Frugal Friday

It's that time of the year where I hit the fine balance of trying to save on things we buy that are on sale for the holidays, while not overstocking or wasting money on things we don't need! 

Saving on things we buy

• Redeemed a $5 grocery store reward before it expired. I also downloaded some digital coupons & uploaded the receipts to Fetch & iBotta, saving another $2. 
• Took advantage of some gift card offers at CVS for things we will use, such as Uber (getting Sam to/from the airport at college - Eugene has no shuttle from his school), Netflix, & a store where I'm getting a few Christmas gifts.  I uploaded my CVS receipt to iBotta, which will earn a little back on the non-gift card items. I also used CVS rewards for a couple of road trip/hotel snacks for our post holiday ski trip. And finally, remembered to pay with the credit card that had a $5 cash back offer for CVS. *bonus, just noticed that the gift card spend also counted towards the iBotta cash back offer, which is a huge & unexpected win!*
• Bought ingredients for pomegranate martinis + NYE champagne & used a loyalty coupon to save $15 off. Then thought to check iBotta & noticed they had $6 off of the vodka I purchased. Yay for unexpected discounts!

Earning money

• Cashed in change that's been lingering around the house & turned it into an Amazon gift card for $21. Something useful ahead of the holidays, although not exactly earning money & rather turning my own money into something more convenient.
• Sold a pair of shoes & a shirt on eBay, making ~$80 after fees & postage. 
• Not earning money yet, but continuing to apply to jobs & have met with a few recruiters this week. 
• Speaking of iBotta, I cashed out $30. I try to cash out whenever I'm over the $20 threshold, as you never know if they will limit cash back options, increase cash out rate or end it all together & move it only to gift card redemption. 
• Finished some training for a user study I participated in a few weeks back, and made $50.
• 
  

Avoiding spending

• Saw an adorable teal colored sweater that really caught me eye. Went so far as to put it in my cart & find a discount, and then I remembered that I'm not working & have tons of sweaters & very few occasions to wear them! 
• (Avoiding spending for others) Finished a puzzle & will send it back with Sam. My nephew is picking Sam up at the airport & taking him back to college. My sister can then get the puzzle from my nephew. She loves puzzling! I also enjoy it, but remembered that it hurts my back & either need a way better set up or to stop doing puzzles. It's a nice winter distraction, so I'll have to see if there are more ergonomic options. 
• I almost upgraded Sam's seat on his return flight tomorrow, but I had one extra United upgrade & it looked promising for it to clear. Avoided paying out of pocket, and his upgrade cleared so he's no longer sitting in the very last row! It's a short flight & he would have been fine either way, but I still get a little parental anxiety over him being in the last boarding group, and whether there will be room for his bag, etc. 

Eating what we have

• I finished off the last of a package of turkey, and made sandwiches for lunch over the past few days.
• I also wrapped up some broccoli cheddar soup that we had on hand.
• We've eaten lots of incredible pomegranate from the tree, as well as six strawberries that somehow grew, despite the lack of sun recently.
• We had plans for M to grill chicken on Sunday, but Nick ended up hosting a poker party, so we picked up Costco pizza instead, so we could help Nick with the party prep plans. M marinated the chicken & grilled it later in the week. Glad we remembered to shuffle things around, particularly as M wasn't excited to grill in the rain. ;-) Oh, and we use lots of garden herbs in the chicken marinade, which adds great flavor. 
• Took the leftover Costco chocolate chip cookies to Nick's school soccer parents meeting, where they were scarfed down by hungry players.
• Made a chicken & rice dish on Saturday that was "fine", but lacking in some flavor. It was actually better as a leftover, and I added some sriracha to bump up the flavor even more.
• M wrapped up the last of a package of cooked brisket he purchased at Costco while I was out of town, ensuring none went to waste. 
• Made Nick a quick dinner after a late soccer night, using up leftover pasta & adding meatballs from the freezer. And a banana, because they are at the perfect level of ripeness. 

For others

• I reviewed college essays for one of the students I'm mentoring, & gave feedback on that. 
• Picked up trash after Nick's soccer game. He's the captain & is responsible for ensuring their area of the field is clean (water bottles, cups, etc). I stayed & helped him out. They have a bunch of new players & must not know the drill of picking up their trash before they leave, but he will definitely remind them for next time! I also found two non-plastic water bottles, and sent those off with the coach, so they can be reunited at the next practice with their owners. 
• Gave a friend one of my United upgrades (I actually gave her & her daughters all of my remaining upgrades, but only one cleared) so that she could be upgraded on the flight from Europe.

What about you? Any wins to share?