Thrifty Thursday-Has it Been a Whole Week? Edition

     I feel like I blinked and the calendar jumped from last Thursday's post to this weeks. Maybe because I actually did something over the weekend. Maybe because it is now less than two weeks before we move our daughter back to school, or that my work days are such a blur I can hardly keep up, but August is speeding by. It was not a frugal week for money and today we plan to pay  college tuition, room, and board, so not a Thrifty Thursday either. I chalk college into long term investment as for her choice of field, she will need a degree or two. Here's where I tried to be economical and make as good a use as possible with time, resources, and money. 

Time 

• Despite the long drive, going to see the sunflower fields with my daughter and her friend was a great way to spend a Saturday. I got to know her friend a bit as well. It was a large space with ample room for people to keep well more than  six feet apart, and  people were very cooperative around the photo op spots. One family had a little baby wearing a sunflower dress. It was so adorable and I bet they got a terrific picture. 
• We had a nice night celebrating DH's birthday. Despite my hectic day, I did make a nice meal, wth Dairy Queen providing the desert, which actually made my youngest as happy as her dad. 

Resources

• I shared my use it up fruit quick bread yesterday, with the last of the yogurt from a tub, and over ripe strawberries and bananas. In all honesty, they originally were intending to be more a biscuit or scone, but I added more milk than intended, so just went ahead and added a bit more for muffin consistency. 
• Making goulash on Sunday, I wasn't sure of how many  noodles would be needed for the sauce so cooked the whole box of penne. I had about 1/3 left over. I made mac and cheese on Monday with them for lunch. 
• Speaking of the goulash, it felt like it was missing a little something, so I added more seasonings and it then was a bit too overpowering. I had the last of a brick of cream cheese nearing past prime, and put a couple tablespoons in. That not only mellowed down the herbs, it added some creaminess to the hotdish. 

Money

• Not a huge savings, but Aldi had large clear top latching bins for $6.99 which are $2.00 cheaper than I have seen at Target or Walmart. Plus I saved myself another trip. DD2 is not lofting her bed, but is raising it so will have storage space underneath. The clear plastic will help her know what is in the bin, hopefully keeping her a bit more organized. 
• I picked up DD2 three packs of stickers at the Dollar Tree. It was a bargain for the mileage the simple stickers have in making a day go better with her kids at the school. I also passed on to her  some Dr Seuss pencils and erasers to give to the kids, bought years ago for pennies. 
• While I spent $44 on dinner and desert for DH's birthday, it was still likely 1/3 to 1/2 less than if we would have picked up take out. For your reference, No Name brand salmon was worth the price for the convenience. The No Name bacon wrapped stuffed chicken, not so much. The chicken was dry, and the filling was gloopy. 
• There were some vegan and organic cereals at the local grocery on clearance. I grabbed two boxes of  peanut butter granola, one for us and one for DD1, and a  nutty cereal for her. We love granola on yogurt. She thought it would make a good snack for her road trip in another week to Yellowstone with the sunflower friend after their Banff trip to Canada was cancelled. $4.00 for three boxes of cereal that regularly were over $4.00 a box was a bargain. So many cereals like this have honey, so finding completely vegan at that price was a win.

     Of course we saved money not going to the family dinner. My sister made desert to serve at her house, but it was after 7:00, my knee was acting up so we just stayed home. I feel like I am denying myself a lot of interaction, even in environments I have more control. My BIL saw DH at his work on Monday and didn't understand why we chose not to go. Some days I think DH thinks I'm being overly cautious as well, but he isn't in meetings all day long where risk mitigation is the primary topic. Fortunately, my small circle of places I have to go, how quick I can get in and out-even large grocery shopping, and now with the mask requirement, I feel relatively safe. Eating out inside a restaurant and being indoors for more than a few minutes with unmasked people outside of my immediate family is out of my comfort zone. Weekend weather looks good so both the baby shower and the little celebration for my MIL's 80th birthday can be outside. 

     My household, grocery, and take out spending is already pretty high as you will see tomorrow if you read my spending log. Still, with lumping it all into one category, it is comparable to when we ate out a few times per month. Entertainment is pretty much the minimal gas to get to outdoor places, and streaming services. My daughter paid the $20 fee for the fields and wouldn't accept any money. There were no surveys for me to take this week, but I am close to another $5.00 reward for Microsoft. I'm at $50 currently in Target gift cards earned. How about you all? Did you have any thrifty wins? Did you find interesting and good uses for your time? How about creative use of things you already have?