Frugal Friday

This is unrelated to frugality or any of the below, but wanted to share that M's dad passed away over the weekend. It was especially painful, as we haven't been able to see him in 15 years. That was the last time his parents came to visit. After that, we tried to put another trip together, but his father was getting older, and international trips became very difficult (visiting the US requires a lot of pre-work, including a 2 week trip to Dubai to try & secure a visa, as there are no embassies in Iran), then the ability for them to visit the US changed. By the time we worked out options for us to visit in another location, even a trip to Dubai (relatively close for them) was too difficult for him to manage. It's been very hard for M. When he left home as a very young man, I don't think he or his parents could have imagined that some 40+ years later, it would still be so difficult to spend time together. 

Saving on things we buy

• I picked up two of my favorite sunblock (the spray, but non-sticky Neutrogena ones) when I went to pick up my prescription at CVS. I had a $10 reward, plus another $4 reward expiring that day. And, the sunblock was BOGO40% off. I also then uploaded my receipt to Fetch, as well as iBotta. iBotta pretty consistently has a 4% off CVS receipt offer, so I saved another $.50 that way. 
• Used a $10 grocery store to offset the cost of some dinner ingredients I picked up.
• Nick and his close friend group had their "last hang" last night at our house, so I splurged & ordered pizza to be delivered (it was well after standard dinner time, as Nick had to work). I used a promo code for the pizza. 

Earning money

• Just the regular W2 income this week. 

Avoiding spending

• Took advantage of free lunch & a sparkling water at work, when I drove in this week. Lunch isn't normally free, but it's temporarily being provided as an incentive to come to the office during the ongoing construction. 

Eating what we have

• Made a huge batch of taco meat for dinner on Sunday, and then froze four additional dinners worth. It took a bit more time, but saves a lot of time in total, compared to making & preparing each dinner individually.
• Used jalapenos from the garden in the guacamole I made to go with our tacos. 
• Used up a bunch of vegetables from the fridge in the chicken curry dish we had on Tuesday. Prepped by cutting all of the veggies & chicken ahead of time, so I could still make it to an   afternoon workout class. Bonus: used up coconut milk & red curry paste in the recipe. Also, the recipe is so quick & easy & absolutely delicious. Highly recommend it, if you haven't tried it. 
• As part of the coconut milk used in the chicken curry, after dumping the coconut milk into the pan, I had some coconut milk around the edges of the cans & lids (as you do). I decided to rinse the cans with some water, but didn't want to add that much liquid to the recipe. Instead, I used the liquid in my coffee the next day. It was more of a blend between coconut milk & coconut water. I would have liked it to be thicker, but it was fine. I steam my oat milk typically for coffee, so just subbed in the coconut milk/water. Tomorrow, I'll do half oat milk, half coconut/milk water, for better consistency. 

For others

• Finished my final project for the college counseling program I volunteered for this year. 

What about you? Any wins to share?