Frugal Friday

In decidedly unfrugal news, I bought a few new dresses for my 50th birthday/girls trip/Alanis Morissette concert. I'm pretty excited about everything & there will definitely be sequins + combat boots involved for the concert (Las Vegas meets alt/grunge). I already have the boots, as a former Seattle girl. Luckily, they are very much back in style! If you are interested in that type of thing, see the end of the post. Again, for decidedly unfrugal balance to my list of frugal things. Keeping it real here. ;-) 

Saving on things we buy

• I was really trying to maximize errands while grocery shopping, and picked up some delicious fruit at the orchard stand, and then hit the grocery store for a last few items. I needed two cans of coconut milk, and noticed the cheapest kind was $5.99!!!! Outrageous. I made another stop at Trader Joes (not far away, but the parking is a big hassle) was $1.89/can. I don't mind paying a bit more for convenience, but this was a huge price gap. 
• I had another credit card offer redeemed, with Nick's music subscription. I saved $1.20, so nothing big, but easy enough to earn. 

Earning money

• Despite starting my job later in the year, I went with a very high 401k deduction, so I could hit the max for the year. I've now maxed out my 401k, which means my paychecks are much larger than the first few months of my employment. Hurrah!
• I also filled out my wellness reimbursement ($480 for the year), which covered two months of gym memberships + most of a massage I got last Friday. I feel lucky that I started my new job on 6/30, as that was the last day to qualify for the second half of the reimbursement. 
• For the United cancellations, we received $175 each for our cancelled Denver flight + 10,000 miles/each. For the London flight cancellation, I received a $1,000 flight credit + a $650 credit. Assuming the United points are worth about $200, that's a total of $2200. While not ideal to have the cancellations, we will definitely use the United credits, given Nick's closest airport is Denver (a United hub). 

Avoiding spending

• After a later workout, and not having had lunch, I was starving & very tempted to hit up a Mediterranean place right next to the workout studio I was at. They do customized Mediterranean bowls (Chipotle style, but with 3x the amount of add ins) & I was very tempted. I reminded myself that there were definitely options in the freezer, and had a snack of cheese & crackers while I defrosted chicken & dumplings from my freezer stash. Not quite the same, but also free, and ensures we don't waste food. 
• Similarly, M was gone for dinner for a few nights, and Sam & I would sometimes do takeout for a place M doesn't prefer. Instead, I picked up some really fabulous ravioli at Trader Joes (goat cheese & caramelized onions) & we had that with leftover diced tomatoes + chicken from the freezer. 

Eating what we have

• Made chicken noodle soup for Sam, when he wasn't feeling well. Bonus, used up the last of a bag of carrots & an open container of pasta. 
• Also used three containers of chicken broth in the soup. The chicken broth came out of the freezer, and was made after we bought a rotisserie chicken. I'm now out of broth, so perhaps will make some more. 
• I stocked the freezer with the chicken noodle soup (above) as well as a delicious potato soup I made as well.
• I've been leaving leftovers in the fridge for Sam, so he can eat when he gets home from work, instead of going out. He really loved the leftovers of the chicken sausage & bean dish I made earlier in the week. 

For others

• Noticed a neighbor needed a bunch of stuff for a family member starting over. Remembered I had a few things on eBay that came from Sam's dorm room (new in package, because teen boys don't always use all of their stuff ;-)) & gave them away. Felt nice to pass them along & clear out my eBay closet. 

On to the fashion...

Sequined skirt, to be worn with combat boots & some sort of black top. Haven't landed on that. Maybe with tights? Full grunge would be ripped tights, but I'm too old for that. I'm a lot shorter than the model, so this has more length on me. 

Deciding between either this dress in black or the blue:

What about you? Any wins to share?