Frugal Friday

This week absolutely flew by, thanks to a very busy work schedule, & a completely full weekend, as club soccer games all have to be wrapped up by this weekend. Lots of reffing, school soccer & club soccer! We used our freezer meals more than ever, & they were much appreciated this week.  

Saving on things we buy

• Used a coupon for free chips & queso at Chipotle
• We are planning a trip to Park City in February, for Sam's birthday. The best flight option is Southwest, so I started with Rakuten, clicked through to Raise, used a promotional offer, & bought the largest Southwest card available. I've learned that you can only use a limited number of gift cards per transaction on Southwest, which has previously left me with a number of smaller value gift cards that are harder to use. Since I was purchasing tickets for four people, the entire gift card was used up. The Raise promo offer was $20 off, plus the standard Raise discount. We saved 8% there, and then Rakuten offers another 1% off the total Raise purchase price. 
• For our trip to Park City, I shopped around for a place that was conveniently located, but also had a washer & dryer, & kitchen, which will save us money on food & allow us to not have to pack as much ski gear (we can wash between days.) 

Earning money

• I still haven't been listing anything on eBay, so no money there.
• Nick, however, has been reffing a lot of soccer games, which is awesome for him. Club soccer is trying to wrap up all of their games before the season ends, so this is the perfect time to get in a lot of reffing. 

Avoiding spending

• We are still growing our own tomatoes, even in November. It's so nice not to have to buy them at the store, for now. 
• My sister is joining me for a few days in London, and we will take advantage of my work hotel. I was able to use a credit for her flight, so both the hotel & flight will be free for her/our weekend. Woohoo! I still have a bit of credit, but United extended the expiration date until end of 2022. It was previously April, so the change was super helpful.

Eating what we have

• I made a taco quesadilla for Nick & Sam for dinner one night, using up the last of the taco meat that wasn't quite enough for a traditional taco. 
• Made a caprese salad for dinner one night, using up garden tomatoes & basil, & the last of fresh mozzarella before it went bad. Served it with the balsamic chicken (frozen) that we didn't enjoy as much on the first round. It was much better served over pasta, and with the caprese to really bring out all of the flavor. In bonus points, I was also able to use up some pasta from the fridge. It truly was a "use it up" meal.
• Had beef stew (freezer, and happily easy to find, due to my freezer inventory) for lunch one day. 
• We ate multiple pomegranates from the garden.
• Ate the last of the chicken curry for lunch this week. 
• I found a package of bacon wrapped chicken in the way back of the freezer, and pulled that out for a quick dinner. I also found some ice cream cones & one lingering breakfast sandwich, & moved those to the front. They will disappear quickly. ;-) 

For others

• Picked up trash at the soccer field, two times while walking. I can't bring myself to pick up the many discarded masks, but I do pick up all of the water bottles, and put them in the recycling bins.
• Stayed late at two games to help put away field equipment
• Volunteered with my non-profit
• Helped with an ESL event at our school
• Treated my sister to a trip to London (in February). She's never been to Europe, & she's thrilled!

That's it from our side. How about you? Any wins for the week?