This past couple of weeks have been packed with frugal wins and frugal fails. On the upside, I received multiple free flights using frequent flyer points saving hundreds of dollars, but on the downside, my spending on take-away lunches increased ten-fold as I become lazy with meal-prep.

There has been a lot of shopping going on as I’m clearing out old clothes and building my wardrobe with quality basic pieces to build the foundations of a good quality wardrobe, however, with change comes lots of good and bad decisions. I’m constantly reviewing my wardrobe and once I find pieces that I like, I stick with them for years.

6 FRUGAL WINS

1. I bought return flights back home to see the parents using frequent flyer points from a credit card. I was even able to cover the flight taxes with points so was not out of pocket at all. This saved me at least $600.
2. I have a holiday booked in Tasmania in a few months and also was able to use frequent flyer points to cover the return flights. I had to pay $50 in flight taxes however saved about $150.
3. Instead of throwing out a packet of cheese to the supermarket which was bad, I returned it and bought a replacement.
4. Returned a pair of Zara jeans which lost shape within a couple of months of wear and received a refund.
5. Received a free gym class on the weekend as a trial, saving $35 on a drop-in pass
6. I received quarterly dividends which was re-invested to pay for 1 additional share.

2 FRUGAL FAILS

1. Bought $550 worth of clothes online which didn’t fit so had to pay $55 for postage to receive and then $67 to return. Only one piece fit and the quality was sub-par to what I had expected given it was a designer label. Received $45 back from PayPal but didn’t cover the time to return and additional expense. One skirt was a sale item so received store credit instead of a cash refund. Big frugal fail.
2. Spent too much on take-away lunches instead of packing a lunch to work out of sheer laziness.

What have your frugal wins and fails been for the week? Write below!

xx Miss Piggy

Cover illustration by Diana Kuksa