.

For others

• Helped my parents get a list of other friends/family members who don't have access to technology, and help them with booking a COVID vaccine. They've already been able to help 5 family members/friends. 
• Volunteered at my job
• Helped my disabled aunt
• Nick bought a bike in the neighborhood, fixed it up & repaired some parts. I helped him list it for sale & dealt with all of the buyers on his behalf. He was able to sell it, and get it into the hands of someone who needed it. He's saving up for a new bike of his own & I'm happy he's learning a new skill. I was also very happy it sold, so I could stop coordinating with potential buyers. ;-) 
• Gave away a few things on Buy Nothing (car sun visor, puzzle books, coloring books, crafts, etc)
• Cut back our mint & parsley, and sent out an email on our local neighborhood alias for folks to come by & pick it up. I love seeing citrus fruit sitting out with a "free" sign, so it's fun to contribute back with what we grow. We have SO MUCH mint, in particular.

That's it from our side. What about you? Any frugal wins or things for others to share?