Frugal Friday

 We made a lot of progress on the food front this week, and had some other small wins along the way.

Saving on things we buy

• I uploaded our receipts to Fetch. No big savings, but a bit here & there
• After a very unexpectedly long outing, I treated Sam to lunch at Subway. I had $10 or so on my app that I didn't remember, so that was a bonus.
• I stocked up on hoodies for the boys for school (fall), as they were a great price. I really struggle to find plain (non-logo'd) hoodies. Finally found some, and tried to save as much as possible. First, went through Rakuten to Raise, earning 1% back. On Raise, bought gift cards for 10% off. Then, clicked over to Old Navy (via Rakuten again), saving another 6%. The clothing was marked down 35%, and then there were the additional savings via Raise & Rakuten. Let's hope the four hoodies will last for the entire year. They are thrilled to have non-logo'd hoodies, and I was able to get slightly different but both very neutral colors for each kid. No one wants to match their brother! 
• After numerous cancellations, the boys were able to get their second vaccines at Rite Aid! We got celebratory Thrifty's ice cream post shot, and I earned a $.10 iBotta offer. 

Earning money

• I continued to list things on eBay, and went through all of my inventory to decide what to keep, price adjust, donate, or give away. I only a few items this week. It was a super slow week:
• A Seattle Sounders soccer shirt
• A small Pokemon figurine I got in Japan 
• Not sure which bucket this really falls into, but I received a Paypal offer to buy $25 of bitcoin, & get a $25 Paypal credit. I've been reluctant on bitcoin, but this felt like a safe (not to mention low risk) offer. There was a small fee (can't remember, but maybe $.75). I went for it, and purchased $25 of bitcoin, and immediately redeemed the Paypal offer for a $25 Home Depot gift card. So, all told, I now have $25 of bitcoin, for approximately $.75. We'll see how this experiment plays out. :-) 

Avoiding spending

• We had an unfortunate burned dinner situation (details below), & considered buying a timer that beeps until shut off (vs our current one that just beeps a few times). I then remembered an old one that's been on the side of the fridge (it's a magnet) & never used. I tried it out & it works great for our purposes. No need to buy anything new. 

Eating what we have

• I had a couple of (carb-less) breakfast sandwiches for lunch. They were originally for Sam, for a quick breakfast, but he grew tired of them quickly. I'm less picky, or care more about food waste. ;-) 
• I re-organized our snack area, and noticed a few of the dried fruit bars I enjoy were available. The teens must not have noticed the last ones, so I had those for a snack.
• Sam used the last of our electrolyte tablets, for hot soccer days. I've had these for awhile (purchased, and also received as samples at races), so it was good to use them up. I really prefer them over Gatorade, as they have minimal plastic waste (one very small plastic tube), and no added sugar. You just add the tablet to a bottle of water, and there is an incredibly mild flavor, but all of the electrolytes you need. 
• Used the first two zucchini to make zucchini muffins. Added some chopped nuts to fill them out a bit. 
• Made roasted parmesan zucchini, to go with dinner on Monday. It was good. I need to tweak the recipe prep a bit, but it was worth making again. Sauteed another zucchini to go with leftovers for M on Tuesday & roasted zucchini on Wednesday. Noticing a theme? ;-) 
• I defrosted a pork loin that had been in the freezer for quite a while, and made a 1/2 batch of crockpot carnitas. One container for the freezer, one for dinners this week.
• I was also able to tweak a recipe to use up a container of enchilada sauce (freezer) & two containers of grilled chicken (freezer) for chicken enchilada rice.
• Finally, I defrosted two small packages of steak, & M made grilled steak on Monday. 
• Ate the last of a grilled chicken sausage. This has been lingering in the freezer forever, so I'm happy to see them gone

For others

• Gave away a bunch of stuff on Buy Nothing:
• A bag of teen boy clothes 
• Arch support inserts that don't fit
• Two pair of soccer cleats
• 2 containers of unopened frozen spanakopita that no one in my family liked (we had to really "work" to eat the first container we opened. So glad someone who enjoys it will get to have it. 
• I gave away zucchini to neighbors (both requested it, it wasn't forced up on them, although we may need to do that, later in the season ;-))

In frugal fails, I asked Sam to remove a pizza from the oven while I picked up Nick from tennis. There was a timer set & everything. Apparently, he didn't hear it, so pizza burned. This was a good lesson that I need a timer that doesn't just beep a few times & then go off, but one that gets louder & louder. That way, the teens can't ignore it. We had fruit & toast for dinner instead, so all was not lost. ;-) 

What about you? Any wins to report?