Frugal Friday 2021.....the January 1st Edition

 Though this Frugal Friday is posted in 2021, my week for frugal wins ends on Thursday so this is technically my last Frugal Friday post of 2020.

Here are our wins from this past week with minimal photos.......

*  It was just Hubs and I on Christmas Eve this year(Ex-CB had to work)but we still got Chinese take-out for dinner as is our tradition.  Food for 2 was cheaper than food for 3 and we each got a meal and no appetizers or soup which made it even less expensive than usual.

*  I bought 1 item for personal use as far as Christmas decor goes..........

A Christmas ornament that says "I heart my Chihuahua" for our tree.  $1.99+tax from Ocean State Job Lot.

*  Christmas came and went and we fed 6 for dinner.  I made cookies 2 days before(as well as 2 pies-one of which was a gift to take to Eldest son), made the lasagna and mac and cheese 1 day before(after the electric rates went down for the day).  I didn't make from scratch rolls this year as my hands weren't up for it(plus we didn't really need them).  Since I served both ham and lasagna(some didn't care for one of the main dishes so I made two)I got a reduced loaf of French bread at Walmart when I was there earlier in the week and made "good" garlic bread--EVOO, real butter, fresh minced garlic and baked it off right before serving the meal.  Beat the pants off that frozen premade stuff and a lot cheaper. 

*  Drove to NJ on Saturday and made no stops along the way.  Let Eldest and his GF spoil us for dinner that night and we exchanged gifts and had a nice time at their apartment.  I hadn't see Eldest since June(I had stopped at his VA apt. on my way to my Brother's house to take care of some business that had to be attended to)and Hubs hadn't seen Eldest since last Xmas due to Covid and travel restrictions.  Spent the night on the sofa sleeper, they fixed us breakfast the next morning and we headed home.  We did make a stop once we were back in PA at a different Ocean State Job Lot we passed.  Bought a few things and I used a bunch of my free Crazy Deals gift cards I had earned in the past 2 years.  Winning!

*  I stopped into Weis(PMITA)Markets after we got home from NJ that evening for a few items.  I found a Perdue whole fryer marked down to $6.22 so I bought it.  Checking my receipt as I left I noticed the inattentive cashier rang the chicken up twice....

So I turned my cart back to the Customer Service to get a refund.  CS person tried to return me $3.22....um, no!  That was what I was suppose to pay with the $3 instant discount sticker on said chicken.  They owed me $6.22 for the phantom chicken......

Instead of a credit back on my c/c she gave me cash.  Fine.  It went into my Refund/Post Coupon envelope to add back into the Food Spending/Budget for 2020.

*  Then in the parking lot as I was leaving I saw this laying on the asphalt, either dropped or abandoned by another shopper.......

A $2 Catalina good on anything(w/exemptions)in the store.  I'll be sure to use this before it expires on 1/03/2021.

*  I found money!

This penny at Rite-Aid near the register on Monday.

When I finally got a chance to drop off stuff at the local food bank(a combination of no one being there and my schedule)after taking all the bags in on the way back to my car I spied this handsome fella in the parking lot, obviously he'd been there awhile waiting for me to show up. ;-)

And this nickel was found on the floor in front of the R-A pharmacy counter when I went after the food bank drop-off to refill the last of my Rxs before the new year and our deductible reset.

Total Found This Week...... .31¢
Total Found This Year...$53.81

*  I hit Walmart, Target and a different Rite-Aid on the 30th.  I found a few things at either 50% or 70% off.  Finished an Ibotta Bonus at Walmart as well as got some Shop Kick deals.  A deal post on recent deals coming on Saturday perhaps.

I went to CVS on the 31st since I had ECBs expiring in early January and we have a crappy weather coming later this week/next week.  No CVSs on the mountain so I'd have to go down the valley and I don't like to do that in the Winter here.

I burned some ECBs but not all(got MORE ECBs on 2 items).  I can't show you what I got(gifts for next year)but I had to spend $4.74 out of my WAM.  Since I'd already finished off my spending log for 2020 this trip will go onto January 2021's tally.

*  No special meals or take-out for NYE here.  We still have mucho leftovers from earlier in the week and from Christmas so we ate leftovers.  Besides, in PA the governor still has all indoor dining on lockdown so we couldn't party outside of home even if we wanted to!

No more spending in 2020.

Bring on 2021!!!

What frugal wins did y'all have this last week of 2020?

Tell us all about it!

Sluggy