Frugal Friday 485

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- I was alerted to a clearance sale on the history curriculum I want to use for Annabeth next year. I was able to buy both texts for $60. They each came with "minor damage" on the cover. When they arrived I had to actually search for the damage. A corner was slightly bent but we can live with that.  Saved: $20 

- The kids danced in Zionsville again last weekend. Thankfully our schedule worked out that we didn't feel we needed a hotel stay. We drove back and forth both Saturday and Sunday saving the cost of the hotel. Saturday was a long day so my parents drove up to let Oscar out. They also surprised Mark with one of his favorite meals - corned beef and cabbage. Sunday the boys stayed home for baseball and had biscuits and gravy ready for the rest of us after dance so we weren't tempted to eat out. We packed out lunches and snacks to save money as well.

- I listed the curriculum that we have finished this year online. So far I have sold one of my listings. Made: $10

- We did a big clean out of the school room. We saved backed several items for the Kids' Sale, listed some items for sale on Facebook, and donated others. Made: $5

- We spent time mapping out our summer activities. This allows us to balance fun, travel, activities, and rest. We take our summer break from school in May and June and I work hard to balance plenty of fun with plenty of true, slow summer days. I have the sweetest memories of whole days spent in my childhood backyard finishing off with a cook-out or family walk. I want my kids to have those same special days.

- We ended up baking the past few Fridays. Annabeth made homemade double chocolate cheesecake, Owen made triple berry cobbler from scratch, and Mark made double chocolate oatmeal cookie cake. We've either been out visiting or had company the last few weekends so it's been a good time to bake and share! 

- Owen started backed to baseball this week. He just plays in our local Little League which is very affordable for the season. We did have to buy a new pair of baseball pants to be the right color for his team. Other than that, everything from last year still fit. Thank goodness!

- At cub scouts this week, Owen planted seeds. We're hoping to grow our own container/bucket garden this year. We'll see how it goes...

- We put our deposit down on a 1/2 cow. We are splitting the cost and the meat with two other families. We buy our beef from our friends at Burgett Family Farm.  Last August we bought a bulk beef package and whole pig. We are on track to finish right around the time this year's come in August. Because of our bulk meat purchase we've been able to keep our weekly grocery bill between $65 and $90/week.

We had a typical spring week of school, dance, baseball, and lots of rain.

Looking forward to another dance weekend!

Happy Savings to All!