Frugal Friday 575

 Welcome Back!

My last Frugal Friday post was in late May 2025. The next week we lost my Momaw. I planned to, for the first time ever, take time off from posting as life was heavy. Then over the summer I checked in sporadically, writing organically about faith and life. In August, Mark left for six weeks and I had decided to leave Frugal Fridays off for those weeks too. It isn't terribly time consuming but I needed to streamline our lives while he was gone. Then...I just never picked it back up...

Now. Here we are. March 2026. 3/4 away from the last time I let people into our week-to-week lives. The break was nice, it was needed. I've learned some hard lessons, been incredibly hurt, and wrestled with relationships in the past nine months. I am thankful that you all gave me space but still checked in. In this time I have learned how to better be a friend, who I want in my corner, and that my joy is truly only in Jesus. I am not made for this world and am merely stopping by. May you see Him in me. 

So...here's how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- Friday Mark had the day off work as his birthday day. The city gives each employee one paid day off in their birthday month. He ran some errands for me while I ran school. He also stopped in the Columbia Outlet and found some great end of season deals. After our last three southern vacations have included weather with snow flurries, we have decided that fall 2026 and 2027 we will just head north! With growing kids, we have people who needed some new basics. For under $200 Mark found rain and winter coats for Owen, a new jacket for him, and two fleeces for us girls. Retail value of just one of Owen's coats was $300. We are stocked up and ready to head to lakes, mountains, and icy waters!

- Friday evening my parents were in town. They treated us to dinner at the Willard - thank you! The waiter was a little frenzied and we ended up with two free pizzas and a free drink. Mama and Annabeth ate the leftovers all weekend!

- We also walked around the March Madness event at our local shops. Each of the adults filled out and turned in a card to see if we could win a prize. I also stopped by At Home with Heartland to pick up my swag bag. I did their spring survey and was gifted a free coffee and lotion (Mama loved those), free bracelet (Annabeth took that), and a free t-shirt of my choice! Thank you! 

- Saturday and Sunday was the kids' first dance competition of the year. I stocked the pantry and fridge/freezer ahead of the weekend with high protein and electrolyte snacks. We carried over lunch/snacks OR came home to eat meals vs buying food at the venue. Mark, Mama, and I did splurge on a coffee each as Sunday was a 14 hour dance day WITH a time change. Caffeine became essential. 

- Saturday morning, before dance, I baked a few loaves of cornbread and put taco soup in the crock-pot. This was done by dinner time so as we left dance, we headed straight home to eat. This eliminated the temptation to order pizza or pick up food. About 20 minutes of work saved us some serious money. 

- My Mama and Dad brought some things to trade. Each of the kids got a new (used) book, some magazines for me, and a birthday gift filled with consumables for Mark. We had cleaned out our glass containers and they took a few of those. We donated the rest to a Little Free Pantry. 

- I edited an upcoming hotel stay. I booked it last month to be sure I had something reserved but was watching for a lower priced room. One came up this week and I was able to change. Saved: $95

- I used my mPerks to save on gas this week. Saved: $2.50

- I booked a flight using points. We have never been credit card people but I found the Southwest deal this winter made sense for our 2026 travel plans. Paid only: $11.50 

- Yesterday we had Annabeth's co-op class over for a movie day. I used some of our classroom budget for popcorn chips and our family provided cutie oranges and applesauce. Another family brought rice krispie treats. We had a great morning together! 

Happy Savings to All! 

While home at Christmas, Mark and I stopped in the Old North Chapel

on Christmas Eve. We were married here in 2009.

People have been worshiping there since 1832 and we are thankful to have

made our forever vows there. 

Are we still decluttering?

 In both 2024 and 2025, I shared a LOT about our decluttering journey. Many of you enjoyed following along, letting me know what you were getting rid of, and asking questions about our journey. If you want a recap you can click "Decluttering" on the side of this post for that complete list of posts.

We have opted NOT to have a coloring sheet to track in 2026. Why? To be honest, 2024 was my idea and I loved that it motivated us. But in 2025 it felt like one more thing I had to do. All of the uncolored boxes felt like a task that was bigger than I wanted to take on. I was SO thankful when we finished and did not feel like I wanted to track again.

So...imagine my surprise on January 1, 2026 when the family asked "Where is our coloring sheet?" I didn't have it in me to have that huge goal hanging on my fridge all year. I knew that over the past two years, we had woven 'letting go' into our daily lives. I knew we could continue to clean out, declutter, give away, donate, throw away, recycle, etc without a coloring sheet.

What I didn't anticipate was YOU all wondering how our coloring sheet is going! I am surprised that weekly someone mentions it to us! 

So...this week I thought it would be fun to track and share what we, organically, let go of and to count how many items entered and exited our house.

First, one of the KEY aspects of owning less is bringing less into our home. This week was Mark's birthday and so four new items entered our home: two shirts, a tech item, and a kitchen item. Mark and I each also received birthday gifts from his family. My mother-in-law knows me well and gifted me cupcakes (they were gone within days) and coffee money! Zero Clutter, Big Joy! Mark got a survival kit and I got a set of post cards from his brother's family. Total items in: 6

Here is what we let go of this week:

Friday: I wrapped my sister-in-law's birthday gift. I saw that we were down to the end of a roll of sparkly macaroon wrapping paper. I used the last of it and recycled the roll. 1 Item.

Saturday: On our Disney cruise, we picked up a bunch of coloring puzzle sets for my clients. I took way too many and realized it is going to take me a while to gift them all. I took two along to my niece and nephew as they love Disney. My niece and I had a great time coloring hers. 2 Items.

Monday: We wrapped Mark's birthday gift. I purposely chose a role of paper that was near the end. We wrapped two boxes, finished the paper, and recycled the roll. 1 Item. 

Tuesday: I took books back to the library and also took a fleece of Mark's for the free outerwear box. Mark has had the shirt for a year, not worn it all fall or winter, so he knew it was time to pass it on. Our library has a whole box of free outerwear that anyone from the library can get items from. 1 Item.

Wednesday: I found a box of muffin mix, purchased two months ago, in our pantry. I baked the muffins and use throw-away tins that we inherited last summer when we cleaned out Momaw's house. This made a zero cost snack to take to co-op this week. -- One of Annabeth's friends is doing a Senior Project where she is donating gently used dance items to studios in need. Annabeth kindly donated a costume she wore just six times last year. 4 Items. 

Thursday: We took items to co-op with us. We took some activity books, magazines, and bracelets from Annabeth's collected. We also passed along a game and two Harry Potter necklaces to specific friends. 13 Items. 

Total Items Decluttered with Zero Effort: 22!

We try very hard to live by the "One In, One out" rule. This week we had 6 in and 22 out so we succeeded! 

How to Give Without Spending Any Money

First of all, thank you all for your patience as I have taken off far longer than I intended to with Frugal Friday posts. I appreciate all of the messages and kind words you have shared in person. I will return with Frugal Fridays in 2026!

Until then, I wanted to respond to a question that I received earlier this fall...

How do you give when money is tight? Can you share some examples of how you give without giving money?

We've been there Friend! Trust me, especially in our early years of paying off student loans and medical bills, we were a couple that gave some to church and scrimped and saved just to give holiday gifts to loved ones. Through the years, as debts were paid off (we are debt free except for our house) and as I took on a true part time job, we've been able to give to church, support friends' fundraisers, and to give monthly Boys & Girls Club of Johnson County where Mark is the President of the Board.

To other organizations and individuals here's how we have been giving this fall in ways that cost us $0...

- We take clothes, books, and school items that the kids have outgrown to our co-op free table. It's so fun to watch the younger kids love new-to-them princess items, early readers, and more!

- We take books, puzzles, and games that aren't collected there to Little Free Library in our area. Visit Little Free Library to find a library near you. 

- Our local library has a Free Pantry for food items. There are many low-income and unhoused individuals who use our library for the wi-fi, air-conditioning or heat, a quiet place to read, etc. We love to take food but also home items. This week we took two lunch sized coolers, reusable shopping bags, some dishes, silverware, as well as some holiday decor. We have had many meaningful conversations checking in with people there and I pray that our children grow up to show eye contact, kindness, and time to anyone and everyone who needs it. 

- The boys did a huge garage organization project. Thanks to a Black Friday sale the wood and totes they needed were a good deal. As they cleaned out they took items to the curb. I listed them on Facebook and local people picked up: a dresser, filing cabinet, shelving unit, scooter, and bicycle. All for free! 

- I provide childcare on Wednesday evenings for a non-profit. A few weeks ago, they kindly gifted all of the childcare workers gift-bags from Ulta Beauty. Annabeth and I had SO much fun going through them. We kept some items and with others we created a cute Wicked themed makeup gift bag to donate to a local Christmas drive for teens. It's an adorable bag and was free for us to give!

- My sister brought clothes to trade with us. After I went through them, we took some to my sister in law and nieces and the rest we added to another donate pile. 

- One of Mark's Scouts is working on her Eagle Scout Project. She coordinated a massive hygiene and clothing drive for the Hope House in Greenfield, IN. The boys volunteered with her and also took along the clothes to donate. Any of the hygiene items from my bag that we didn't keep went there to bless others. 

- The shoe list came out for the kids' dance season. Owen needed white Adidas shoes. Our friends the Slaughters had passed down a pair to him two years ago but they were too small. I put them on our Company Facebook page and a friend was able to use them. I was thrilled to pass them along and to save their family the $70 from buying new!

- A local friend asked on Facebook about baby hangers. We happened to have dozens, one of the few baby items still around that I have struggled to part with, and I was happy to share them with her and her family. 

While we love giving, it's also always a little fun to get things too...

- I bought a few items from the Slaughters and Lish, SO kindly, passed along an extra bag as well. Owen LOVES wearing things from her boys and we so so so appreciate the gift of free (cool!) clothes. 

- While we give a lot to the co-op Free Table and Little Free Libraries, the kids also enjoy bringing home items from them too. We often read, play the game, and then pass along again. It's perfect! 

I hope maybe some of these ideas can encourage you to find simple, free ways to share with your community. Giving doesn't have to be big, flashy, or expensive. It can so easily be done with a humble heart and willing hands. 

A little Halloween Throwback

Annabeth was Luke and I was Lorelai from "Gilmore Girls

We used only items we had on hand for FREE fun! 

Annabeth is 14!

 Last weekend, in addition to celebrating Mark's homecoming, we also had some BIG events for Annabeth. Saturday night was her first high school dance and Sunday was her 14th Birthday!

Homecoming Ready

Mr. Oscar Chase was also all smiles 

Annabeth's shoes are from Amazon (she purchased with a giftcard)

Her dress is from At Home with Heartland (a local Boutique) 

Retro looking hairclips were a $6 (for 5!) find at Marshalls

Before the dance, we met her friend "A" for dinner at Fazoli's. Both girls manage food allergies and the families felt safer if the girls ate safe food before the dance and did not consume anything while at the dance. We were worried about cross contamination, lack of food labels, or improperly labeled foods. We had a fun dinner and it eased all of our worries.

Annabeth loved the dance and is already planning next year's dress and overall look. This year she was channeling "Alice" from Twilight. 

Sunday was her 14th birthday. She was up at 6:30, even after a late dance night, ready for presents before church. With zero toys on her list we went for teenage and practical - a CD, new pajamas, snacks, and her big gift was a new suitcase set. I realized on our Arizona Trip that she is maybe too old to still have an American Girl Suitcase and she agreed. Mark found a fun pink one that will be easy to spot on planes and busses. We passed her AG suitcase along to a sweet little friend of Owen's later in the week.  

We went to early church, met up with a friend who gave her the sweetest gift, and then had lunch out at Jockamo's. Her friend Maggie made some handmade items, gave some snacks, and then also gifted her a little New Testament which she had marked with her favorite passages and verses. We all thought this was such a unique, beautiful gift idea!

We always allow the kids one eat out meal and one paid for activity for their birthday. She said the dance could count as her paid for activity as we paid for tickets. For the afternoon we watched Wicked and then headed out to youth group. Since it was her birthday, we took dinner so she could have just what she wanted. We made BBQ meatballs, BBQ weenies, chips and queso, veggies, and she made an adorable Taylor Swift friendship bracelet themed birthday cake. 

I really felt like a "big kid" mom as I didn't have to 

help at all with her cake. She LOVES baking and was more

than happy to do it all by herself.

Annabeth also led the lesson, music, and games for youth night. She chose a lesson based on her dance solo song for the year "Flowers"  She did such a wonderful job fostering thoughtful conversation based on this song. She chose it about six months ago as her solo and has been excited to share it with everyone she can. It's so true - in the valleys of life God plants the seeds that become the flowers.

Leading  Youth Group

I could not be more proud of our Miracle Girl for using every moment of her life to share God's goodness and grace. I have shared many times that while I waited for the call from NICU to know if she had survived or not, I bargained with God. I pleaded with Him and said "If you just save her - we'll give her to You for life!" He did and so we have. To see her live for Him is the greatest gift! There is nothing she could do that could be more amazing, more powerful, or more meaningful than to do the work that lasts - the work of testifying to His good grace and saving power. 

Happy #14 to our girl! 

Mark is HOME!!!!

Mark is home!! 

I've just wrapped up a season of solo parenting while Mark was away at Bomb School. 

Since around the time Owen was born, Mark has served on our county's Bomb Squad and we have known that whole time that eventually his number would be up for a 6 week course in Alabama. He has been away a week or two each year for smaller trainings but this year was the big one.

He left in the heat of August, pools were still open, we were in shorts and tanks, the house was decorated for summer and now he's home in October. We are working our way through our Fall Bucket List, the house is decorated with pumpkins, and we are ready for fall fun together!

These past weeks have been so incredibly hard. As the primary caregiver and home educator, I am used to long days/nights with the kids. I am used to carrying the bulk of the home/child/errands for our family but somehow knowing that I was going to have to do it completely alone overwhelmed me. I was a mess before he left, sobbing as I tried to learn to use the weedeater so I didn't have to pay for yard help, and crying myself to sleep each night. (I'm thankful he didn't RUN out the door at that point)

In the first few weeks, I was incredibly bitter and jealous. I've certainly never gotten to come home and say "Hey, I'm headed out of town for 6 weeks..." I tried, but failed, to be happy for him as he lived a dream and accomplished a goal that he has worked hard for. 

In the middle, thankfully, my parents and sister had us along for a big trip to Arizona. We got away, relaxed, saw somewhere new, and I came home refreshed. I came home focused. I came home determined to savor these weeks of just the kids and me.

We certainly didn't carry on as normal. They had extra TV time, they had cereal for dinner one night, we ate pizza rolls every week, and my yard hasn't been weedeated since my dad kindly did it in Week 2 BUT we did it. I did it. 

We are SO proud of Mark's hard work at school, for all of the 100s on his exams, for passing with flying colors and coming home with ideas to help train his team better. 

I did not share outside of a small circle of friends/family that Mark would be gone so long as I didn't feel entirely safe with everyone knowing he was gone. In turn, this lead to some confusion as the kids and I took a trip to Michigan City and the Arizona Trip and Mark was noticably absent in pictures as well as in our daily lives. Have no worries, we are happily married, we were just long distance for a bit like our dating/engaged days. I am forever proud to be married to an honest, hardworking man, who shows integrity in all aspects of his life. Welcome home my love. 

Our Fall 2025 Bucket List

 Hello Frugal Friends!

Many of you enjoyed reading our Summer 2025 Bucket List and now that we've completed it, I wanted to share our Fall 2025 Bucket List.

As a reminder, the kids choose these items without any kind of prompting or guidance (clearly). I LOVE seeing what they actually want to do...it's always so simple! So instead of running myself ragged giving them alllll the fall fun this year, we are just going to do what they want. Here's to affordable family fun!

Riley Family Fall 2025 Bucket List

Register for 4H (October 1)

Start 4H Projects

Take photographs for 4H

Annabeth's Birthday (October 5)

Chicken Fingers/Mashed Potatoes/Gravy/Corn Dinner

Make Homemade Starbucks

Vacation with Kuhns (Scheduled)

Apple Orchard with Cousins

Fall Camp (Owen and Mark)

Go on a Fall Hike

Go to a Football Game (Scheduled)

Bake a Pie

Playdate with Neighbors

Zoo Teen Sign-Ups

Trick-or-Treat with the Sichting Family (October 31)

Throwback to Fall 2017 and my favorite

picture from October ever!

I am looking forward to a busy fall filled with the things we want to do!

What's on your Fall Bucket List? 

2,025 in 2025!

 Yesterday we finished our 2,025 in 2025 Decluttering Challenge!

Surprised?!

ME TOO!

If you remember, we cleared out 2,024 items in 2024. We finished in late September, having actually started in November of 2023. It was a project I took on, inspired by my friend Justina over at Well Planned Mama, and that the family went along with it. In the end, we all learned a lot! I was VERY into the project and loved the process. I shared many updates last year on the blog and loved talking about it with people in "real life" too. I felt accomplished, in control, and excited that we had done it. Mission Complete.

So...imagine my surprise when on January 1, 2025 Mark and the kids asked where our 2025 coloring sheet was and where we would declutter first! I had no intention of doing the project again or asking them to do it again but they asked - so we did! 

Now, not even all the way through August, we are 2,025+ items lighter!

Annabeth decluttered and colored in the final 10 squares yesterday!

Last year I made a point of not setting monthly goals or personal goals and that worked really well for the family. This year I only had the goal that I wanted to be patient and try to sell more than last year. Last year felt like a frantic rush to let things go but this year the house already felt more manageable. In 2024 we made just over $500 from our decluttering and this year we made just over $1700. This was a huge blessing in our budget as we spent a decent amount of money on gas, experiences, and lodging as we traveled Indiana and to the kids dance nationals. I am thankful that we were able to turn stuff into money for experiences!

So...where do we go from here?

Well, we already have three huge totes filled and tagged for the HWGA Kids' Sale in October. These items are NOT included in our 2,025 items gone so we're already well on our way to keeping the trend of letting go, going!

ALL of this is leaving soon!

Another 100+ items headed to new homes

How do I feel now that it's done?

I am glad we did it again! When my Momaw passed in June, we were blessed with many items from her home. We took some furniture, clothing, decor, Christmas ornamnets, etc and thus quite a few items entered our home. Thankfully, we knew right where each item was going to live and how we wanted to use them. Our decluttering journey helped us wisely choose to bring in only items that we love and/or that serve us well. It's given us the confidence to say "I don't need that" and even "I don't want that" when offered something or out shopping. We choose to bring in less, manage what we have, and to continue to bless others with our excess. 

Secretly, I am hoping we've created such a standard of letting go that we won't even need to color and track in the future. I hope that we've all learned to simply let go when it's time to do so.

Are you on a decluttering journey? Are you meeting your goals?