Frugal Friday

I feel like I have a lot to report this week, but who knows. Maybe I was just better at tracking, since I was looking for distractions this week. In case you are wondering, I use blogging (amongst other things for distraction during times of stress). And, now is most certainly one of those times for me. 

Saving on things we buy

• Picked up Easter items for Sam (I sent my mom with cash to make a basket for Nick, since she was  with him in person) & a few dinner items at the store & redeemed a $20 off reward. 
• I bought a small bottle of scotch for M, and the cashier let me know that a very similar kind was actually BOGO free, so I went that route. I know he likes both, so that was a definite win. 
• Checked iBotta & found that there was a $.50 offer on some cheese I bought at the store that was already on sale. Also had a $.10 any grocery receipt offer, and a $.25 offer from Trader Joe's. Definitely churning out the big bucks here. ;-) 
• Similarly, some of the Easter items I picked up for Sam (above) generated a 500 point Fetch offer. I don't buy brand name items very often, so this was a surprise win. 
• Adjusted our car insurance, which will save about $150 now, but $600 or so for the year when our policy renews. 
• I changed my flight to Boulder at the end of the month for Nick's move out. As a bonus, the flight was $48 less (I received a credit) & the rental car was 1/2 the price! I saved $140 off of the rental car, by adjusting my flight time by about 8 hours. that was a great deal that I wasn't expecting. Yay for making the trip cheaper. 

Earning money

• Sold two items on eBay (a wallet & a pullover athleisure shirt) & made $148 between the two. It was nice to wake up & see the back to back sales. 
• Listed a few new items on eBay, & immediately sold my fitness ring for $125. I have moved to using my watch for sleep tracking, to reduce the number of devices. I really liked the ring, but to get any value out of it, you had to have a monthly subscription, and I'm trying to be much more diligent about subscription based products. 
• Also sold another $10 item on eBay (sports bra) & a sweater ($12)

Avoiding spending

• I have status on United, & get free upgraded seats. However, when I book reservations separately for M & the kids (sometimes necessary to use up credits in their name), I can't have them sit next to me without paying exorbitant fees. You can, however, call in & they link the reservations & then will adjust the seats to upgraded ones for free. By doing so, for 15 minutes of time, I was able to get upgraded seats for M for the way to/from Denver, our summer trip to/from Portland for M & Sam. All together, this saved around $300. We wouldn't have paid this out of pocket (and, certainly not for the boys!), but I like to think of it as taking advantage of perks that we get. 
• Picked up some pantry items on Buy Nothing. I rarely take advantage of posts from others, but happened to see this one as I was posting my own giveaways. I picked up: three sparkling waters, 3 boxes of Mac & cheese, a few protein bars & a bag of granola. I'm sure Sam will be thrilled to have all of it. 

Eating what we have

• I've been out of breakfast options (need to do some more meal prepping), so I've been having an apple with peanut butter, which is filling & reasonably healthy. It's all about use it up mode.
• We also made potstickers from the freezer, which used up part of one bag & the end of another bag. It was nice to make a little bit of progress in the freezer.
• I also specifically planned a recipe (cauliflower rice enchilada skillet) that would use up two other targets for my freezer clean out: cauliflower rice & rotisserie chicken. 
• I threw together a late lunch of cheese, apples & nuts, when I didn't have other options. 

For others:

• Dog sat for a friend, who couldn't find coverage for 36 hour over spring break/Easter. Happy to help her out. 
• Answered a request on Buy Nothing for a cooler with wheels for a mom who is selling things at a local farmer's market & needs cool storage for her items. 
• Gave away a bunch of clothing on BN as well
• Updated my special needs aunt's car insurance, when she switched cars. 

What about you? Any wins to share?