Frugal Friday

 It was a pretty quiet week on the frugal front, minus Nick's AP credits, which were the big winner. 

Saving on things we buy:

• Uploaded receipts to Fetch, & earned more grocery store rewards. This time one of the coupons was for a free Kind (protein) bar, which I'll redeem next time I'm there.

Earning money:

• Still working through my benefits & perks at work, but hoping to find a spot to charge the car for free at the office when I go in. 

Avoiding spending:

• Nick earned 20 credits through AP testing, which saves about $20k in college costs. Most of his credits will satisfy classes towards his current major, and a few will give him general Ed credit. This is super helpful to give him a boost towards graduating in four years, while also keeping the number of credits he needs to take each semester more reasonable. His classes will be hard!
• Nick & I also went through the items we brought back from Sam's dorm room, and he will be able to reuse the vast majority of it, which is awesome. This not only saves costs, but avoids waste, which I love. Our list of what Nick needs to buy is pretty minimal. I also love that the school provides a mini fridge/microwave, to keep the kids from having to buy new ones & then figure out what to do with them when they move out. 
• M dropped Nick & a friend off at the airport for their flight to Hawaii (senior trip, take 2). 
• Drove to the town our office is in, and met a few people from my new team for a picnic (free lunch) + a volunteering event. It was nice to meet some of the folks in real life. 

Eating what we have:

• I made a chicken skillet dish on Saturday, and ran out of shredded cheddar cheese, but I was able to dice up some pepper jack cheese & that worked out great. It was all melted anyway, & I liked the additional flavor the pepper jack provided. 
• Used up lots of garden goodies in our meals, including making a caprese salad with garden tomatoes & basil.
• Bought healthy snacks & meal items, and did a good job of working our way through those.
• Used up the rest of the burger patties, and chicken skillet, with nothing going to waste.
• Nick & his GF joined us unexpectedly for dinner one night, so I pivoted & baked up a tray of the Costco breaded chicken tenders, made a pound of pasta, and cut up a ton of fruit & veggies. It was enough for everyone, with leftovers for me for a few days, which is always a win. 

For others:

• When M went to the Boulder orientation, one of Nick's classmate's family also joined. They will be flying their daughter to Boulder for move in, so we've offered to take some of her extra items in Nick's car, when he & M drive to Boulder. It will save them the cost of mailing things. 
• My sister put together a medicine kit for Sam, and he didn't end up needing it last year. Nick & I went through it, and pulled out a few duplicate items. We gave those away on Buy Nothing, and he will add a few of his preferred options. Fingers crossed that he also doesn't get sick, but best to be prepared. 

What about you? Any wins to share?