Friday, September 6, 2024

Frugal Friday

 We spent a lot on the college application process this week, so we need to buckle down on other expenses, particularly given my hiking trip next week. A few wins scattered here & there.

Saving on things we buy

  • Picked up a bunch of things I needed at CVS, and earned $15 in CVS rewards for a future purchase. I also earned $7.10 via iBotta & $.75 via Fetch.
  • Similarly, picked up sparkling water at the grocery store, and used a $.50 off coupon, and earned another $2 via iBotta & $2 via Fetch.

Earning money

  • Listed a few new things on eBay, which I often find has the bonus effect of boosting views to older listings.
  • Did a consulting call & earned $150 for an hour.
  • I attempted to give away a pair of Nick's soccer cleats (used only for reffing, so in good shape) on Buy Nothing. No takers. Then I attempted to donate them to our soccer club cleat exchange. Forgot them in the back of my car. Since I didn't want them hanging around my house & they were in too good of condition to drop off at the shoe recycling place, I listed them on eBay. Sold them in a few hours & made $25. Who knew? 

Avoiding spending

  • Paused Sam's gym membership, while he's away at college
  • Treated Sam to Subway sandwiches (another favorite) with a gift card, and a $6.99 foot long offer. 

Eating what we have

  • I'm trying to make sure Sam's favorite things get eaten before he leaves (like the chicken taquitos that are his go to lunch), and also staying on top of what we're buying. Our grocery bill has been insane lately!
  • We've continued to eat lots of garden lettuce & herbs, as well as peppers, but only have two ripe tomatoes left. I will definitely mourn the end of tomato season. 
  • M bought steak for Labor Day, and we had that for dinner with sauteed green beans (from a neighbor's garden). We saved the other half of the steak & grilled those on Wednesday night. We didn't know that Sam was bringing his GF for dinner, so M & I split one mini steak & I filled up on beans. Probably healthier. ;-) 
  • I had the other half of my Subway sandwich as lunch the following day. 

For others

  • The great clean out of Sam's room continues, and I've given away a ton on Buy Nothing
  • Had another call with a student I'm mentoring on the college application process.
What about you? Any wins to share?

8 comments:

  1. We will mourn the end of tomato season here too. We've had plenty of tomato sandwiches this summer and we will miss them after tomato season passes. That's great that you sold the shoes on eBay after not being able to give them away. That is great about the consulting.

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    1. We've had another batch of tomatoes start to ripen, but I think this will be the last hurrah for summer. They are SO good. I was also really please by selling the cleats, especially so quickly! (HP)

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  2. I know I've been absent in blog world but do enjoy your posts and hearing about your family. I hope Sam loves his college experience and Nick gets offered his top choices for next year. I know life is a whirlwind for you all now. I miss that time in my family and wish now I'd have savoured it more. Take care of yourself as well. I'm glad to read you have carved out time for you.

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    1. Nick struggled first semester of AP calculus, which really dropped his GPA. That will be a blocker for most of the schools he's applying to. I admire him for wanting to stretch himself & applying to really difficult schools, but I'm reasonably confident he won't get in to the majority of them. Not my choice, and again, I love that he has such an approach of life in pushing himself. He's definitely not going to get in if he doesn't bother applying. (We are such different people with our approaches in life!!).

      It's SO nice to hear from you! (HP)

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  3. A good frugal Friday happening at your house.

    God bless.

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    1. There was definitely a lot going on at our house, and I'm trying to get everything ready ahead of leaving next week on a hiking trip. (HP)

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  4. No real wins here, but no real setbacks either.

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    1. Some weeks, that's a win in and of itself! (HP)

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