Frugal Friday

This week is really about using things up (rewards, gift cards, travel credits, food, etc), so that will be the theme of today's post. ;-) Having more time to work through all of these things is definitely useful, so I'll count that as a win.

Saving on things we buy:

• Used two $20 grocery store rewards. On the first trip, I picked up items I needed for dinners this week, plus a few sale items ($.99 sourdough bakery bread, grapes, & cheese). I was on my way home when Sam (home sick with the flu) asked for a variety of drink options (Gatorade, ginger ale, etc). I used another $20 grocery store reward, and combined my purchase with the drinks I needed to pick up for Nick's soccer event, to use up another $20 reward. 
• Went through all of my Fetch gift cards, and verified the balances, marked the used ones so they would no longer appear, and found two gift cards that were still available, with a combined $35 balance. One is for Safeway, which I'll use once I'm done with the current gift card, and the other is for Nike, which I'll use the next time I need to order Nick new tennis shoes. 

Earning money:

• In a real frugal fail, I was reviewing an offer from a buyer on eBay who was driving me crazy offering way under listing, then when I'd counter, he'd raise his offer by $.50 at a time. I kept declining, but eventually was at the store, and hit accept on his last offer. I failed to review my own listing, which apparently included free shipping. I was already selling it way under my original price, so I made a grand total of $.50. Don't be like me. 
• A coworker sent me a small bonus ($75) for a project I'd finished just before the layoffs. 

Avoiding spending:

• It's one of our 2024 goals to reduce travel costs by using points, miles, credits, etc. We are going to Portland in June for Sam's graduation party, plus a 70th birthday biking event for my uncle. Flights for four are super pricey! I was able to book my flights + M's flight using miles (saving $872), and used a flight credit for the boys flights, saving $565. Our out of pocket was $307, vs the standard $1744, so a big win. 
• Used a gift card to make a purchase at Safeway. I've been keeping a closer eye on the ads, and picked up cheese, Goldfish crackers (I swap through a variety of snacks, as we try to keep only 1 available at any time. These made the rotation for the month, given price!), & apples. Used $23 of a gift card, and spent $0 out of pocket. 
• When Safeway swapped their ads, I went another day to pick up couple of other items I need for meals next week, including cabbage at $.37/lb. I used my gift card again, so no out of pocket spent. There is a Safeway in the parking lot of my gym, so it's now super convenient to stop & pick things up when I'm done working out. 
• Disputed a charge for something Amazon couldn't explain, didn't know what it was, and I didn't order, saving $16.

Eating what we have:

• Turned the $.99 sourdough bread into grilled cheese sandwiches for the teens. Minus a huge chunk someone tore off the bread before I could rescue it. 
• Used up extra cilantro, avocado & sour cream in chicken fajitas. They were leftover from the cauliflower taco rice. I remembered to plan another dish that would use up the leftovers, which was a win!
• Ate lots of leftovers for lunches this week, and used up all of the Mexican themed sides (cilantro, avocado & sour cream) for various dishes.
• Used lots of fresh mint (from the garden) in M's salads, per his request. He loves fresh mint. 
• Planned meals for next week around what we have in the pantry & need to use up.
• Made corn dogs for Nick one night, when he missed dinner (again) due to a late tennis match. The corn dogs have been on my "use it up" list for a while. 

For others:

• This is silly, but there was a cart blocking not one but two parking spots at the grocery store near my house. It has a small lot to start with. I parked my car pretty far out, and then stopped & picked up the cart on my way, freeing up the spots for others.
• Shared some resources with my coworker, who was also laid off. 

What about you? Any wins to share?