Frugal Friday

Two weeks worth of Frugal Friday, as I was traveling last weekend. 

I felt like I had enough travel savings to split it out into its own category this week, vs mixing in with the smaller stuff. 

Travel savings

• I need to get my mom & sister to my house the night before our Europe trip in May. I noticed that Alaska Airlines had very low mileage redemption flights that fit the bill, but didn't have enough miles. Luckily, my dad did, and he offered me his miles to book the flights. I spent $55 for the taxes & seat selection, which was a great deal. The cruise itself is by far the biggest portion of cost, so it's been nice to find wins on some of the rest of the spending. 
• I was feeling happy last week that I received a Chase $250 "Edit" credit for one of the rooms that I booked for Venice, but in fact I received both $250 credits (for a total of $500), using up both of my credits for 2026. This is great news for a few reasons. I wasn't sure I'd have another use for this credit in 2026, it was a trip I had already planned, and the guidance made it sound as though you couldn't use two credits at the same hotel. But, maybe the two rooms are what triggered it. Regardless, I'm pleased. This drops the hotel cost for two rooms for two nights to a total of $230.52). We also get free breakfast & a $100 credit to use at the hotel. 
• I booked Nick's flight home for spring break in two chunks. For the outbound flight, I used Southwest points, and paid cash for the return flight. That saved $288 in cash. Let me be the first to say that flights are absolutely insanely expensive at this point! 
• I also booked Nick's flight home in May (one way) using his miles, and saved $215 by doing that. 
• Noticed our Southwest flights for NYE are slightly discounted (this trip is a maybe, if Lake Tahoe doesn't get snow, and/or if Nick decides to go to Park City to ski with his friend), but earned a $66 flight credit by rebooking for the cheaper fare. 

Saving on things we buy

• I uploaded a few receipts to iBotta & Fetch

Earning money

• Had a CD come due, and renegotiated the term for a better rate. This will put me at just the outset of when I need some of the money, but I will juggle a few things, as the rate difference is over 1% for the longer term, and worth it. 
• I also helped the boys sell more of their Magic the Gathering cards, making another $60 or so. 

Avoiding spending

• Opted not to buy our annual Turkey Trot run bibs this year, as last year we had to basically bribe the boys out of bed for the race. M loves it & plans to go, but I'll likely do an Orange Theory workout instead. It will save us about ~$120 to not all participate, which is a nice chunk of change. 

Eating what we have

• Brought home leftovers for our anniversary dinner, which Sam had for his dinner after work. Restaurant leftovers go over very well at our house. 
• Made a sheet pan bake out of chicken sausage (fridge, wanting to use up), orzo (pantry, use it up), chicken broth (freezer, use it up), which turned out great. I did buy a few ingredients to make this, but it was nice to make some progress elsewhere.
• I also asked M to make bacon, with the package we had leftover from the sheet pan salad recipe we made a while back, and folks have been adding that to breakfast, lunches, etc. Bacon is hard to resist. 

For others

• Gave away two Hyatt awards at M's work
• And, gave away a free night award to a friend who is taking her daughter to Disneyland to see the Christmas decorations & characters (her daughter is three). 
• Volunteered at a non-profit that helps food insecure people. Packaged food, loaded cars, etc. 

What about you? Any wins to share?