Friday, February 1, 2019

Frugal Friday 281

Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- My sister surprised us with a visit last weekend. We enjoyed taking her to the FCHS basketball game to watch Annabeth's cheer camp performance and also treated her to breakfast at Don & Donna's on Saturday morning for breakfast. We spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon playing board games. She also brought up some items she had saved for the junk exchange - we were really excited that two items on our "to buy" list for dance were in her box! Thank you Lu!

- Saturday afternoon we celebrated our nephew's 7th birthday. The kids LOVED spending the whole afternoon with cousins and friends playing at their school gym.

- Mark worked overtime over the weekend and I worked on my Usborne Book business.

- Owen and I scored an AWESOME deal on Christmas clearance toys. We got a $50+ toy for a first Christmas gift for $9! I will have to store it until December but it will be well loved and I loved getting such a great deal!

- Monday morning we made 50+ homemade Valentine's. The kids each made a list and went to work. Owen worked on and off but Annabeth was very methodical and made some really cute Valentine's over the course of the morning.

- Monday afternoon, I went to take our recycling out and heard rushing water. I found water pouring down the water heater (if you are a long time reader, you know we replaced all of the innards of our water heater last January) I grabbed towels, called Mark, and tried to get the water turned off. He ran home and quickly, THANKFULLY, detected that it was just a burst hose. He did have to run to Lowe's to buy supplies but it was a relatively quick, easy fix and was much, much less than the cost of a plumbing house call or a new water heater.

- Before the cold, cold weather came in we made sure to stop by the grocery for essentials and the library for a huge, new bag of books. I let the kids each pick one school movie as well - Owen chose an animal show and Annabeth chose a special on Marie Curie.

- I made a commitment to use at least 25% of my Usborne income each month for a principal payment on our mortgage. When I started with Usborne Books & More I had planned to use nearly all of my paycheck for that purpose. That being said, plans change and this money has been a HUGE blessing in paying thousands of dollars of medical bills in 2017 and 2018. I want to be very mindful of how I am spending my income and want to do everything I can to decrease our final debt - our home mortgage.

- We continued to eat out of our $160 shopping trip food. Owen and I did a slight refill ($40) over the weekend and we continue to receive our produce via Imperfect every Tuesday. On the menu this week was - shrimp over spaghetti squash, shrimp tacos, shrimp fried rice, and chicken and noodles. Can you tell I found an awesome deal on shrimp over the weekend?! haha! All of these dinners were served with fresh fruits/veggies and made at least one complete meal of leftovers as well. We also were blessed with dinner at a birthday party and two lunches served at friends' houses.

- Annabeth was VERY proud to earn her splits shirt this week. She can do her right, left, and middle splits all the way down. This was her #1 goal for the season and we are so proud of her for accomplishing it so early in the year!


- We were able to run down to the Louisville area yesterday to celebrate two very special little boys' birthdays. The kids were so excited to give the books and cards they had chosen. I was excited to spend hours talking with my best friend and eating cookies. Thankful for precious time together!

We are looking forward to a busy weekend: filling meal bags, celebrating a special baby coming soon, and lots of Super Bowl snacks and fun with Mark's family.

Happy Savings to All!






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