Frugal Friday

It was not the financial week I originally expected, as my mother in law needs to move our Turkey trip up to April (from June). As a result, we spent a lot more this week than I'd modeled out! It still fits within our larger travel budget, but had planned to spend that money later in the year. 

Saving on things we buy

• The grocery store was having a $10/off a $50 purchase deal this weekend, so I decided to stock up on a few things. We're hosting a soccer party on Saturday, so I got lots of drinks & snacks for that. I also used a gift card, saving another $17 (that's how much was remaining). Unfortunately, I misread the offer for the sparkling water, and should have gotten another one, and then a third one free. But, oh well. We are stocked up on drinks. I also picked up some random ingredients for dinners this week, a snacky birthday gift for Sam (I'll wrap money with it, so it's just not the cash), & a couple of treats next weekend.
• Used four flight credits from our cancelled Whistler trip, to make a tiny dent in our flights to Turkey.

Earning money

• Listed a few things on FB Marketplace
• Listed & sold a pair of running shoes I ordered in the wrong size (and, didn't notice until the return window closed - drat!) on eBay, earning $50. 

Avoiding spending

• Transferred Chase points & used all of my Hyatt points to book 3 rooms x6 nights in Turkey for zero out of pocket. I paid for my room with M out of pocket, but used a discount code. 
• I booked the Hyatt reservations using my "Guest of Honor" passes, which basically means that everyone with us will get my status benefits: free breakfast, club access, & room upgrades. It's a great deal, and was one of the reasons we tried to close the year out with Globalist Hyatt benefits. 

Eating what we have

• The boys were both unexpectedly home on Friday night, after telling us they would likely be out. This isn't my first rodeo with this situation, so I'd made extra baked chicken, and then just added quesadillas to round out their dinners. (M & I had our chicken with salad.) I was able to use up the last of a package of tortillas, as well as the last of the snack pack cheddar & some shredded Mexican cheese, and a few slices of the pepper jack cheese. 
• Made a large batch of coconut chicken curry, which I planned so we could use up two cans of coconut milk. I doubled the recipe, so we were also able to put a bunch in the freezer. It's an easy recipe & three of my four diners enjoy it. 
• M picked up a rotisserie chicken at Costco, and we had some of the chicken from that for dinner one night (froze the rest). I took the chicken bones (and, the bonus bag of rotisserie chicken bones from the freezer) & made two giant stock pots of chicken broth. This also used some old carrots. 
• Finished up one of the three packages of "fancy" cheese we purchased & didn't open for NYE. 
• I was home unexpectedly for a weekday lunch (typically eat at the office) & took some of the leftover Greek vegetables from Sunday, and added a couple of eggs. It was a delicious veggie/egg scramble. 

For others

• I've got a few ongoing things this week:
• Giving away a bunch on Buy Nothing
• Leading a large volunteer project through the school
• Helping out with a very gnarly work problem that is not mine, but I have some expertise in

What about you? Any wins to share?