We are just cruising towards the end of the year! The weeks are flying by. It was a busy week, with plenty of school soccer, an office visit, a few late work nights, etc.
Here are our frugal wins for the week:
Saving on things we buy
- Bought Home Depot gift cards at the grocery store, earning $30 in rewards.
- I had some Rite Aid rewards to use up (from Black Friday), so I went in to see if I could find any deals that matched with iBotta or Fetch. Not much there, but I did use a $10 off of a $50 purchase coupon, & picked up a bunch of stuff we were running low on. I also restocked a few makeup items (mascara, for my gym bag & eyeliner, which I wear rarely, but I'm out of). Total was $16.50, after my rewards. I was able to get $6 off from iBotta for the mascara & eyeliner, bringing the total to $10.50 out of pocket. I then earned another $8 back. I didn't notice that I earned a discount on one of my items, so I'm also $2 away from a $5 bonus reward.
- Went back for the second round of Rite Aid (to spend the $2 for the $5 reward) & spent $8.26, earned $6 in bonus bucks, & another $1.00 via iBotta. I bought: shaving cream, four boxes of tea, & 2 mini chocolate Santas for the kids.
Earning money
- M & I received our comp updates for the year, with our salary increases, annual bonus & stock awards. We also received a one time bonus (not part of our standard comp), which was super awesome & unexpected.
- Redeemed Fetch points for a $10 Amazon gift card
- Cashed out $25.55 of iBotta rewards via Paypal, added it back to the grocery budget
- Made $90 on Facebook Marketplace, selling outgrown skis & poles
- eBay....oh my. I'm very frustrated by some of their crazy policies. I'll leave it there for now, but wow. They make it hard to be a seller.
- I did sell an ugly holiday sweater on eBay
Avoiding spending
- I used Rite Aid rewards to cover the out of pocket cost of a prescription.
Eating what we have
- Ate restaurant leftovers for lunch 2x, and made the kids leftovers for lunch 2x. Teens are lazy, and if I prep it, they will eat it. ;-)
- Had a really busy night, and defrosted a freezer meal (taco cauliflower rice). Shredded cheese, sliced tomatoes & got the guac all ready to go. As soon as my calls were over, I heated up the dinner & we were good to go. Bonus points that it moved a large container out of the freezer.
- Nick had a taco quesadilla on another night, using up a bit more of the leftover taco meat.
- I had a taco salad for lunch, using up the tiny amount of taco meat & taco rice.
- We had leftovers several times for dinner this week
For others
- Call with mentee
- Helped a charitable organization get set up through our work system, so I can log volunteer hours (as can others) & have donations matched
- Volunteered (2x) for a sports tournament for the kids
- Optimized my time to volunteer as much as possible, as I'm attempting to log plenty of volunteer hours before the end of the year. (My company makes a donation to the charity for each hour I volunteer.)
How about you? Any frugal wins to share?
You had another good week, especially with the unexpected bonus and volunteer hours!
ReplyDeleteOdd. I thought that plans for investing the unexpected bonus (plus the other annual income increases) would be front and center in your comments, instead recounting minor savings from purchases. Roderick
ReplyDeleteHi Roderick. I think your slew of only ever negative & nonsensical comments are odd. You have never commented on a post, other than to add a negative comment. Why is that?
DeleteI'm not sure what your intentions are, but you come off as envious. You may want to rethink your trolling. :-)
Wow bonuses are the best.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely like an unexpected bonus…. Lol. I am retired from full time as of December 1st but go back to old job part time on January 3rd and head into trial that day! I guess frugal win is to still get a paycheck? Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the year end bonus. I'm sure you'll put to good use. I like how you describe the boys eating habits. Your life lucky they enjoy whatever you serve, but I read your meals and know they've got to be good.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great frugal week.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Sounds like a good week for you all. Great news on the bonuses. Sounds like you did a good job using stuff you had on hand for meals this week. I know what you mean about prepping the food so your kids will eat it. I do the same thing here. :)
ReplyDeleteHope you've made it through the week ok!
ReplyDeleteI am bemused about how long it's taking me to get any traction on ibotta. I've been on there for ages and still haven't reached teh first payout XD