Frugal Friday

Note to add that I wrote most of this earlier in the week & scheduled it, not thinking of the timing of this post falling on the anniversary of 9/11.  

It was exactly the week I expected... in other words, definitely not great thanks to some work stuff going on. But, only two more work weeks until I go part-time! (I have a week of PTO also in there). 

Saving on things we buy

• We had to buy a pricey water softener/purifier (the whole house kind - not just for drinking, as we've been having plumbing problems) & they had a Labor Day sale that we weren't expecting. It was still expensive, but we saved $200, which I suppose is better than a kick to the face. 

Earning  money

• Sold two jackets & a textbook on eBay. I took advantage of a 50% off promo coupon that was offered recently, and it made a difference in sales, so that was nice. 

Avoiding spending

• Not exactly sure which category this falls into, but we recently purchased a Southwest voucher at a discount from one of M's coworkers who needed to sell it. It has an expiration date, so I cancelled Nick's flight for Christmas that I'd booked with United miles & rebooked on Southwest. The miles don't expires, so this gives us more flexibility in the future. 
• My frugal fail is that I bought lunch at work on Wednesday (not avoiding spending), thanks to a very wild work week. However, I did get free snacks & fruit at the office, along with four free hours of car charging + a free team dinner. So, I suppose I still made out okay. 
• Almost identical to the above was Thursday - I bought lunch, but got 4 hours of free car charging + snacks & fruit at the office. 

Eating what we have

• I used up the arugula I purchased for the sheet pan BLTA recipe in salads during the week.
• Sam ate my leftover lunch & dinner from work events.
• We had leftover chicken & rice 3x, because....I was too busy & stressed out to cook.
• For the lunches when I was home, I made my current go to of a potato (heated in the microwave, & then diced), added to a pan & topped with two eggs & cheese. Super easy, fast & pretty healthy. Also, super filling.

For others

• Jumped through more hoops to secure a corporate match for our donor advised fund gift to the program I mentioned last week that helps students coming out of the foster system transition to college. 

What about you? Any wins to share?