It was a packed week, with long work days all around. The boys also fit in some tennis & soccer.
Saving on things we buy
- I was hoping to buy some sneakers that would be light weight & good for a few upcoming trips. I loved them in the white color, and wanted to get a pair in black as well. I went to the outlet, and found them in black for 1/2 price (unfortunately, the white was not available). When I bought the white sneakers, I combined Rakuten with a site sale, so did save 40% off the purchase price.
- I picked up a bunch of things we needed at Safeway (cheese for $1.97/package!) I picked up 8 packages (we go through a lot of cheese here, as a snack & for sandwiches for work lunches for the boys). I also picked up two packages of Gatorade (our agreement is that if it's 90 or close to it and you are playing sports, you can have Gatorade.) Otherwise, it's too expensive & I'm not a fan of the plastic. I also got bread, two packages of deodorant, and three boxes of cereal (teen snack). The total was $51, and I earned $2 of Safeway rewards, $8.10 in iBotta rewards, and $2.72 on Fetch.
- Used grocery store rewards to pick up some lunch items, plus added in the Friday Freebie (some sort of sports drink).
- Picked up some random toiletries that got added to the shopping list (lots of sunblock, for the boys camp & ever more deodorant + cereal, which was again on sale) at Rite Aid. I used $7 of rewards, and saved $2.35 on Fetch, and $6.60 via iBotta. Total purchase price of $37, so this brought it down to a reasonable amount.
Earning money
- I cashed out $25 of Fetch rewards for a Safeway gift card.
- Similarly, I cashed out $31.70 in iBotta, but straight to cash.
Avoiding spending
- Nick works out at the gym right next to a CVS, so had him use my $4 CVS reward to buy drinks for himself & a friend. I wasn't going to make it CVS, but didn't want the reward to go to waste. Teens can always find a way to spend $4. ;-)
Eating what we have
- We continue to eat things here & there from the garden (strawberries, basil, peppers, tomatoes)
- The boys have been packing lunches for work
- I made protein smoothies out of some overripe bananas, and freezer fruit
- I used up a couple of bags of frozen fried rice (one with cauliflower rice), to round out another meal
- As always, we've been eating lots of leftovers
For others
- We often share leftovers with our older neighbor, and did that again this week.
- M helped our neighbor with a home repair project
What about you? Any wins to share?
Not really any frugal wins, but July tends to be a no-spend month for us. Unfortunately, (or not) the month started out with Rite Aid having their 75% off on all plants. As we are desperately trying to get the perennial pollinator garden looking like something, a kid and I came home with a car full of plants. Hey, they were on clearance!
ReplyDeleteOooh, clearance plants sound like a fabulous deal! I do love that, and I'm curious about the perennial pollinator garden. What kind of plants work well for that?
DeleteIt depends on your USDA zone, obviously. The things I have found that work well are: Digitalis (Foxglove) Fireweed, Salvia (particularly the "Hot Lips") Echinacea (Coneflower, particularly purple) Poppy, (all varieties) Lavender and Cosmos. (Cosmos are very easy to grow from seed, and will reseed themselves.) Also, I don't think you can ever go wrong with Daylilies of any type. There's really no rhyme or reason to my beds--they're not orderly at all, but they do attract hummingbirds, Monarch butterflies, bumblebees and honeybees!
DeleteYears ago, Gatorade made a powder version. I remember mixing it up for football and track events. Is that still a thing? It was just the generic lemon lime green version. We made it by the water cooler size, but diluted a bit to keep sugar lower but still have the electrolytes.
ReplyDeleteWe use a lot of Nuun, which you drop into a water bottle, and it adds the electrolytes, but no sugar. It has a very light flavor, as opposed to Gatorade. I'd compare it to the flavor of a La Croix/flavored sparkling water - very light. That's the preference, but teens are known to be lazy, and they do love a full sugared Gatorade when allowed. No mix/prep required! They do still sell the powdered Gatorade, but it doesn't dissolve as well as the Gatorade. Both boys are in charge of mixing it for the camp they work at :-)
DeleteWell done on the frugal front.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.