Frugal Friday

Busy, busy, busy, but we are looking for frugal wins where we can find them.

Saving on things we buy

• Picked up two packages of the boys favorite cheese burgers (Costco, freezer section for a quick meal) on sale. They were $4 off/package, which makes them an even better deal. 
• Used iBotta & Fetch to save a bit off of our grocery purchase (saved $6.10 off of a $29 purchase).

Earning money

• I continue to list & sell things on eBay. Things sold this week include:
• A makeup sample from a gifted subscription box
• I sold 140 CDs & DVDs through Decluttr. You don't get much, but these are now out of my house. We've been storing them for 10 years, so the money is gravy, vs storing them. 
• I went to a yard sale to pick up looms for my donation crafting, and noticed a Waterford crystal candy dish on the "free" table. Picked it up to list on eBay

Avoiding spending

• Sam wanted to buy a pastel shirt for a "pastel" themed birthday party. Instead, I pulled something out of my eBay pile (new, to boot) & he wore that instead
• For the same party, Sam wanted to buy a couple of packages of tennis balls to give to a friend who is just picking up the game. I remembered that M bought Nick a giant, multi pack set of balls. We have a bunch of unopened packages, so we were able to use those instead of buying more. 
• A neighbor gave me an unopened box of my favorite tea (she tried another box & didn't like it)
• A neighbor dropped of 13 lbs of lemons on my porch. We'd just finished juicing all of our current lemons, but she picked several hundred pounds & was in a clamor to find them a good home. More juicing ahead for us! 

Eating what we have

• Used radish greens for a dinner vegetable (used the radishes for a salad). Sauteed them with olive oil, garlic salt & red pepper. I didn't try them, but M says they were delicious. I planted the radishes from seeds, so I'm thrilled to be able to use up even more of the plant. 
• Used garden cilantro for a double batch of pico de gallo, & curry
• Used garden jalapenos in the pico de gallo
• Cut spinach for a dinner, and used the rest of the baby bok choy to sautee with M's salmon

For others

• Weekly volunteer job
• Listed a few other items on local Buy Nothing
• Gave away a bunch of CDs & DVDs via Buy Nothing

What about you? Any frugal wins, or things for others? Share & inspire us! :-) 

Menu Plan Monday

I'll be out of town on the back half of the week, and will prep a few easy meals for the week ahead.  In the next couple of weeks, I'll be working through our freezer inventory, which always makes my life easier!

Friday - spicy baked chicken & cheese tortellini

Saturday - chicken curry

Sunday - grilled chicken with caesar salads

Monday - tacos (meat from the freezer) with pico de gallo & guacamole. The pico de gallo uses up cilantro & jalapeno from the garden, which is always a win

Tuesday - leftover curry

Wednesday - leftover chicken - maybe chicken quesadillas, if there is any pico de gallo left

Thursday - I'll be out of town with my sister & BFF. I'm bringing money to contribute to the menu. We are having warm taco slaw & all of the sides. I'm guessing M will do either In & Out after soccer practice, or something quick from the freezer.

Friday  - I'll still be out of town, and we're having my sister's delicious white chicken chili, homemade bread & salad. Pizza for the boys

What about you? Any new recipes to recommend or share?

Spinach & other Sunday things

 I've grown spinach..from seed! If you knew how little skill I have at gardening, & my previous history, this would be more impressive. :-) 

So far, we've been able to harvest some radishes (grown from seed), jalapenos (plant from last season, still hanging in there), lemons (a tree, that needs almost no work) & now the spinach is looking great. I've planted more radishes, as they seem hard for me to kill. ;-) 

Other things from today:

• Went for a slow run today. My shoulder is still having some twinges, but overall I'm feeling much better. I kept it short & slow, but enjoyed the brief workout. 
• Went to the grocery store for a few dinner items. M unknowingly used my tomatoes for an impromptu kebab dinner last night, so I needed to pick up more, and potatoes. Took advantage of a few iBotta & Fetch offers for other things, & saved $6 off of my purchase.
• Came home & made a triple batch of pico de gallo. It's enormous (12 tomatoes). I used up a lot of cilantro from the garden, and picked enough for the pico de gallo, as well as the curry I'm making tonight. Our jalapenos have been slow to recover after the chilly nights of winter, so the ones on the vine are pretty tiny. Used up six of those as well.
• Vacuumed
• Made the schedule for the week ahead

I still need to clean the kitchen, but I'll do that after I finish dinner. I need to go prep all of the veggies for the curry (broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes & carrots) & make a salad. 

Hope you are enjoying your weekend! Please share what you are growing in your garden. 

Saturday Happenings

 It's been a week around these parts! Plenty of chaos, and plenty to feel grateful about.

School COVID:

Sam's high school soccer season came to an abrupt end, as another school team had a COVID outbreak, and exposed two other teams. We played one of the infected teams on Tuesday, but our players are taking twice weekly COVID tests (not all teams are). Sam again tested negative on Thursday, and we are very happy about that.

He's quite sad to see the season end, but we are happy he had the experience, and that he is safe & healthy. Sam's 15, so we have our fingers crossed that the Pfizer vaccine will be extended to both kids (Nick is 14) in the next month or so. 

Falling:

I fell while running on Thursday. A dog & I surprised each other coming around a shady corner, and the dog lunged, I tried to pivot another way & tripped over a pot hole. I managed to put my hands down to avoid falling on my face, but I have road rash on my hands, and hit my entire right side of my body on the concrete. Luckily, I was wearing my nicer running pants, and they held up well & protected me from additional road rash. But, oh does my right side ache. I can't comfortably lift my right arm over shoulder height. Getting my sports bra on & off nearly required additional assistance. My knee & hip are uncomfortable, but that shoulder is the real challenge. I'm already thinking of the kitchen chores I can assign to Nick this weekend (he'll love the chance to earn some extra $$). Putting dishes on the higher shelves, reaching for spices, etc are all bothering me. But, I am similarly feeling grateful that I didn't break or sprain anything. My hands are already healing nicely, I didn't require a hospital visit, and I'm hopeful that my shoulder pain will be gone in a few days. I can still be active, within reason.

Other:

I had to deliver a very hard message at work, so I'm very happy that's over & I can move on to the next phase. I lost a lot of sleep over the situation, and feel relieved that it's done. 

We have a reasonably quiet Saturday today. No club soccer, Sam is meeting a few friends at a park for a masked up outdoor birthday gathering. He will play tennis in the afternoon. Both boys are getting hair cuts, because they are looking super shaggy. 

M is going to grill chicken & make rice, and I have a few tasks to complete:

• Laundry. Always
• Finish CD project. I uploaded a bunch of old CDs to the Decluttr app. Unfortunately, M had taken his CD collection (YEARS ago) out of the original cases for storage. In order to sell them, they have to be added back, with the appropriate label & insert. I'm so happy these are going somewhere useful that's not my garage, I'm willing to do the work. Oh, but it's a hassle.
• Find boxes to package Decluttr order.  
• List on Buy Nothing all of the CDs & movies Decluttr wouldn't accept. If no interest, figure out another option. Electronics recycling? 
• Pick & then juice all lemons. Get Nick to help, as it's quite an arm workout (we have a juicer that has a manual turn)
• Clean fridge
• Organize & inventory freezer
• Start list for the beach house (what we can get rid of, what people have asked for, what I can sell, etc)
• Some sort of slow workout that involves no upper body workout

I think that's it. Oh, and a shot of my favorite lunch place in Sonoma. That fig/balsamic/onion jam is addictive & incredible. Plus, I love cheese. :)

What are you grateful for this week? What are you up to this weekend? 

Frugal Friday

It was another busy week, and Sam is now back at school four days/week. Hurrah! School soccer season is drawing to a close, and Nick is heading back to school four days/week starting in May (he's currently at two days/week). The schedule changes weekly, which is a bit of a logistical challenge, but I'm grateful for the increase of in person learning time. We were able to heavily leverage freezer meals this week, which was a big win in freeing up time & keeping us fed, while avoiding eating out.

Here are our frugal wins for the week:

Saving on things we buy

• Used our Costco executive member rebate to buy groceries for the week. We didn't spend it all, so ended up with $200+ in cash as well.
• Some of you may remember our cleat debacle a few weeks back, and how we had to splurge on the most expensive cleats due to sizing issues. Less than a month later, the shoes fell apart completely! What a disappointment. I followed up with Dick's Sporting Goods & sent photos of the damage, and they issued a full replacement. Normally, cleats last a minimum of one season, and sometimes we can get 1.5 seasons out of a pair. Lasting less than 30 days is definitely a no go. I guess this answers the question of whether paying a lot more adds any value. Not in this particular case.
• Earned a $5 reward on Raise, so used that to buy a Subway gift card. I earned a small rebate clicking through Rakuten first, then applied the $5 reward. I bought a $25 gift card for just under $20. Sam loves Subway, so it's a good emergency meal option during crazy days. 

Earning money

• I continued to list & sell things on eBay. I also had one FB sale. My sales for the week included:
• Makeup samples from a subscription box I was gifted
• A reusable sandwich bag gizmo. I want something similar, but this wasn't exactly what I had in mind. I got it for free, and sold it the same day I listed it
• A pair of jeans that are too big
• A tourist tshirt that was a gift and never worn
• A shirt of M's that's too big
• A candle making kit

Avoiding spending

• Returned a gift that ended up not working out

Eating what we have

• I ate a leftover sandwich I discovered in the fridge (from Wednesday's trip to Santa Cruz, I presume?) Those are the type of leftovers that get pushed to the back, & no one ever eats. 
• I picked a bunch of radishes from our raised beds, and used them in salads
• Defrosted steaks from the freezer, and M grilled those for dinner on Saturday
• I made more homemade protein balls, warming up the honey in two containers that were down to the very bottom. After warming, I was able to get another 1/4 cup out, and use them in the protein balls. Homemade protein balls are so much cheaper than anything you can buy. My dad was training for a big event while he was here, and biking 50 miles/day. He needed quick & easy options, so the protein balls were a big hit.
• My dad also used up some hydration tablets & energy blocks while he was here, which I'm glad we had on hand to save him from needing to buy additional items.
• Ate leftover enchiladas (and, made quesadillas using leftover cheese) for dinner one night.
• Defrosted the lasagna my dad made while he was here, and we had it for two additional dinners. 

For others

• I love our local Buy Nothing group, and gave away a coffee maker & pods, after my parents visited. They prefer regular brewed coffee, and we use an espresso maker, so we've kept the pod Keurig for their visits. I don't like the cost or waste of the pods, so we'll bring our coffee maker from our vacation house when we sell it, and keep that for their future visits. 
• I was able to fulfill an ask on a Buy Nothing group (which is a bit rare, as most asks are for small kid items that I don't have). A mom needed cold weather shirts for a trip, and I had some items on eBay. It was awesome to be able to donate them instead, and help someone else avoid spending money. 
• Gave away a bunch of other stuff on Buy Nothing
• Donated an item to a charity auction
• Continued volunteering for a non-profit, and logged my hours through my company, earning an in kind donation for the company

That's it from my side. What about you? Any frugal or for other wins this week? 

Menu Plan Monday

 It's a busy week, with a ton of meetings on my calendar, and Sam going back to school 4x/week, and Nick 2x/week. It's also the last week of school soccer, so our week looks crazy. As a result, we're keeping things easy around here.

• Friday - leftover kebabs & rice
• Saturday - M grilled steak (freezer) & corn
• Sunday - hot dogs & salad
• Monday - my dad's lasagna (freezer)
• Tuesday - tacos (freezer)
• Wednesday - enchiladas (freezer)
• Thursday - salmon
• Friday - Sam's last school soccer game, so probably pizza (freezer) 

What about you? What's on your menu plan this week? 

Sunday happenings

I definitely felt like I was back into my soccer mom routine yesterday, with an 8:00 am game (field arrival at 7:15, & setting the alarm for 6), and an afternoon game. The first game was really enjoyable to watch. The second was in my top five least favorite games I've ever spectated. Some parents are just obnoxious, and some teams don't demonstrate good sportsmanship. I'll leave it at that. 

After the terrible second game, I treated Sam to a Slurpee from 7-11. This is an unheard of treat in our house, but he'd played 180+ minutes of soccer, and 90+ minutes of warm ups, so he'd burned plenty of calories. ;-) Luckily, the Slurpee cheered him right up, and by the end of the ride home, we were laughing about the chaos of the other team & their poor behavior. 

The boys were on spring break last week, so my parents helped out with activities & taking them to fun events while M & I worked. It was great. They took Sam surfing on Wednesday in Santa Cruz, Nick & my dad went on long bike rides together, and my parents are also awesome & cooked plenty of food for us. We were sad to see them go on Friday, but are now getting back into our routine.

Tomorrow kicks off the official "start" of the school year, with Sam needing to be at the school by 8:00 am. Both boys bike to school, so it will be an early morning & a big transition from the online learning schedule. :-) We're excited to have him back in school. He's also getting twice weekly COVID testing (for his soccer team). We're hoping he will be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine soon, as he's 15. 

Last night's dinner was a team effort. M grilled steaks (from the freezer), I sauteed baby bok choy that M came home with, and Nick made delicious French bread. It's supposed to be really warm today (80+), so M is grilling hot dogs & corn, while I'll make a salad.

Nick has been buying & fixing up bikes for the last year, and then selling them to make money for a new bike for himself. He's also been doing lots & lots of chores for us, to earn extra money. A year later, he finally had enough for a new bike, so he's been getting in lots of riding. Boys on bikes make me happy. It's such a positive childhood experience, that doesn't allow for any technology!

That's it at our house. What about you? What are you up to this weekend?

Frugal Friday

We were in Sonoma over the weekend, and definitely caught up for lost time on spending on travel! :) We had a wonderful time, and tried to stay on track for other frugal wins, so we can afford these occasional splurges. 

Saving on things we buy

• Used $5 of grocery store rewards to pick up dinner items for Sunday
• Used a $1 digital coupon for another store item

Earning money

• I didn't list any new eBay items over the weekend, but made a few sales:
• An outgrown kids shirt
• An insulated wine bag
• A dress that's too big
• A work shirt that I don't envision wearing, post-COVID
• An outgrown running jacket
• An accessory for a Garmin
• Uploaded all of our receipts to Fetch & iBotta. Used a few $.10 iBotta offers, big money style ;-) 

Avoiding spending

• We got home late afternoon on Sunday, but didn't feel like spending money or eating out again, after Friday & Saturday. So, I picked up ingredients & we had tacos, pico de gallo, guac, chips, etc. It was delicious.

Eating all of our food

• Used cilantro & jalapenos from the yard for pico de gallo

For others

• Helped my parents with some tech stuff. This is an ongoing process, whenever they visit. :-) 
• Sorted out a return for my parents
• Tracked down & returned a neighbor's dog
• Continued with my checkins & support for my volunteer job

That's it from our side? What about you? Any frugal wins, or ways you've helped others? 

Menu Plan Monday

 This is the plan in only the loosest sense of the word, as my parents are in town & will help out with cooking:

• Friday - we went out to dinner & the food was amazing. Unsure what the rest of the crew did.
• Saturday - we were out again, and the food was good, but I didn't love the restaurant. The fam had delivery pizza, to kick off the boys spring break
• Sunday - made a bunch of taco meat, & pico de gallo/guac. We started off with chips & guac & then moved on to tacos. It was a lovely meal, and we hung out by the pool ahead of dinner.
• Monday - my dad is making lasagna, and we have salad. Nick made a loaf of French bread to have with it. 
• Tuesday - likely leftover tacos, as we'll need to eat between activities.
• Wednesday - M is making burgers, which we will have with corn & salad
• Thursday - unclear, but my dad may make chicken
• Friday - it's going to be a busy day, as I have to take my parents to the airport, Sam has a soccer game, & a few other things. It might be a freezer meal, or leftover lasagna.

And, a few of my favorite pictures from Sonoma, including the lilac bush (? is that right?) right outside of our hotel. The smell was heavenly. 

A perfect picnic spot, and quite COVID friendly ;-) 

Sonoma Saturday

 My parents arrived on Thursday, Nick had his first day of in person school on Friday, and then we headed to Sonoma. (The kids stayed with my fabulous parents.)

We had a lovely lunch yesterday, went to a tasting room & sat in the sun, and just chatted. We talked on the drive from our house to Sonoma, at lunch, and at the tasting room. Alone time has been so precious this last year, so even the time to just catch up has been such a gift.

We chilled for a bit in our room, walked around & then had dinner. We definitely aren't used to eating that much in a day, so I'll remember that for today. Dinner was so delicious, & we've been lucky enough to be able to eat outside for both lunch & dinner. 

I'm going to try & get photos to share today. We're heading to my favorite winery in a few hours. It's escaped the wild fires not once, but twice, and both have been very close calls. You can buy the wine locally, but my favorite type isn't sold in stores, so I'll hope to pick some up while we're there & support the winery.

It's very strange to be masked up in a hotel, but we are so appreciative of being able to be out & about a bit, even with the restrictions. 

My parents report that Nick had a great first day of school, and then went on a long bike ride with my dad, while Sam finished up his day. A lovely day all around for everyone.

Here's hoping you all have a wonderful weekend plan, regardless of where you may be!

Frugal Friday

 It was a relatively quiet frugal week. Here's what we were up to. 

Saving on things we buy

• Bought Sam lunch after a soccer game, and used a $2 reward at Subway
• Used $7 of rewards for the grocery store to buy berries & a few other Easter items. Also picked up the Friday Freebie (Vitamin Water), which one of the kids must have enjoyed before it even got home. 
• Uploaded all of our receipts to Fetch & saved $.20 on the purchase above via iBotta.

Earning money

• Ebay & other sales
• Two makeup samples
• Two books
• Our old gaming system
• A box of books & an old iPod to Decluttr (it's an app)
• Redeemed 2200 Swagbucks for a $25 Amazon gift card

Avoiding spending

• I couldn't find a spring form baking pan over the weekend, so borrowed one from a neighbor to make a cheesecake for Easter

Eating what we have

• Used grilled chicken (freezer) to make a few quick dinners
• Added bananas from the freezer to muffins to make M gluten free muffins, that also had no sugar. I personally am not a fan, but he's enjoying them
• I needed to thin radishes that were planted too close together, and a few of them were big enough to use on a salad. Also, picked one lonely cherry tomato off of a plant that's still hanging on from last season. 

For others

• Continued volunteer work
• Did some research on Medicare scams, as unfortunately, my disabled aunt was caught up in a scam. I'm trying to help my mom sort out best way to move forward in a really challenging situation.

That's all for us. What about you? What frugal wins did you have this week? 

April Goals

 I'm a little behind this month, but better late than never. Here are my goals for the month of April! There's a big one in the Financial bucket, and I'll provide more context in an upcoming post, but, we're planning to sell our vacation house.

Financial:

• Stick to the budget
• Make $400 in side hustle
• No clothing purchases for myself
• Finish plan for house pay down to 75%
• Come up with plan, timing, etc for selling our vacation house
• Finalize timing for house project here

Family:

• Plan one fun activity with the kids
• Off the computer by 7:30 each evening
• One date with M (it's actually a weekend away in April!)
• Make a video or send photos to M's parents
• Finalize summer plans
• Enjoy my parents visit

Fitness/health:

• Lose 2 lbs
• Run 10 times
• Track calories, eat a balanced diet, & average 1390 calories (per day) in PAril
• Complete 1400 minutes of cardio & daily strength & posture challenges
• Meditate 15 times
• Intermittent fasting, 3x/week
• When I'm tempted to snack, due a 3 minute meditation or take a walk around the block

 Personal/creative

• Practice Spanish at least 20 days
• Do something social with friends
• Continue daily check ins of volunteer job
• Write & journal regularly
• No swearing
• Do something crafty
• Achieve 400 "points" on my daily checklist
• Continue looking for opportunities to help others

That's it from my side. What about you? What goals are you setting for April?

 

March Goals Recap

March was the month where the boys activities picked up quite a bit & we adjusted a a busier life again. There have been a lot of adjustments, as sports conflicted (school soccer & club soccer are typically intentionally during opposite seasons, but due to COVID, are happening simultaneously). It's all good, and this is a brief period of time, but it's busy, busy, busy!

Our big win for the month was finally getting our mortgage to the 1/2 way point. 

Here's how I did on my goals for March:

Financial:

• Stick to the budget - Yes! We did well on both dining out & groceries this month. I'm very happy about this, as it's been tough to bring our grocery budget back under control during COVID. 
• Make $400 in side hustle - I ended at $386, which I'm happy with
• No clothing purchases for myself - I bought two very needed new bras, and two new dresses. After losing weight, i replaced a few & donated a couple of others. 
• Pay down our mortgage to the half way point - YES!! Done! I'm now working on the next milestone of 75%.
• Plan & budget or the next house project - we know we're going to add shelving in the garage, but haven't gotten further than that.

Family:

• Plan one fun activity with the kids - so, so many soccer games. We need a family game night soon
• Off the computer by 7:30 each evening - mostly, minus reading
• One "date" with M - yes, we went to lunch & a wine tasting during our bonus vacation day
• Make a video for M's parents, or send photos - sent pictures
• Finalize summer plans - about 1/2 way there, thanks to some unexpected changes (more on this in April goals post)

Fitness/health

• Lose 3 lbs - I lost 2 
• Run 10 times - yes, 10 exactly
• Track calories, eat a balanced diet - I struggled more with this in March & need to figure out better strategies to dealing with stress that don't involve eating the kids Easter candy
• Complete 1,300 minutes of cardio, & daily strength & posture challenges - 1,375 of cardio, & I'd give myself an 85% success rate on the strength & posture
• Meditate 15 times - 13/15
• Intermittent fasting, 3x/week - missed one, but otherwise all good

Personal/creative

• Practice Spanish at least 20 days - yes
• Do something social with friends - yes, I did a few hikes & an outdoor meet up with a few other friends, plus a virtual happy hour
• Daily check ins & support of volunteer job - yes
• Write & journal regularly. Try fiction writing for at least 30 minutes - yes
• Shoot for no swearing for the month - I've had a couple of curse worth days, but otherwise yes
• Crafty - finish two more hats for the homeless - no progress
• Achieve a total of 400 "points" on my daily checklists - I came close, with 395
• Continue to look for opportunities to help others daily - yes, & I liked the renewed focus. I donated to a charity a neighbor was gathering items for, made a few financial donations, signed another charity up to receive a corporate match, and helped someone find a vaccine. 
• Find a new date for our girls trip - yes

 

That's it for me! How did you do with your March goals? Are you happy with your progress?

Menu Plan Monday

We loved the tacos el pastor recipe last week, and the pot roast was a modest success. I'd say that none of us our big pot roast fans, so I wouldn't blame it on the recipe. 

It's another busy week ahead, with my parents arriving on Thursday. M & I are planning to head to Napa on Friday for a weekend getaway, and I'm quite excited about that.

Here's what's on the menu for the week:

• Friday - salmon & wings (M), leftover egg roll in a bowl with wings for others
• Saturday - grilled chicken & tortellini
• Sunday - kebabs & rice
• Monday - leftover chicken & tortellini
• Tuesday - tacos
• Wednesday - leftover kebabs & rice
• Thursday - my parents arrive. We will likely do takeout, as it's a crazy day of driving & meetings, & sports & airport pickup
• Friday - M & I will be eating out! I have outdoor reservations for us for both Friday & Saturday. My parents will probably do takeout with the boys

What about you? What's on your menu plan for the week?

Embrace the moment

Today I'm remembering all of those Easters with tiny boys, eagerly anticipating the Easter Bunny, & hunting for eggs. 

And, normally, I might be sad about the early morning soccer game, followed by math tutoring & tennis, but instead, I'm embracing it. Parenting teens. Life with a 14 & 15 year old. We still did an Easter egg hunt, but I really need to up my hiding game for next year. 

The morning started like this:

And, after soccer, we did squeeze in an egg hunt between activities. I'm embracing these moments, because they are fleeting with teenagers. 

I'm off to plant more seeds in our planter box, because spring is a time of hope, even for those of us with a black thumb!

Happy Easter, to everyone who celebrates. 

Frugal Friday

Another busy week, complete. It's been pretty fun to see the boys resume sports & activities & get ready for "back to school", but it's added a lot of overhead to my day. Some of it is adjusting to my "pre-COVID" life, and another part is that going back to school looks quite different right now, with many adjusted schedules & ramp back weeks, so a lot to catch up on & understand.

Here are our frugal wins for the week. 

Saving on things we buy

• Used grocery store rewards to cover the cost of 5 lbs of ground beef, which I divided up for the freezer. Got a $.10 iBotta credit for any grocery purchase
• Used a "one free item" coupon at our local Chick Fil A. I also bought two lunches, and made sure to scan my reward card for future discounts. 
• Saved $3.75 with iBotta on Easter purchases
• I submitted email on a product concern & received a $10 debit card back. I activated it & tried to use it at Amazon, & no dice. Spent the time to track down the issue with the debit card bank, got it resolved, and bought a $10 Amazon gift card with it, so I wouldn't forget to use it before it expired. Immediately applied it to my Amazon account. 
• Tracked down $11.32 in missing Rakuten credit

Earning money

• My sales have picked up a bit. Here's what I sold last week:
• A Bodum tea press, that my husband had for 20+ years and never uses (doesn't drink tea any more). I found this in the back of the kitchen cabinet in our remodel, and set it aside. Five months later, it sold. Patience for the win.
• A crystal creamer & sugar set. I've decided I'm not that type of entertainer, so listed these on FB marketplace (too heavy to ship, given the price) & again, they sold at least 8 weeks after I'd listed them.
• A Christmas ornament
• A work out shirt that's too big for M
• A medal from a race. I'm not a medal keeper, and am always surprised when these sell
• A suit that no longer fits M
• Another tea insert (Teavana). I'm lazy & prefer bagged tea vs loose leaf
• A tshirt Nick didn't like
• 3 pieces of crystal (FB marketplace). To the same buyer who bought the cream & sugar set. 
• Received a $25 refund for an old calling plan I'd forgotten I had. 
• Cashed out $20.50 from iBotta

Avoiding spending

• I picked up a bike mechanic book for Nick off of the local Buy Nothing group. He's thrilled
• Used a Target gift card to pick up Easter items. We'll do a small egg hunt for the boys in our yard, as per our tradition. I picked up candy to put in the eggs. I also picked up the items I need to make a Basque (crustless) cheesecake for dessert.

Eating what we have

• Shredded the cabbage I found on a great sale before St. Patrick's Day. Added shredded carrots to make my own coleslaw mix for Egg Roll in a Bowl, and a Keto friendly coleslaw
• Noticed a few leftover protein bars in our pantry, with an upcoming expiration date. Had one for a quick breakfast ahead of a soccer drop off. 
• Used an (almost last) Italian chicken sausage with a salad for lunch. One left in the freezer.
• I was able to use cilantro from the garden for a recipe this week. Cilantro is one of the spices we use the most, so it's great that our plant has really taken off.
• Picked oranges to juice for Easter mimosas.

For others

• Continued volunteer job
• Listed & gave away a few things on the local Buy Nothing group

What about you? Please share your frugal wins or things for others this week.