I’m switching up the order of posts this week a bit; I have a post I’m doing in partnership with Purex this week, and I think they want me to publish that tomorrow.
Soooo, you get Five Frugal Things today instead of our usual Tuesday.
1. I signed up for the max retirement match at work
Since I have largely been self-employed in my adult life, I have never had an employer-sponsored retirement plan. But I found out that my hospital matches 50% up to the first 6% that I contribute, so I immediately selected that amount.
It’s not gonna be oodles of money because I am just a $20/hour part-time employee, but hey, it’s free money and I am not about to leave that on the table.
(My 6% amounts to $1.20 for each hour I work, and my hospital will be adding on $0.60. It’s not a lot but over the summer it’ll be about $60/month extra. And I know all of us would stop to pick up $60 if we found it somewhere!)
2. I ordered a better lunch box
I realize that at first glance, this is a spend rather than a save. But given that I will have to pack a lot of lunches in the future, I consider this to be a very good investment.
After all, it doesn’t take many packed meals to pay for the cost of a lunch box.
I have been limping along with some small bags that my kids used to use, but I could use something bigger for long shifts. Plus, I will need to pack meals for upcoming nursing school days and clinical shifts.
the small one I’ve been using
Soooo, I feel like this is a solid spending move on my part! Anything that helps me stick with a lunch-packing habit is probably gonna be worth the price.
(Plus, whatever I pack is likely going to be healthier than what I’d buy at the cafeteria/restaurant. Double win!)
3. I did some Altra-stalking on eBay
Since I can wear whatever shoes I want for working at the hospital now, I’m trying to get some backup pairs of Altras for cheap.
I already have a pair for walking and a pair for working, so I can take my time and wait for a really good deal to show up.
Patience is the name of the game!
Why am I stuck on Altras? Well, they’re foot-shaped (no pointy toes here) so that your toes can spread out as they’re designed to do.
As a person who prefers to go barefoot whenever possible, I love love love this design. Free the toes. 🙂
4. I got a free rotisserie chicken
After I worked that one overnight shift last Friday, I came home and napped for a bit, but obviously I was still tired. And everything in me wanted to do something like…eat an entire box of donuts.
But I knew my body was not gonna actually feel a whole lot better if I did that, so I used a $10 credit in my Safeway app and got a chicken, some bananas, and some blueberries, and my total was $2.30.
And then I scanned the receipt in my Fetch app, of course.
I ate the chicken for dinner along with some kale salad I’d prepped a few days before. No donuts were consumed. 😉
5. I cashed out TopCashback for a 2% bonus
Remember how I used TopCashback when I ordered tires for my van?
Well, I earned $40.47 back on that purchase, and I redeemed it for an Amazon gift card because that gives you an extra 2% back (whereas if you cash out with Paypal, there’s no bonus).
Amazon money is basically as good as cash, so that works for me.
Maximizing these little savings makes my frugal heart happy; it doesn’t make the tires free or anything, but it helps soften the blow a bit!
Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to?
P.S. A small fail: my Otterbox case for my phone needed to be replaced, so I ordered a refurbished one from Amazon. But…they sent the wrong case. Close, but definitely not meant for my iPhone 11. So I returned that one and decided just to pay full price for a new one. Like a lunchbox, a phone case is a good investment! $24 pales in comparison to the cost of a new phone.
