Five Frugal Things | working the student deals
1. I activated my monthly Safeway student discount
This discount shows up as a "coupon" that you have to clip in the app each month. And yesterday, before I stopped in for a rotisserie chicken, I remembered to clip it!
Every 5% helps, you know? 😉 As long as I'm suffering through discussion posts and research paper-writing, I might as well make the most of the benefits.
2. I used a free symphony ticket
Another student discount! I pay something like $35 a year to join the student membership, and then my symphony tickets are free.
I do pay $15 to park in the parking garage (I am allergic to street parking. Ha.), but it's still a very cheap outing this way.
Also, I wore my classic clearance Target dress from several years ago. This one has seen a lotta symphonies.
This is not the same as my summer Target clearance dress, which is also black. A person needs a lot of black dresses, you know???
3. I did not renew my Civic's remote service
My car came with a free three-month subscription to the app, which lets you do things like remote start.
But honestly, I didn't find this to be particularly useful, even in the coldest days of winter. The seat warmers get me toasty in a jiffy, after all.
So, I decided to just let it go.
4. I got a discounted gift card
My Citi card was having a sale on gift cards, so I used my points to buy a $50 card that's good at Panera. It costs me nothing out of pocket, and it makes for a good meal in a pinch for Zoe and me. 🙂
Of course, I use my credit card only for purchases I could pay for in cash, and I pay the card off every month (on autopay so that I can never be late by accident!)
So, my credit card rewards really are entirely free.
5. I got a refund from Hungry Harvest
For some odd reason, my Hungry Harvest box arrived with just a few items in it. I have never had this happen before, and what was inside was not even close to what the box label said.
I sent them a quick message along with a photo, and they sent me a prompt refund.
Hungry Harvest is also great about giving refunds if you get an unsatisfactory item, like something that's moldy. 10/10 customer service!
I'm on vacation for which, after the initial outlay, I'm paying very little. It's not hard, there isn't much to buy. Does it count if flooding leads to a massive hotel upgrade?
Definite frugal win in my book! Though not for the hotel...😬 Enjoy your vacation!
Oooh, that's a nice pair of leeks! (Not a euphemism.) What a yummy surprise, even if the box's listed contents were absent.
--Our house's previous owner had a habit of gluing pipes together; we replace them as we find them. Thus, when we went to clean the P trap for our slow-draining tub, we were annoyed but not surprised to find it stuck fast. It took our local plumber 10 minutes, tops, to saw out the glued pipe and install a new P trap that we could remove and clean, ourselves--well worth $34 in my book!
--A doozy of a cold gave me proper time to enjoy the "new" 24" flat screen, dumb tv in the bedroom. $15 from Habitat Restore, it's perfect for enjoying cozy movies with the cats while drifting in and out of sleep.
--My husband's new job doesn't have a hot water spout on the water cooler for his tea. I dug out his metal thermos ($4 from Goodwill ages ago), deep-cleaned it, and fill it with hot water in the morning.
--I did a major reorder of business supplies from Vistaprint. I cut costs by waiting for a sale, hitting the free shipping threshold, and using our credit card's offer for 10% cash back on Vistaprint purchases.
--Related to the above, I try to have designated shopping/purchasing days for both household and business expenses. Not only do larger money bites hurt more and deter frivolous spending, but it allows me to double-check for cash back offers, sales, promotional codes, and whatever other ways I can find to shave off a few dollars.