Another week without progress

Oh, how I hate reporting bad weeks! It's probably the reason why I stayed away from challenges and link ups for the past couple of years.

Anyway, this week was a dud. I spent a whopper of an amount at the grocery store, but did end up earning a little more than 140 air miles and coupons for 10 cents off each litre at the gas station. Those combined will save me about $28 ($23 in grocery certificates from air miles and $5 in gas).

I also redeemed 450 swagbucks for $5 at amazon.ca. I earned all of these in the past month which is much faster than the year it took me to earn the last 450. Being in Canada, most things on swagbucks aren't available for me so I earn most of my bucks from playing tournament games. It works for mindless entertainment when the kids go to bed! I plan to keep earning swagbucks until I have about $30 at amazon.ca so that I can order a couple of books and get free shipping. One of the books will be for my mom's mother's day gift, so I've got to get playing. :)

The kids had two birthday parties this week to attend and I spent a total of $16.13 on gifts. One gift was from our stash and we re-used a gift bag with some tissue I had. I attached one of the 'cards' that I bought last year at the dollar store. They are probably more for teachers as they're just printed card stock with the name of the child and their birth date, but when I can buy a stack of 30 for $1, I really don't care! The other gift was a gift card for the local movie theatre worth $15 and a card to put it in. The girl was turning 10 and had a dance party so I thought this was more appropriate than something from our stash.

I leave tomorrow for a week in Portugal and Im doing everything I can to make it CHEAP! The travel and hotel are covered by my work and I received a $500 advance to cover meals and taxis. I spent a good portion of this on groceries for the kids while Im gone and meals at school. The lunches alone are costing $40 and that's only for 4 days! Im so glad I don't have to deal with those prices normally.

Anyway, I plan to visit a grocer when I get to Portugal to stock up on bottles of water and munchies. Breakfasts are covered at the hotel and lunches will just be quick snacks, if I can find them. I'll probably have to spend dinners as social gatherings with my co-workers so those are the meals I plan to eat out for. Our hotel is within walking distance of the conference and only about 5km from the airport. I will definitely be taking public transportation downtown to see the tourist stuff but hopefully Ill be sharing with a co-worker or be able to figure out the buses. All together, Im hoping to not go over the $500 for all of my expenses relating to this trip. Wish me luck!