Frugal Friday

 I find myself overwhelmed by current events, and it's hard to think of anything else. It's been a real struggle. I'm working on taking care of myself, focusing on the things that I can control, and hugging the boys & M extra tight this week. 

Saving on things we buy

• Picked up Home Depot gift cards at the grocery store, as they generated $30 in rewards. The receipt also generated a $.10 ibotta offer. 
• Sam needed poster board for a school project, so I went to Rite Aid. That had poster board on clearance, but the only white poster board left was a package of 10, that had been opened, with 4 pieces missing. I took it to the register, and the guy sold it to me for a buck. 

Earning money

• Nothing this week

Avoiding spending

• I'm now consistently eating lunch at work a few times a week, which is making a tiny dent in the grocery budget. Given the rising prices, it's mostly keeping us even, I suppose. 
• Picked up the Friday Freebie at the grocery store, which was taco seasoning. We make a lot of tacos, so this was a welcome surprise. 
• I picked our first garden produce (lettuce), which we used in a salad. I don't know why we haven't grown lettuce in the past, because it produces well, and we certainly use a lot of it. 

Eating what we have

• Used up two packages of zucchini (freezer), a bunch of leftover nuts, & the end of a bag of dried berries to make a double batch of zucchini muffins. I'm trying to get all of the zucchini out of the freezer ahead of our first zucchini from this year's garden.
• Turned a takeout entree into one dinner, one lunch, & then added some lettuce & tomato to the gyro bowl to round it out into one last lunch. It was delicious, & I didn't want any of it to go to waste. 
• Defrosted chicken to go with rice on Monday. I had a late meeting, and needed an easy meal option for M. He made rice to go with the chicken & round out the dinner.
• Used the last of a loaf of sourdough bread to make garlic bread one night, after it had gotten a bit stale. 

For others

• Helping out a friend who is re-entering the workforce
• Found money on a hike, and gave it to the ranger's station as a donation, and/or lost & found. It was right near the booth, so I suspect it blew out of someone's car or hands as they were paying for entry
• Gave away the rest of my poster board on Buy Nothing, so other parents of last minute students too could have supplies. :-) 
• Volunteered to judge entries for a girls in tech global project, that's a lot of fun. 

I hope you are all well this week, and staying mentally & physically healthy.