Frugal Friday 467

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Friday night we drove down to Evansville for the weekend. For the first time since December, Mark was able to come with us! This was such a HUGE blessing as he is on call year-round. We are thankful to State Police for covering for the weekend.

- We enjoyed a wonderful weekend with my family in Evansville/Owensboro. My parents and Momaw spoiled us with eat out meals and coffee. We also did a bit of window shopping at the little stores in Darmstadt. 

- Saturday morning we made our annual trip to Goebel Farms for pumpkins. This has been my family's pumpkin shop since I was a little girl and I love taking our kids. The farm has added some new features over the years like petting zoo area, corn to play in, photo props, etc but other than the corn maze/hayrides it's all still free! We did buy three pumpkins and spent just $14.

- We drove back home Sunday afternoon. I made sure to have a quick, easy dinner on hand in the freezer so we wouldn't be tempted to stop for fast food or to order pizza. That often becomes our go-to when coming back in town and really adds to the cost of the weekend away. Simply planning ahead helped us save a bundle on that meal. 

- Monday was Halloween. I have had really mixed emotions over the years about how much "Halloween" we want to really do/celebrate with our kids. We've traditionally let them dress up, do church events, and a bit of trick-or-treat. Many years, like this year, Halloween fell on a dance night so the kids just wore their costumes to class and got candy from the studio. That afternoon we did read a Sherlock Holmes novel, carved pumpkins, and roasted pumpkin seeds. 

Annabeth as "Luna Lovegood" and Owen as a "Sheriff" 

with their freshly carved pumpkins. The mums are from a fall fundraiser.

- We did our weekly grocery shop for $78. This was more than I wanted to spend but we are hosting some company this weekend so I needed a bit extra in the budget to allow for that. I did carefully use meat and veggies from our freezer for dinners and apples and applesauce for some quick homemade muffins.

- We did a deep clean of our schoolroom area. We have a new piece of furniture coming later this year so we'll need to move some other things around. This was good motivation to really sort through the current books, artwork, etc and to get everything tidy again. I also wanted it to get done ahead of company coming this weekend. 

- Earlier this fall I bought several items from the Matilda Jane Good Luck Trunk Sale. One was a top for me that I didn't love the fit on. It is very fall and yet I haven't pulled it out to wear it all season. I listed it online and sold it for more than I bought it for! I'm much happier to have the money to spend on something I really want vs something I "might wear sometime."

- Yesterday the kids and I enjoyed a field trip with our homeschool co-op to the Kids Commons Museum in Columbus. The price of this museum has really increased since the last time we went. It would have been $27 for the kids and me on a regular day. With our field trip we had special pricing so it was just $12 so $15 saved! We opted for street parking that was free vs a paid parking garage. 

- Last night, Annabeth enjoyed a Lego robotics class at a local library. I am SO thankful that our libraries provide so many classes for our kids to enjoy. Owen made some new friends in the kids' area and built with magnitiles. 

- Mark worked days and several nights this week. By last night, I was ready for a break so I opted to grab a pizza on the way home from the library. We used a giftcard so it was free! 

My favorite moment of the week was Friday night when my sister came over. She had on a great Colorado sweatshirt with trees on it. I said, "Have you been to Colorado?" to which she replied, "Nope. I just liked this shirt I found while thrifitng." I laughed as I was also wearing a Colorado sweatshirt, with flowers, that I had found while thriftintg. We often show up in similar outfits and it always makes me laugh! 

We are thankful for another beautiful, fall week. Mark worked 18+ hour days but his team did some critical work in our area. We covet your prayers for law enforcement, for the good they do that no one ever sees, for the lives saved by their steadfastness, and I ask you especially to pray for offenders with evil in their hearts. Pray that they will resist sin, lean on Jesus, and do what is right. 

Happy Savings to All.