Friday, August 11, 2023

Two weeks of Frugal Friday

 I was out of town last Friday, so catching up with a double edition.

Saving on things we buy

  • We ran out of packing tape, and I picked up a roll at Rite Aid, and used $4 of Rite Aid rewards. I'll buy a larger pack at Costco, but this will hold us over in the interim. 
  • I used $40 of grocery store rewards to do a mid-week shop. We didn't do our typical grocery shop the week the boys were gone, and had nothing in the house when we got home. I picked up fruit, veggies & some milk, as well as Gatorade for myself, for the 36 hours of fasting I had to do for my medical procedure. 

Earning money

  • In the opposite of "earning money", the post office lost one of my eBay packages, and I need to return the buyer's money. The post office has determined the item was stolen, so hopefully I'll be getting a check at some point. But, there are some hoops to jump through to get my money back for sure. 

Avoiding spending (apparently, these are travel themed for the week)

  • The boys & I were able to get dinner at the airport at no cost, using our lounge passes (these come with our credit card).
  • We used Southwest free drink coupons to get a free drink on our flight back last weekend.
  • We received two free bottles of wine on our trip, and checked a bag (for free) & brought them home.
  • I was upgraded to business class on a work trip to London in November. I used "plus points" earned from status, and while I would never pay to upgrade myself on a work trip, it will be a huge benefit to return home with less jetlag, thanks to a lie flat seat. 

Eating what we have

  • I ate a freebie yogurt container, with fresh strawberries from the garden. I wanted a little "crunch" & figured I'd use some stale cereal (teen snack). Let's just say, whoa! The sugar level in that cereal. I think it was Trix? I ended up eating around it. Haven't had Trix in years, and it's definitely more of a dessert than an actual breakfast food. ;-) 
  • With the boys out of town, I've been trying to creatively eat through smaller portion fridge/freezer items. I made a breakfast burrito for a lunch, using up tomatoes from the garden + tortillas & cheese leftover from taco night. 
  • M & I also had a few leftover kebabs, served with 1/2 of a remaining pack of gyozos.
  • On Monday, with minimal options in the fridge, I made a breakfast burrito (similar to the above) & then we had freezer leftovers for dinner.  
  • I fasted for a few days, and M ate other single serving leftovers from the freezer, which saved us from needing to shop for a bit longer. 

For others

  • M has been helping our neighbor with a variety of projects, I've stocked up on toiletries for a neighbor who is doing a run to a shelter in need, and continue to offer up items to our neighbors on Buy Nothing. 

What about you? Any wins to share?

3 comments:

  1. Oh yes, with the post office. I had to jump through hoops when a package was stolen here, but eventually I did get my money back. Great deal on the $40 worth of grocery rewards. I wonder if Trix is similar in sugar content to Cinnamon Toast Crunch? I do indulge in that on occasion when I have a sweet tooth, but otherwise rarely eat cereal these days,

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  2. I feel your pain on the Trix. We don't eat sugary cereal at all. We stick to plain Bran Flakes and occasionally add Raisin Bran (which is, surprisingly, also loaded with sugar) to it. Great grocery savings! I'm trying hard to eat up as much leftover food, but sometimes I get tired of it. Have a great weekend!

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