Another busy week, but 'tis the season for that! Here's how we did with a few frugal wins here & there.
Saving on things we buy
- Nothing comes to mind this week.
Earning money
- The teens got relatively big paychecks, particularly Nick, who was only around for one week. Sam's was close to double that. They are both thrilled.
- I sold a sports bra on eBay & made $10.
Avoiding spending
- Took home six individual Chobani yogurts from work, after they were destined for the trash
Eating what we have
- Sam unexpectedly was home for dinner on Friday, and our idea to do some returns fell through (one of the items we needed hadn't arrived yet), so we were at home without a plan. I found a package of 2 grilled burgers in one corner of the freezer, and then a lonely solo burger in another. That turned into dinner, and I defrosted a bun for Sam as well. I had my burger over a salad.
- Made Sam dinner before work on Saturday, which he doesn't ask for but I mostly enjoy doing, and also gives me a way to use things up. He had one of the Chobani yogurts + granola, grape tomatoes & some chicken. I also made him lunch earlier in the day, because I was starving after a hike. We both had cheese quesadillas (ingredients leftover from tacos a week or so), a pear & chicken noodle soup.
- I picked two jalapenos from our garden for the chicken fajita rice dish (which included rotisserie chicken saved from last weekend), and also cut green onions from the garden as well. I also added two containers of chicken broth from the freezer. I skipped buying the tortilla chips, but mostly because I can't be trusted with tortilla chips. The freezer is starting to look pretty good!
- Ate lots of leftovers, as we didn't have time to make anything new during the week.
For others:
- We do almost all of our donations through structured charities, as those are the most bang for your buck, but I always retain some amount for private (anonymous) one to one donations. I hadn't found anything yet this year (to be fair, I've spent almost no time looking), so when I stumbled across a friend of a friend who had the death of a parent, a major medical crisis and a premature baby all within the same year, leading to medical bills and time off of work, I knew it was the one. It always feels nice to help someone directly, even though it doesn't scale.
- I have Hyatt globalist status & that comes with awards you can use yourself or gift. We didn't have many Hyatt stays this year, so I had some awards to gift that would otherwise expire. I gave away a bunch on Buy Nothing, and it was so fun to hear about their travel plans & give them the various awards (club access, suite awards or guest of honor - which is basically full globalist benefits). Everyone was thrilled.
What about you? Any wins to share?
I gave away 5 Hyatt Guest of Honor awards-3 to people who were attending one of the Chicago Seminars travel conferences and one to my son so he could join us for a wedding of a close family friend in San Francisco. The conference attendees were all grateful and gracious. I was happy that my son got to enjoy the Regency Club life at the HR Embarcadero (which has a lounge at the top which revolves). Children were not invited , so we missed my DIL and 2 grandkids. The kids are both under age 4, so the nice room gave my son a chance to catch up on uninterrupted sleep. I also just rejoined a charitable group (Impact 100) which pools donations from local women to fund grants to local charities. On the money saving front, I have been pretty ruthless about shopping the pantry and freezer. I am a big loss leader shopper, and I’m trying to eat down our stores and not buy as much.
ReplyDeleteWell done, Beth! That is awesome. I'm sure your son enjoyed the Regency Club - that lounge sounds fabulous. I'm sure your son & DIL enjoyed the sleep!! Well done on the Impact 100 - I will look into that. It sounds interesting! - HP
DeleteI love when dinner just comes together even if not planned. Good catch on the Chobani, both to save the waste and up your go to's in your home. There are really people hurting. I hadn't planned on the added donation to our Family Services but of course had to participate in the women's supplies drive...I wrote another check. If I can travel, I can help my community a bit more.
ReplyDeleteBoth teens have been eating the yogurt, so now I wish I had brought more & hope it didn't get tossed. I didn't want to bring more home than we could reasonably use. There are people struggling, and sometimes it's hard to know exactly the right way to help. - HP
DeleteI have had no frugal wins, but no loses either. We plan for Christmas spending in advance and have no sticker shock from it.
ReplyDeleteWe do tend to support extra charities that are local in addition to our annual structured ones.One I chose this year to support locally is a newly built home for teen girls who are trafficking victims.
That sounds like an incredible charity to support, Anne. So sad that we need it, but I'm grateful it exists. - HP
DeleteSounds like a great week. You did so well on your meals using up little bits here and there. That was very generous to give away your Hyatt rewards on the Buy Nothing group.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to here where people are going. One family is going to my favorite hotel in Tokyo & I advised them of all the best stuff in the lounge, which they now have access to (free cocktails, appetizers, breakfast, and soft drinks/coffee/ wine/etc). It's such a great space & a great deal that can save you a lot on food while you are traveling. - HP
DeletePlease tell us more about structured charities. I'm intrigued!
ReplyDeleteI probably didn't explain that well. We previously did payroll deductions to our top charities we support. This year we are swapping to a Donor Advised Fund. We have some stock that we want to donate (the DAF can hold or sell, but without paying taxes, so it allows us to really maximize our donation vs selling the stock, paying taxes on that, and then donating all of the remainder to the charity - it's a huge savings all around). We will then make our contributions throughout the years to our charities of choice. We are making a big donation this year, and will use that DAF to fund multiple years worth of donations. Hope that makes sense. - HP
DeleteI will be doing my final charity giving at the end of the year. Some of my giving is to such places as The Canadian Anti-Hate Network which is not at charity, but deserves everything we can donate to keep them going. This isn't because our oldest son is a board member but because they do great work shining a light on hate crimes/hate groups in Canada.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
That sounds like an awesome group to support, Jackie! We support a similar US group. - HP
DeleteThose little things, like using up the leftovers, can really add. I can't afford to donate these days, but when I could, I always chose one-on-one whenever possible.
ReplyDeleteIt really does add up! One on one donation is awesome as well. - HP
DeleteI listed some things on Ebay and one actually sold. I also managed to do well with grocery shopping - no junk food. Go, me.
ReplyDelete