It's been another busy week. Lots of work (all four of us), soccer practice is back, and plenty of running around.
Saving on things we buy
- I took Nick to lunch on his way home from tennis camp (apparently, that 50 hours of tennis really took it out of him ;-)) & used a free drink coupon to go with his burrito.
- I've been buying sandwich fixings for the boys to make lunch each day. While it's not the cheapest lunch option, it's easy for them & fills them up for a day of work. There were a few Fetch offers for various sandwich items (cheese, deli meat), so I also scanned those receipts.
Earning money
- The boys are both back at work this week, earning money. Our agreement is that they keep as much summer earnings as possible, and that should largely serve as their spending money for the year ahead. Sam still has summer money from last year (after a brief challenge with spending too quickly, we then worked together on a plan, where he transfers over $25 a week to checking). Having your own money & understanding how much things cost is super helpful. Both kids comment on the price of various things, now that they are spending their own money - which is an amazing life lesson! :-)
- I listed an immediately sold a bike shirt on eBay.
Avoiding spending
- Not having Amazon Prime made it much easier to resist the deals this year!
Eating what we have
- Rather than ordering anything for myself at Chipotle, I came home & made a sandwich & had that with a bowl of berries & a few bites of potato salad.
- We continue to use lots of garden goodies, and finally have some tomatoes! I've been making caprese salad with fresh garden tomatoes & basil. Yum!
- Ate lots of leftovers this week, including meat loaf & taco meat from the freezer.
For others
- We are helping out a family member in a tight spot
- I coordinated travel arrangements for a celebratory trip for my nephew's 21st birthday, and covered flights for him + my dad. In other news, flights are absolutely insane right now. Crazy wild expensive.
- My dad wanted to use his miles to cover my uncle's trip to Las Vegas, but the airline he has miles on was 2x as expensive as Southwest. Instead, I covered my uncle's trip (I had gift cards purchased at the grocery store, which is how I get my grocery store rewards) & used my dad's miles to cover a trip here in October when my parents watch the boys. I always cover their flights, as they are providing what used to be childcare, and can now more accurately be described as teen supervision. ;-)
- Gave away a bunch of stuff on Buy Nothing
That's it on my side. What about you? Any wins to share?
For me Amazon Prime, with its cheap enrollment offers and then escalating monthly charge, is to be avoided. And I just love from your remarks what an inexhaustible source of food your freezer is.
ReplyDeleteRoderick
We try to keep the freezer well stocked, as we don't like to cook multiple times per week. Finding something in the freezer that will serve as 1-2 dinners during the week is a gift. I do try to quarterly do a freezer "fill up", where I make things specifically for the freezer. Otherwise, it stacks up organically, from leftovers.
DeleteI looked for a power bank on prime day, but it was the same price as before prime day, so I didn't buy it. That was the only thing I was considering You did good by getting rid of prime. I think of doing that from time to time too.
ReplyDeleteThat is great that Sam still has spending money from last summer. You've taught them well. Bailey is very careful about how she spends her money as she know that it's hard earned.
Good deal on Fletch and the sandwich fixings.
I pay for Kindle Unlimited, so I'm not entirely free, but I most certainly get my money's worth. I read upward of 5 books/week most weeks, and am a voracious reader. Caveat: I took a speed reading course in high school, which was super helpful during college/grad school, but also means that I read books for pleasure very quickly.
DeleteSam had some blips earlier in the year, but then understood how nice it was to have his own spending money, so it's worked out really well. Sounds like you've taught Bailey the same thing, so well done.
I have never ordered from Amazon, although my kids have ordered vitamins for me… lol. During the first year of the pandemic, I did order a lot from Walmart.com but went back to in store shopping after the vaccine was available. I just like to look at my stuff first before buying. Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteI prefer shopping in the store, but most of my friends do pickup. Maybe I'll switch at some point, but like you, I prefer to look at my items before I buy.
DeleteI used something from Clark Howard. I bought plane tickets for August 63 days in advance. Wow! Half priced.
ReplyDeleteHalf priced flights are to be celebrated. Travel costs are nuts right now.
Delete