Frugal Wins, May 26 edition

Sharing my frugal wins helps me stay accountable, and I hope you find benefit too! Feel free to share how you’re saving money in the comments.

I packed lunches for work

Due to a recent and fairly drastic change coming in my life, I got a part-time job. One of the reasons I applied with the particular company I’m is with because of their excellent benefits.

Leftover dinner from the night before warmed up in the break room microwave. Far healthier and cheaper than eating out, no? Plus, I have more time to enjoy my lunch break (and work on a post like this, or read a book) when I don’t have to go and buy lunch somewhere.

I shopped at a thrift store for new summer shirts.

One of the shirts had a tiny stain that is hidden while I wear it. But, I still worked up my nerve to ask for a discount. The cashier rang it up at half price. Nice!

I signed up for a 401K with company match.

I was already investing monthly, automatically, into my Vanguard VTSAX account. But who can say no to free money in the form of a company match?! Not this girl.

I opened a new checking account for a sign-on bonus

I have a few standards when it comes to checking accounts. 1) I will never, ever pay a monthly fee. 2) I will earn interest on my balance. 3) The bank’s app is easy to use and has modern features like snap deposit. (Why settle for less than these when so many checking accounts meet all these requirements nowadays!)

I keep a lookout for offers like this before I test-drive a new account. So, when I came across SoFi, recommended by a fellow blogger in the “FiRE” community (financially independent, retired early), I opened a new account to try it out.

It met my requirements and also offers up to a $300 sign-up bonus when you have direct deposit. It also pays 1.25% interest. You can get $25 free when you open an account yourself (affiliate link). And it’s quick and simple. If you decide to use them for investments, you’ll also get $25 free.

I made iced tea from leftover hot tea.

Someone in my family made a pot of tea when a cup would suffice. So I poured the cold tea into my stainless steel travel cup, added a few drops of vanilla stevia, and enjoyed a refreshing iced tea.

I lowered my internet bill by more than half.

I’ve been a happy Comcast/Xfinity customer for ages. As in, 15 years or more. Recently though, my bill shot up to over $100 a month. I called customer service to ask for a promo or discounted rate, and they refused. So, I decided to switch to another provider: EarthLink.

Then, we moved. EarthLink uses AT&T to do their installs, and I couldn’t get THEM to show up. We were without internet for over a week after moving into our new home. Meanwhile, a postcard came in the mail offering a promo of $50/month. I signed up!

Patience is a frugal virtue, for sure.

What did you do to save money this week?