frugal friday

Regrowing romaine hearts. They're already about two inches tall!

Another week (or months with how my blogging is) of how I've made or saved some cash.

• The electric company sent over a refund check for a span of a few years or something and I got back a whopping $1.02
• I picked up a free 40pk of water with coupon at BJ's and a huge bottle of Gain for $16.49. With coupon, BJ's Gain was 11¢ per load (146 loads) compared to Target, where I normally get my detergent, at 14¢ per load (107 loads) for $15.99. Pennies make dollars! 
• I batched errands and all in one day took off my rather accumulated pile of recycling (the facility is only ten minutes away but it's out of the way), utlizied the last few days of my health insurance until the new kicks in to get three more months of my prescription for free, shipped a sold Poshmark item using a recycled polymailer, redeemed a free order of breadsticks with rewards points from Pizza Hut, and then worked my gig job for a bit and made $125 in five hours. While out, I got gas at BJ's and it was significantly cheaper than other stations.
• My first day at my new job was Wednesday and I love it so far. I finally have my nights and weekends back! 💃
• While I no longer have a balcony, I have some huge windows. I planted some basil seeds and I'm hoping they come up. We'll see. 
• My best friend let me redeem her free year of MLB TV from TMobile 😍⚾
• I redeemed a coupon for a free bag of Tostitos tortilla chips at Kroger. I've gotten a free bag each month since I moved to the area in 2018.

Things I've continued to declutter since I moved!

• A piece of art I didn't want, to a coworker who loved it
• I went through a bunch of my plant items and sold three plants stands for $35 total, four small pots for $10, and gave away a few small terracottta pots
• A few more sold items on Poshmark, shipped in recycled bubble mailers

How I avoided food waste!

• I've been eating through my freezer and I just thawed a large bowl of chili - it's as good as the day I made it!
• Even though I overbought on produce, I finished all but maybe a cup or two of romaine. 

frugal friday

my $3 thrifted umbrella 

As always, here's ways I've saved and made a buck (here and there in the last six months)!

• My Verizon anniversary came around and they sent me a $10 Amazon giftcard (it's only been 19 years, no big deal *eye roll*)
• I had an absolutely wonderful coworker save me a TON of boxes at work, and between her and my pilfering of boxes that otherwise would've gone on to the landfill or recycling, it saved me pretty penny on moving boxes
• At the end of September I signed up and received my second Covid booster shot for free at Walgreens and today I received my free flu shot from my place of employment
• I received a $50 Visa giftcard from Xfinity and applied it to my credit card balance that was due. I also deposited a $4.89 refund check from my insurance company for overpayment of premium!
• I sold several items on Poshmark and a bunch of furniture and flower pots on FB Marketplace
• I worked on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day and made time and a half along with a few bartending shifts that pay more per hour.
• There was an issue with my cellular data so I called Verizon and we got that straight while upgrading my plan and saving me $14.99 a month as Hulu/Disney+/ESPN+ is now included in my upgraded plan for free
• I redeemed a $10 coupon off a $10 order at Ulta, and redeemed $3 in rewards
• When I moved I changed my renter's policy's coverage and they sent me a $77.80 premium refund check (what! I'll take it)
• Amazon Prime gave me a seven day trial for HBO Max, so I finished the third season of His Dark Materials for free

Things I've decluttered in anticipation for my move/after I moved:

• A bunch of jars and lids I'd been hoarding ("that's a good ass jar!"), recycled
• I've used up a BUNCH of condiments, sauces, and skin care
• Several Poshmark items and recycled polymailers
• A large ceramic pumpkin, a stack of Dollar Tree organizers, sold & given away on FB
• My entryway table, desk, and large plant stand, sold on FB marketplace
• A small space heater, to someone in a free FB group
• A stack of books and cereal bowls, to two friends
• A dozen or so planters, sold on FB

And how I've avoided food waste:

• I had a cooler full of frozen food that I wasn't going to eat (hashbrowns, half bags of vegan chicken nuggets, some spring rolls I didn't like) and my best friend went through it and grabbed what they'd eat
• Even though I get free lunch at work, I don't have a microwave at my new apartment so I take meals in because I'm more inclined to eat leftovers if I can easily heat them vs. using the oven

my poshmark closet | shop my mercari
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mini book haul

I recently moved to an apartment downtown and I've been having a lot of fun wandering around my area. I was passing by Fountain Books and noticed they had a box of free books outside. I'm never one to turn down an opportunity to get a new book, so I took a look inside.

Exciting! I first noticed The Prisoner by B.A. Paris, as I'm a fan of Behind Closed Doors. I wasn't familiar with any of the others, but I snagged Raw Deal by Chloe Sorvino. I never really eat meat, but I enjoy non fiction themes like this.

I, once again, am not going to complete my reading challenge, unfortunately. I started reading It by Stephen King and that's kept me pretty occupied (over 1,100 pages!) despite how quickly I can read! Maybe 2023 will be the year I finally, for the first time ever, complete a reading challenge.

my poshmark closet | shop my mercari
lucky bandit is a for profit blog. I use affiliate links and paid advertisements. I may earn compensation for a click or purchase through a link. Paid (whether via product or monetary) reviews will be noted in the actual post. Though compensation may influence the type of posts, all opinions and reviews will be legitimate and honest.

*All affiliate links will be marked with an asterick.*