- All meals from home (or free from work), with the exception of one using a coupon & a gift card. The kids played in a tournament over the weekend, so they were ravenous by the time we were on our way home from soccer.
- I read freebie books from work, rather than buying. I haven't made it to the library recently, and was tempted to buy a book online. Instead, I read a few freebie books I get from work. One was not good enough to finish, but the other was good & enjoyable.
- Went to see Christmas lights, as a free holiday outing.
- Drove electric car for free all week for my commute
In big frugal news, however, I received my comp for the year from work, and I'll be getting a sizable raise & bonus + a large equity grant. The bonus is fantastic news, because I will get it before I go on sabbatical. I'll also have at least a few months at the higher salary, and equity vests. I feel incredibly grateful for the increase, as I'm already well compensated. They are making it very difficult to pull the plug! ;-)
What about you? Any frugal wins for the week?
No bonus, and the car repair pretty much wiped out the take home on the award funds I received a couple months back. But hey, I'm no worse off financially then before I got the award, so silver lining. I just seem to be bleeding money this month, so no savings likely to count, but motivation for 2019-yet again.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry - that's the pits. You guys achieved a lot of great goals in 2018, with your big family vacation & prepping for college!
DeleteFirst, congrats on the year end financial rewards! And I do understand the push/pull of it with regard to your goal of taking a sabbatical. While my salary, inclusive of bonus, was very, very good, my spouse's was insanely good, and the more money they threw at him via raises, bonus, fringe benefits, stock, etc., the harder for him to leave. For me at least!I
ReplyDeleteNo, actually, he remained firm in his decision to cut the financial cord and retire, noting wisely that they aren't simply giving you all these financial rewards, they are receiving a tremendous amount of your life and energy in return. They are tricky buggers those megacorps! 😌
Also, am curious if you do free ebooks from the library? I have a special kindle I use just for this purpose so that I can keep the WiFi turned off until I'm finished with whatever library ebook I'm reading.
It is really a push & pull. I feel *so* grateful, but it's hard to leave when the money is so good. I'm going to focus a lot more in 2019 on ramping our charitable donations, as it's expected that our company is going to increase our match. It will be a stretch goal for both of us to be able to do the full match amount, but it will be a great goal to maximize & feels so good!
DeleteAnd yes, it's an exchange not just of time, but of your mental space, your energy & your job impacts every aspect of your decision making.
I only read at night (unless I'm traveling) & have a hard time sleeping if I use an ebook. I've tried a few different kinds, but have kept returning to paper books.