Frugal Friday

 It's been another good week for making smart money decisions, reducing waste & generally trying to be good stewards of our resources. Having more time to think about these things certainly helps. 

Saving on things we buy

• As I mentioned in my travel post, I'm working hard to plan a few trips, and keep costs down as much as possible. I have a few nice wins, using miles/points/credits/etc, which also aligns well with my 2024 goal of spending down all of these credits, and not letting things go to waste. Here's how we saved on travel planning:
• Used three free hotel nights for the Sedona hiking trip with my mom, saving $977
• Used a gift card for my very cheap flight - saving $118
• Used Southwest points to book my mom's flight, saving $359
• Used points to book a two night stay for M's birthday, saving $1500. I also redeemed a free room upgrade, resulting in a suite. We wouldn't pay out of pocket for that cost, but that room runs closer to $1850 for two nights (nuts!)
• Used grocery store rewards to pick up things we need for dinners this week, as well as a few birthday treats for Nick. 

Earning money

• Listed a couple of items on eBay. One of my items sold, yielding $8. 
• My coworker mentioned that our work reimbursement site still works (there was conflicting guidance on this) until our employment actually ends. It happens that I have three items for reimbursement (we have a small stipend for personal development). I've submitted two of them, and will add receipts once the classes are over (a requirement). I'll earn ~$100 or so after taxes, thanks to this. 

Avoiding spending

• Picked up a couple of dinner items at Safeway, and used my gift card, spending $0 out of pocket.
• I'm doing a lot of networking/casual meet ups with people, and I always offer coffee or a walk for our meet up option. About half choose the walk, which I always prefer, which definitely keeps the cost down. Coffee is an inexpensive option compared to lunch or dinner, however. 

Eating what we have

• Packed a sandwich & fruit to eat at Nick's soccer game, on a very busy Saturday. 
• *Finally* used a package of Top Ramen that has been in the pantry for almost forever, in chicken yakisoba
• Made homemade hummus out of the two lonely cans of chickpeas that had been in the pantry forever, and the just expired jar of tahini sauce. It's always a hit in our family, so I need to make it more often. 
• Used the second half of a box of lasagna noodles (left over from whenever my parents were last visiting) to make ...you guessed it, lasagna for dinner. Bonus, I served it with garlic bread, and the baguette for that came from the freezer. 
• Made progress on the shrimp scampi that was in the freezer, by adding it to the cheater pad thai dish we picked up at Costco. It was a delicious add on, and bulked out the meal quite a bit more. 

For others

• Picked up trash on the soccer field, on my way to & from Nick's game (and, found a dime next to the trash)
• Our neighbor had somehow gotten her car wedged against the wall of her garage (damaging the side panel of her car.) She came and asked M to help her get it out with the least amount of additional damage. I assisted, but he did most of the work & did an amazing job getting it out with no additional scrapes. He also spent a few hours on Sunday buffing the car out, getting basically all of the paint transfer off. He saved her at least $1500 of body work, and I worked in the yard & we chatted while he was working. I admire his patience, because it was very, very tedious work. 
• Found myself volunteering for yet another senior night event - this one for club soccer's senior night. My friend promises me that this one is much less work. We shall see ;-) 

What about you? Any wins to share?