Friday, June 17, 2022

Frugal Friday

We've made it to Friday! Here are a few wins for the week. I find that, sometimes I really have to search for them, and other weeks, the wins just roll off of the finger tips (while typing). This week was somewhere in between.  


Saving on things we buy

  • M & I are splurging on a few mini trips, while the boys are at camp. I'd booked two nights at one place (they had a two night minimum) & we opted to instead change to one night at another place that we booked for just Sunday. Sunday is definitely cheaper than a standard weekend away, and it will reduce the number of meals out. We're both super excited about the place we picked, which should be fun. 
  • We went to dinner for M's birthday, and brought our own wine. There is a corkage fee, but it's still cheaper than buying at the restaurant. 

Earning money

  • Sam had camp setup on Sunday, and has been working all week at his summer job. He's in charge of 1st graders, and is enjoying it. It's definitely been a shock to him to discover how hard it is to keep track of & entertain 20 1st graders. ;-) 
  • Nick helped out his tennis coach, & also got paid a bit.

Avoiding spending

  • We've made some tweaks to the upcoming weeks to eat more at home than originally planned (even during our time off) & reduce costs. We'll still go out & splurge, but treat it more as a one off, vs a week of splurging. 

Eating what we have

  • I'd planned to have leftover orange chicken & fried rice for lunch one day, but saw that Sam had eaten the chicken when he got home from soccer practice. Instead, I added 1/2 of the rice to a pan, and then added two eggs. I scrambled them all together, and then added sriracha on top. Yum! I did this for two lunches.
  • Made a double batch of chicken fajitas for dinner one night, and used peppers & cilantro from the garden
  • Defrosted bolognese sauce, and added meatballs, and part of a very inexpensive ($1) jar of spaghetti sauce to make enough for two dinners. The bolognese had been in the freezer for awhile, so it was good to get that out of the freezer. 

For others

  • We brought gifts to Sam's soccer bud, who just had surgery
  • When we got to the store to pick up the gifts, all of the carts were spread over the lot, making it really difficult to park. The kids & I rounded up all of the carts, & returned them to the corrals. 
  • Gave away some garden produce to interested neighbors
  • Donated school supplies to a non-profit camp, serving low income students
What about you? Any wins to share?

10 comments:

  1. Good for you guys getting away. I wish Hubs and I could do that, but we are just so busy and I think it is going to get worse.

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    1. We are SO excited! My parents are equally excited. It's a win for everyone.

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  2. Our best win is not having to have the A/C on until today (we will need it on when we go and visit Kris though). Quite happy that we could have it off until the middle of June.

    God bless.

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    1. You have done better than we have. I think we've had it on for at least two days. We had a few very hot days, but are enjoying much cooler temps now.

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  3. You are saints to get those wayward carts back. I appreciate it in behalf of your fellow shoppers. Hungry boys- I imagine you have a few surprises eaten up after practice.

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    1. Our store usually has a person who rounds up the cart, but the labor shortage is real everywhere. Happy to help out, because it makes it near impossible to park in the lot, otherwise!

      And yes, I'm always curious to see what people have eaten when they got home from a late practice.

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  4. At least he has the energy at his age to actually keep up with them. It is rough out there...lol.
    Wins--free meat, two free pizzas

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    1. He does have the energy! Nice job on the free meat & pizzas.

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  5. i second that you were so thoughtful to round up those carts. And set such a lovely example for your boys in the process.

    We are in Europe, France at the moment, and our saves are related to that. We fill our water bottles from our hotel each morning, walk instead of taking public transportation, get take-away (i.e., to go) for lunch, look for scenic things to photograph, and follow free, self-guided walks as our primary entertainment. We try and and save our splurge $$ for a nice sit down dinner each evening, starting with a glass of wine each. Wine is so reasonable here compared to US- about $5 a glass.

    - Tamara R

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    1. Ahh, Europe sounds so lovely! So glad you are getting the chance to get away, and see family (I think?) And, inexpensive wine sounds fabulous!

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