Saving on things we buy:
- Used $5 in Walgreens rewards (earned by having my FitBit connected to their Balance Rewards) to buy an item the kids needed
- Used all of my Rite Aid rewards (I let them expire last year due to forgetting & travel schedule in December). Purchased a couple of face items for the kids (we're in the hormone phase!) + a travel face lotion for myself. I used the last of mine on my trip to London, so want to restock while it's top of mind.
- Used grocery store rewards to buy an item Nick needed for a baking project. I'm encouraging his love of baking, but he does sometimes need random ingredients. I try to use the credits, so it doesn't actually hit our grocery budget, but keeps him going.
Earning money:
- I made a few dollars selling clothes on ThredUp. Barely anything, but junk out of the house & money in.
Avoiding spending:
- Used part of the gift card Nick won in a soccer raffle to buy: futsal cleats (his old ones are too small), goalie gloves (same as the cleats) & a new soccer ball. He is thrilled, as I'd told him he needed to wear sneakers to futsal. It's allowed, but the cleats have slightly better grip. Given the gift card, it all worked out well. The store was also having a 20% off the entire inventory sale, which meant we bought all three for about half of the value of the gift card.
- The kids wanted hummus to go with some naan dippers I had in the freezer. I'm all about cleaning out the freezer these days, so I whipped up some hummus & they are enjoying the snack between soccer games. I just need to remember to use it all up before we leave for the coast.
- Used four free meal passes for a local restaurant. We earned these when stocking up on gift cards. So, about $35 or so for dinner, free.
- Eating up lots of leftovers & food in the fridge/freezer to avoid waste, before we take off for vacation.
In non-frugal news, we paid our nanny 4.5 hours of time to watch the kids while we were both at holiday dinners. It was a lot, but we know we made the right tradeoff for work, and my younger son doesn't love being home alone at night yet. We also haven't been needing our nanny for standard weekly stuff, so we took the opportunity to pay her (one night was a typical week's worth of spending) & added a bonus for the holidays. It was a good choice, but pricey.
What about you? Any frugal wins to report?
What about you? Any frugal wins to report?
Smart to clean out your fridge/freezer before you go. I always try and have one easy meal in the freezer for the first night back plus a loaf of frozen bread so that you don't have to get groceries the first day. I redeemed $5 more in amazon GCs from Swagbucks. Haven't been there much lately. Just banking the GC until I need something ($65 balance now). I hit $1.49 at my local grocer store and picked up some necessary ingredients for Christmas without buying anything else that wasn't on my list. Other than that I spent zero money this week :)
ReplyDeleteNice work on a zero zpend week!
DeleteEven when my kids were in high school, I hated the being home for hours and hours alone when we weren't very accessible. Your kids are at the in between age, so having the nanny support is still a need. You do a good job being frugal elsewhere and you can't put a price on peace of mind.
ReplyDeleteThey are definitely at the in between age. We do prefer having someone with them, particularly if there is a meal involved. They can make things, but getting everything turned back off is still a work in progress.
DeleteI would feel much more at peace with a nanny to watch over mine. :) Sounds like you had a good and frugal week. I hope you enjoy your trip and have a very Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThank you, and likewise!
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