Frugal Friday

With the cost of groceries, I've been paying more attention than ever to store offers, rewards, & the like. There have been a few wins in that regard lately, although it does require some time & attention. 

Saving on things we buy

• I picked up some buns at the grocery store, and checked for any iBotta offers against my receipt. Earned $.50 for something I'd already bought, which is always a nice surprise. 
• Nick is planning to attend two weeks of tennis training this summer. I used an early bird discount, plus a credit for when a few days of camp got rained out, cutting the cost by 70%. 
• Ordered new soccer cleats for Nick, using a gift card (I purchased it a month or so ago, and earned grocery store rewards for the purchase). I also clicked through Rakuten, and earned $10 back. 
• Used a few Safeway coupons to save a bit off of a purchase, although failed to notice that my $5 birthday offer was a reward I need to clip, vs applied automatically. Next time, I suppose. I also uploaded my receipts to Fetch & iBotta, saving a bit more. 

Earning money

• Helped Sam fill out his payroll forms, for his part time soccer coaching job.
• Similarly, filled out his tax returns for 2022, and for $14.99 (California cost money to file, federal was free), he's getting $100 or so back. That will go into his college account.

Avoiding spending

• I thought of using a gift card to treat myself after my MRI on Wednesday, but waited until I got home to have some tea. Although it wouldn't have been out of pocket spending, I still have the money to use for another time. 

Eating what we have

• I'm continuing to eat random leftovers for breakfast & lunch, on days I eat at home. I had a chicken patty & fried rice for one meal, soup for another, and a cheese quesadilla. 
• I also had two smoothies, using up a smoothie mix that M purchased, and no one liked. It was super heavy on the kale flavor. I was able to remove about 1/2 of the kale, then add a banana, some protein powder & soy milk, and had those for two meals this week. They are out of my freezer, and it was a healthy & filling meal.

For others

• Gave stuff away on Buy Nothing, volunteered a couple of hours of my time at work, and arranged for a few carpools - saving other parents time is always a win!

What about you? Any wins to share for the week?