Frugal Friday

 It's been a pretty good week on the frugal front at our house. 

Saving on things we buy

• My dermatologist gave me positive marks on my sunblock routine for my face (not so for my arms/chest, so increasing that), so I went to get more of my Olay daily face lotion. They have repackaged it & no longer sell the kind I use at Costco. I was able to find it at CVS, and thanks to rewards and a couple of coupons ($10 off a $30 beauty purchase, CVS rewards, 30% off a full price item, etc), I bought two large containers for a total of $13.60, which is an awesome deal. The SPF is actually higher than what I have now, which I suppose can't hurt. If I'm being active, I use the Super Goop sunscreen, which doesn't come off as easily. Nick reports (who knows how he obtained this information) that the Trader Joes kind is a great dupe of that product, so I will pick that up & try it next time I'm there. Anyway, saved quite a bit & then uploaded receipts to Fetch. 
• Stopped by the store to pick up a few ingredients we needed for dinner, and uploaded my receipt to Fetch, as well as the one in my cart. I also randomly had two iBotta offers, totaling $3.18 (including an ice tea, which was free after purchase & Sam will enjoy). That finally pushed me to be able to cash out my iBotta. It's been a while.

Earning money

• I sold Nick's guitar + some accessories for him for $70. The buyer was a college student & so excited to get a very intro guitar to start practicing on.
• I also sold a new in package MP3 player, circa who knows, that I found in the garage. Previously M's, but origins unknown, and I'd speculate pre-dates the kids. Maybe now it's an antique? Made $15 on that on eBay, as I think it might get tossed at the Goodwill. 
• Sold a pair of shoes, jeans & a shirt on eBay. I took advantage of a 50% off promos offer, and that definitely increased my sales.
• Cashed out my iBotta account for $21.40

Avoiding spending

• I have a goal of stockpiling as much cash as possible for 2027, to reduce what I need to pull from my CDs during my first year of not working. As a result, I've been pretty disciplined on what I am spending on.
• I met a friend for a workout & a coffee, and used a gift card for no out of pocket spending. 
• I had to go to the office on Thursday, and while it wasn't a great use of time (no in person meetings), I made the most of it with 4 hours of free car charging, as well as free breakfast, lunch & snacks. 

Eating what we have

• We still had a bit of bread leftover, so I made sandwiches for lunch for myself & Sam one day. We are out of garden tomatoes, and the taste difference is extreme! I almost forget how good the "real" ones are, and then you get a taste & have to go back to the store purchased ones. What a let down.
• We have leftover fresh mozzarella, so picked up a few nectarines to make the mozzarella, peach/nectarine, basil, balsamic, olive oil salad that we love. I used the basil from our container garden.
• Similarly, I made chicken chile tacos, but substituted jalapenos from the garden for the chiles.
• I used the meat mixture from the chicken chile tacos leftovers & used that to top a baked potato for lunch, which made a great & filling meal. 

For others

• Joined a volunteer group that helps foster students as they transition to college. I'm signed up for letter writing, care packages & we made a contribution from our DAF (donor advised fund), so the organization can support kids as they need it. I'm so excited that Boulder offers this resource for students who need it, as I can't imagine starting a college journey without any family support. 

What about you? Any wins to share?