Frugal Friday 505

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Friday we kept my nephew for the day. His family moved over the summer so we loved seeing their new house and exploring their new neighborhood. It has a park just down the street so we spent several hours there playing, meeting friends, and exploring. The kids were all thrilled to find a praying mantis and spent over an hour observing it! I love the gift of time with my nieces and nephews.

- Friday night was opening night for Fall Ball. O played a great game, made several great plays from the outfield, and got a base hit. We are LOVING this league. I did treat the kids to dinner out since we were running from McCordsville to Shelbyville between babysitting and the game. They loved that treat.

- We were away from the house about 14 hours on Friday so we had some neighbor friends come let Oscar out twice for us. The girls did a great job and he loved all of the extra attention. We paid them in puppy chow as a thank you for watching our pup.

- Saturday we mowed the lawn, ran some errands, and got our chores all done by 3. I traded kids with our neighbors and she took the boys, I took the girls. The kids had a great time playing with friends, away from their siblings, and it made for a great Saturday. 

- Mark is FINALLY home from Alabama. After a summer of one of us away nearly every week we were extremely thankful to all be back together this week.

- Sunday after church Mama and Dad came up for lunch and baseball. We made pork tacos/nachos with rice and corn. They kindly brought up the rest of the furniture pieces from my uncle's house. My uncle is moving into RV life and gifted us a record console (we are using it for our new TV stand) and two dressers. Now, for the first time since we've been married, Mark really has enough space for all of his clothes

- In the past week, we've donated two trunkfuls of items. It feels INCREDIBLE to have SO much out of the house. It's SO freeing to have less stuff. Mark and the kids each have new-to-them dressers and so their clothes are really cleaned out and organized. It gives me so much peace to know everything has a place. It's made our daily tidying session so much easier and faster.  

- I wrapped up a fundraiser with a local organization, we raised several hundred dollars for them, and kicked off fundraisers for two dance studios in Indiana and Kentucky. Want to hear more about our Cards for a Cause Fundraiser? Just ask!

- I got my quarterly Rakuten check this week. It was for $20. I love getting cashback on things I was already buying! You can click my link above to start getting cashback too. 

- This was a very rare week where we had just two evening events. Annabeth and her duet partner learned their new piece on Monday night and last night we had our Back to School Night with our co-op. Due to the extreme heat we moved it from a shelterhouse/field place to a park with a splash pad. I know it was a lot of work for our committee to shift plans and move but it was SO worth it. The kids all had a blast and it was much cooler!

Back to co-op 2023

We are looking forward to a busy weekend with family and friends. After a slowish week at home with lots of projects completed, I am looking forward to the busy. 

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 504

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Last Friday Mark picked up our pig for the year. We spent right at $500 for the meat and processing. We did the same thing last year and were down to just one pork shoulder. I am very diligent about using what we have in our freezer. Last year's pig fed us for the year and we were able to give away five hams to family and friends. We are proud to buy our pig each year from a local farmer we know and to have it processed by friends in Shelby County. 

- The kids and I spent last Friday-Wednesday in Evansville. We had a great time with my parents, sister, and the family in Kentucky. We ate lots of great meals, visited the Farmer's Market, visited Dwell several times, shopped the little Darmstadt shops to kick off our Christmas shopping, and made the best summer memories. I am so thankful for this week at home each August.

Dwell Stop #2 for us

Mama, Dad, and Owen went another time as well!

- Mark has been training down in Alabama. He has enjoyed his classes and has learned a lot it sounds like. We look forward to having him home this weekend.

- Monday I had the most special day. Mama and Dad kept the kids and worked through their Evansville Bucket List. I went down to Owensboro and spent the day with my Momaw. She was 93 in May and it was such a precious day to be able to go out to lunch with her and to run errands. Some of my earliest memories are summer days spent with her and I never take for granted that I still get to make news ones at 36 years old. To have her all to myself for the day was so special. 

- I took a bag of clothes to trade with my sister. She brought some for me as well. Ones that didn't fit either of us were divided between a bag for my nieces and a bag for a friend. I stopped by her house to drop them off around 7 on Tuesday. We chatted for a while and I realized it was really dark out. I said, "Oh gosh! It's probably 10. I should head home." It was 12:45 AM!!! I couldn't believe it - I had left my phone in my car and didn't realize at all how much time had passed! 

- Wednesday we made the trek home. We got in around 2 and O had baseball at 5:30 so I splurged on ordering pizza to come while we unpacked. I used a 20% off lunch and $10 off coupon which made it a great deal. We had it for leftovers lunch on Thursday too.

- Yesterday we spent over 9 hours cleaning and moving furniture around the house. One of my uncles is moving from a large home to RV life and we are fortunate enough to be receiving three very nice pieces of family furniture from him. Before it comes, we needed to do some moving. We moved a dresser of Mark's into Owen's room, Owen's dresser to Annabeth's room, and her small dresser into her closet. She is thrilled to have an accessories drawer "Just like on Princess diaries!" We traded out her nightstand for my desk from my office. I never sit at it to work so her drawers will work just fine as the storage I need it for. We were motivated to get it all done before the furniture comes this weekend and before we do a big paint/make-over for Annabeth's 12th birthday later this fall.

- We bagged up a garbage bag of clothes and are also taking three blankets to donate. We ran out of time to drop off to donate last night but it will get done tomorrow. I work very hard to quickly get items out of the house when we are done with them.

We are looking forward to all being home this weekend - the first time in over two weeks! Hooray!

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 503

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- While cleaning out at my parents' house, I found an old tuxedo shirt I used when I waited tables. I donated it to our library's Project Prom. I also took a fancy black dress that we had been gifted but wasn't a style Annabeth loved. It was a Juniors size so we donated that too.I love that they give local teens FREE formal wear and accessories making homecoming and prom possible for everyone to enjoy. 

- Mark spent Saturday and Sunday volunteering at a Scout Training. Mark spends literally hundreds of hours a year investing in youth scouts and adult educational trainings. I used to really mind when he was gone. I was jealous of his time away doing something fun, I was envious of the friends he seemed to want to spend time with more than me, but in the past few years I've prayed very hard that God would soften my heart to this service of Mark's. It does pull time, energy, and resources from our family but I also know that Mark has been used to impact the lives of hundreds through Scouting and knowing he's doing it with the Lord in mind is such a beautiful thing. 

- Annabeth was able to spend Saturday-yesterday in Illinois with her cousins. Mark's mom said last month that she was driving over to keep the cousins while M+J took a 15th Anniversary trip. Annabeth asked if she could go along and they had the BEST time. The Fab Four as we call them are all ages 11-13 and love being together. Nana spoiled everyone with trips bowling, pool days, and back to school shopping. Thank you Kristi!

- I sent a big bag of clothes along with Annabeth for my nieces to go through. Now that they are teenagers we can share some of the same sizes! They generously sent home a tote of clothes for Annabeth as well. 

- Owen and I enjoyed the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. He took along his own money and spent $7. He tipped the guitar player and purchased cookies and Dr. Pepper for himeself. We scoured the booths to find the cheapest price on sweet corn and ended up buying out some brothers at $5/dozen. We also stopped by the FFA stand on the way home where corn was 13/$5. 

- We processed all of the sweet corn for the freezer on Saturday afternoon. We put up over 8 lbs of corn for the year, more than double what we did last year. 

- For the rest of our special "Date Day" Owen chose building with Legos, making No-Bake cookies, bike riding, and movie night. All free fun!

- Sunday after church, Owen and I attended a FREE beekeeping class at Garfield Park. They handed out little jars of honey and honey lip balm. We also enjoyed the Children's Garden and Sunken Gardens. 

My favorite little guy to explore with

He LOVED the chickens

- Monday morning, I dropped Owen off with my parents. When the kids turn 8, they get to go stay for the week. He's had a great week in Evansville with putt-putt, lake fun, museums, shopping, and soooo much more. We were all nervous that he might get homesick but he seems to be really settled into life with the grandparents. I am SO thankful that each of the kids had precious time with grandparents this week. 

- I spent my kid-free days working on the HWGA Fall Sale. I tagged hundreds of items over 7 hours of work. I have everything prepped and ready to drop off in September. 

- Wednesday I took the day off work and went to Charlestown for the day. I took coffee to my best friend and we spent all day talking. She treated me to lunch. It was amazing to have a kid-free day together. 

- I listed many homeschool books at the end of the school year. This week I finally sold two of them. Made: $40

- I sold another item of the kids clothing from my Facebook sale. Made: $15

- Mark ended up working every evening/night this week in addition to his office hours. We did have some quick dinners together but definitely not the date nights we had hoped for with the kids gone. Regardless, I am thankful for the service he provides our community. People sometimes ask how they can specifically pray for law enforcement. Please pray for their safety and for the war on drugs. Pray that people will be freed from the bonds of addiction which in turn will keep all of our communities safer. 

- Annabeth got home last night. She talked non-stop about all of the adventures with the cousins. We had dinner together, a funky one since we haven't grocery shopped for two weeks, and then played Harry Potter UNO. 

I am looking forward to picking up Owen later today. I can't wait to hear about his adventures!

Happy Savings to All!

Frugal Friday 502

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Last week the kids did VBS at a Faith MBC here in town. Many of our homeschool friends attend there and/or went to VBS as well and the kids had a great week. Friday night they hosted a night of singing and sharing followed by a cook-out and waterslide kickball. We had such a wonderful time fellowshipping with everyone.

- We did big clean-outs of the kids closets and dressers ahead of the kids' sale. I listed many of the items for sale on Facebook. I was able to sell enough to cover the cost of the kids' dance auditions last weekend. It was a win, win - many items left and I made money for something the kids wanted to do.

- Sunday morning at church Owen received his 3rd grade Bible. He was very excited and has already read through several of his favorite stories this week. He was very excited to have a "big kid" Bible vs his storybook Bible. Later in the week, we got word that our old church had also had a Bible stamped with his name for 3rd grade promotion. We were able to stop by there on Wednesday to pick it up from our dear friend Miss Terri. It was great to see her and to catch up.

- Sunday evening we had Mark's mom over for dinner. She usually hosts and cooks so it was nice for us to gift her dinner for once. We made steak salads and played Countdown after dinner. 

- Owen started fall ball this week. He had two practices and was able to get to know his new coaches and teammates a bit. We're excited to try a new league for the fall.

- Annabeth took her last dance class of summer. I try to leave the last few weeks of August as her break for the year. I think it's good for her to miss it a bit and definitely good for her body to have a rest.

- We've been growing a bucket garden this year. It's our first attempt and so far we've only had three peppers. But last weekend, our first Sunflower opened and it looks like more of our veggies are coming soon. We thank God for the fun of growing things together as a family.

We picked sunflowers last fall,

dried out the seeds and saved them all winter.

This year we attempted to grow our own from those.

The kids have LOVED this process.

- As we get closer to Fall Break, I have many clients beginning to be able to book their Disney Dining. I have a great time talking with each family and getting a feel for what experiences and meals they want to book. I also love helping families find ways to save money and to spend money wisely while at the parks. There is still plenty of vacation availability for Fall Break and Holiday Break - please reach out if you'd like to chat about a trip.

- Wednesday we enjoyed a mid-day pool party -- homeschool perks -- as we celebrated Owen's friend C. Owen chose a dinosaur joke book for his dino loving friend and we gifted him $7 as he is turning 7. The kids loved swimming with friends and I loved chatting with some fellow homeschool mamas.

- Yesterday, I teamed up with my fellow co-op leader for the year to make classroom totes with school supplies. This was her project but I was happy to help. Our kids played really nicely for a couple of hours which meant we got to have some adult conversation. Their family's garden is doing much better than ours and they gifted us two zucchinis to take home. Thank you all.

We had a great, full week of friends and school. We have fun plans for the rest of August so I wanted one basic school week while we could get it in.

Happy Savings to All 

What I spent last week while at Disney World

 Last week, I was provided the amazing opportunity to expand my Disney knowledge with a training hosted by my travel agency Magical Vacation Planner and Disney. 

Pool Day!

Suit is from Amazon a few years ago

Earring are Bauble Bar a gift from Mark and the kids. 

Disney is the one place where I really love fashion! 

I packed along a box of granola bars and a water bottle to make up my breakfasts and snacks for the week. 

I went into this trip with a budget of $300 for the week ($200 in cash, $100 in giftcards that had been gifted to me) Let's see how I spent it

Day 1 - Travel and Resort Day

Breakfast - I took a granola bar and water along to the airport. $0 spent

Lunch - Turkey Sandwich and water at Caribbean Beach Resorts Centertown Market $12

Dinner - BBQ Nachos at the Captain Cook's at the Polynesian Resort $12 and dessert from Port Orleans French Quarter. The rest of my group went for beignets but I grabbed a Mickey cupcake. $7

Day One Total: $31

Skyliner view from my Caribbean Beach lunch

Day 2 - Training Day at MVP Offices

Breakfast - Panera Bread - Provided by MVP. $0

Lunch - Qdoba. Provided by MVP. $0

Dinner - We scored a last minute walk-up spot at Raglan Road at Disney Springs. I had a great burger. $34 for burger, fries, water, and tip

Souvenirs - I REALLY lucked out here. MVP had all kinds of Disney and MVP gear for us at training. I got a metal water bottle and straw for Mark, the brand new 2024 Disney calendar for Annabeth, and a Chase Briscoe car and hat for Owen. All free!! Thanks MVP!

At Disney Springs I did shop two stores buying my favorite Disney candy bar, a 100th Anniversary Tiana pin for Annabeth, and a Stitch ornament with Stitch disguised as a pineapple upside down cake for Annabeth as well. $45

Day Two Total: $45

Thank you MVP and Disney for all of this swag

They made great, free, souvenirs for the family!

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios and Epcot

Breakfast - Granola Bar and Water. $0

Lunch - Tofu Bowl and Wookie Cookie at Backlot Express. $20 

Dinner - Chicken Sandwich from Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie in Epcot. $12

Souvenirs - $0

Day Three Total: $32

Teriyaki Tofu Bowl

 

Wookie Cookie

My first one - SO good

Day 4 - Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom 

Breakfast - Granola Bar and Water. $0

Lunch - Chicken and Breadsticks at Pizzafari. I did mobile order and didn't realize Mark's card was saved so lunch was on him. Thanks Mark! $0

Dinner - Cheese flatbread and breadsticks from Pinocchio Haus. I split this meal with a travel partner as a thank you for her family taking me to and from their airport. Their kindness saved me the cost of an Uber or parking for the week in the airport lot. Thank you all! Dinner was $20 

Souvenirs - I picked up a Slinky Dog pin for Owen and my first ever spirit jersey. $99

Day Four Total: $119

Late night "See ya real soon" 

at Magic Kingdom

Day Five - Travel Day Home

Breakfast - Granola Bar and Water. $0

Lunch - I was home for a late lunch from our own fridge $0

Total Spent: $227 

I LOVE sharing with my clients that Disney does NOT have to big expensive. It's just as special and wonderful when you budget, spend wisely, and stay on track while there.

Are you interested in seeing how affordable Disney could be for you? 

Message me for quotes and booking information at a.riley@magicalvacationplanner.com 

Happy Savings to All 

Frugal Friday 501

 Happy Frugal Friday.

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

- I listed some items for sale on Facebook. I was able to sell some which covered the cost of like-new tennis shoes that I bought for Annabeth. We scored a pair of Converse that he just been tried on but never worn.

- Friday we enjoyed the afternoon at the pool with a ton of friends. I was able to snag one pass from the library so I just had to pay for the kids. Saved: $7

- I cashed out some of my Ibotta points for a coffee gift card. I used when I went to coffee with an old friend on Saturday morning. It was wonderful to catch up. We talked for almost three hours and I had NO idea that much time has passed. Thankfully she got a text which made us look at the time - I would have missed my grocery pick-up order otherwise.

- I bought tickets for an attraction for our summer vacation. They had a fairly generous homeschool offer. We saved $35! 

- Sunday after church the kids and I enjoyed a paint-by-numbers class at the library. It would have been $30 to buy the canvases and paint so I was thrilled to have this free class offered!

- Monday we had a Family Fun day. The boys spent the morning practicing baseball at the ballpark while Annabeth and I found her new tennis shoes - on clearance. In the afternoon, we all went to putt-putt with coupons from the library. They covered our round of golf - saving us $32. After dinner and dance class, we went to our local firework show. We parked a good distance from downtown to avoid the crowds and had a great night out.

- Tuesday for the 4th we cooked out with Mark's family. We did it pitch-in style and our household provided turkey burgers, hotdogs, buns, macaroni and cheese, and Captain Rodney dip with crackers. Others brought pork chops, fruit, salad, and cookies. Luke and Cass also brought along some fireworks which the kids loved. After dinner at home, we took cookies and popcorn to our neighbors for more fireworks. The kids had the best time with their friends.

- Wednesday afternoon the kids each took a library class. Owen painted a garden paver to look like a book and Annabeth learned to use a cricut machine and made a shirt. Again, we love our libraries for their free classes and fun. 

Owen's Cat in the Hat garden paver

Annabeth's mermaid shirt

- We started school this week. It's amazing to me that the kids are in 7th and 3rd grades. I consider it such a joy to have been able to homeschool through all of their school years. We began schooling at home with preschool for Annabeth so this is my 11th school year designing and planning their school. I truly would not have it any other way. 

I'll be enjoying a few weeks off from our regular Frugal Friday posts. Check back for other content, on different days, as our July is sure to be exciting,

Happy Savings to All

Frugal Friday 500

 Happy Frugal Friday!

First of all, THANK YOU for being here for 500 weeks! WOW! I never imagined this little blog would last so long or be viewed so many times. I hope that our efforts to "owe no man anything but love" have been encouraging to each of you.

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

- While cleaning out the kids rooms we found some 4H, Scout, and Style items that were too small. We promptly passed along to families from each group with younger kids. I try to really stay on top of items like this so we have less in our home and so we can bless others.

- We had some food items we are not going to be able to use up so I offered them on Facebook for free. We had some buttermilk, we had purchased it for Father's Day dessert but have no way to use up the rest, egg whites, part of a big Costco pack but when I realized we had too many for me to eat before they expire, and then I had been freezing bananas all spring when they were going soft. I don't care for bananas and don't want to bake with them or use them in smoothies. Some friends came and picked up all of the items and already knew just what they were going to do with each item. Free for them, zero food waste for us!

- We enjoyed two parties last week at the city pool. The kids had a great time swimming with friends despite the very cold water. Saturday night was the Little League pool party and I really enjoyed someone else serving dinner and entertaining the kids. 

- Sunday morning we had church and Sunday School. I also took a walk with church friends which was a great way to enjoy the Sabbath.

- Mark spent Saturday afternoon to Monday morning in Illinois for the Ordination and Installation of his brother into his first church as pastor. We made the decision earlier in the spring for Mark to go alone - we have quite a bit of activity and travel this summer and it was easier for me to stay home with the kids for this trip. We were very thankful that St. James did a livestream of the service and we were able to worship from home.

Not long before the service started our weather warning sirens went off.

We all packed into the bathtub and watched the livestream from there.

We were very blessed to have, once again, been miles from each of the tornadoes near us. 

- Monday evening Mark and I took ice cream to a local park and had a good, long chat. Between travel and work it's easy to become passing ships and we are trying to be very purposeful in checking in with each other in really meaningful ways. 

- Tuesday morning we enjoyed seeing Nancy Drew at our local Artcraft Theatre. The film was part of their summer series so tickets + popcorn/drinks were just $15 for the three of us. We generally do not go to movies due to the price but we try to see one a summer as a special treat. I felt that $15 was a very good deal. 

- Wednesday night was Owen's last game of the Little League season. His team placed third in the Rookies Division for the year. We're proud of all of his growth and progress. Can't wait for fall ball.

- After O's last ball game we went to Frozen Paradise for celebratory ice cream. It was $22 with a tip. This was the first and only time we've eaten out all ball season. I work very hard to plan meals so that we don't have to grab fast-food even if it means a quick dinner like sandwiches and sides. It saves us SO much money. We do try to make the last night special though and under $25 for all four of us felt like a great deal. 

- Yesterday we drove down to Charlestown for the day. With packed summers this was the first play day we've been able to have with our best friends since Spring Break. We were SO excited to spend the day with them before school starts back next week. Thank you all for sharing your pool and dinner - we love you Eblings.

We are looking to a lovely, long holiday weekend celebrating all the things we love about being Americans.

Happy 4th of July and Happy Savings to All.