Friday, May 26, 2023

Frugal Friday

It's been a super wild week at work, but looking forward to a fun weekend. My mom is coming to visit today, and M is headed out of town to meet a friend. 

Saving on things we buy:

  • I received a bunch of contest tickets at the grocery store, and took the time to redeem them all. I won a total of $5.25, and a 2 liter of a Coke product. I'll redeem that next time I'm at the store.
  • Picked up the Friday Freebie at the grocery store, uploaded my receipts to Fetch, and Box Tops for Education (earns a donation for the local school.) 
  • Bought two giant boxes of cereal for $3.49. I try to keep the junky snacks pretty limited, which means the boys really enjoy the treats, when I buy them. 
  • Bought Home Depot gift cards (which we use for house maintenance, gardening supplies, etc) & earned $30 of grocery store rewards. 
  • I used a Southwest flight credit to book flights for a trip to my parents this summer. 
  • I submitted my receipt for my workout class, for work reimbursement. I get a small discount (15% off), via work. 
Earning money
  • Not "earning", but keeping my own money... I submitted my expense report promptly. I use my corporate card for almost all expenses, but a few are charged to other cards, & by submitting promptly, I also get my own money returned quickly. 
Avoiding spending
  • We debated takeout last Friday (I was *so* jetlagged, & incapable of any meal prep), but M whipped up what I'd planned to order out - salad topped with chicken. It was delicious, and made from things we already had on hand. 
Eating what we have
  • I had a meal delivery freezer leftover for a dinner, when M & I were home alone for a meal. He had the rest of a piece of salmon. While I don't love all of the variance of our dinner plans (due to teen availability), it does make it easier to serve impromptu leftovers. 
  • Cut back a bunch of lettuce, put it through the salad spinner & it's now in the fridge, ready for salads. We've been eating it all week. We still have SO MUCH lettuce ready to pick. I need to share some with the neighbors. 
  • Ate one of my (frozen) meal delivery options, which I've kept on hand for just such an occasion. Meanwhile, M had leftover cauliflower pizza I found in the fridge, and half of a burger. The boys were at practice, and no one wanted anything heavy. 
For others
  • Caught up with my neighbor, who is quite elderly, and was very close with the previous owners of our house. She occasionally comes around to our side door (surprising me, numerous times), but caught me at a great time, where I had time to chat & check in with her. We help her out when we can, and her daughter calls us whenever they need someone close to ensure everything is going well. M is also her to go tech support, and if she sees the kids backing their car out, she doesn't hesitate to ask for help moving something. She's adorable. 
What about you? Any wins to share?

7 comments:

  1. This is the reason I will not move to a retirement community. Though I am not quite elderly yet, I am on the downside of the hill but I love living in a neighborhood where I can hear kids playing, and talk with my younger neighbors. Their take on things helps me see life in a different way.
    Plus we have teens in the neighborhood and I have occasionally asked them for help moving something I can't move by myself. They don't mind, after all my side yard was their childhood football field.

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    1. That's an interesting take. I assumed (and, we all know about assumptions) that I would want the community aspect - the friends in a similar life position, the social network, etc of a retirement community. I suppose it depends on what happens to my current friend group. My sister & BFF do not live near me, and we have discussed a future scenario where we are all closer, once we are quite a bit older. Who knows what the future holds on that side.

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  2. No frugal wins here. Rather hemorrhaging money. All were planned expenses except for one but, that's OK too. I had been contemplating about a new computer purchase for too long and I finally made up my mind. After the elections, who knows how much our currency will lose value so, I decided the timing was right. My little trip to Scotland is also all paid for and I can go back to being frugal come June.

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  3. That is so nice of you to sit and chat with your elderly neighbor and that her daughter can count on you in a pinch. I’m sure that gives her daughter some piece of mind.

    I think we ate salad every night this week as we went through a big box of power greens this week. Your chicken salads sound perfect and so nice that you didn’t have to cook after a long day of work.

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    1. Work has been wild, and I definitely appreciate the easy meals some day. Well done, working through the big box of power greens. I really have to stay on top of those, to ensure they don't get wasted!

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  4. You had many frugal wins this week, congratulations. Me, well I had a few but still had to spend a bit in order to get them.

    I love when my younger neighbours spend a few months speaking to me.

    God bless.

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