Frugal Friday 91

Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- On Friday, we enjoyed an afternoon outside with a homemade ice block project for Annabeth as well as the evening at the park. The ice block project was introduced to us by friends at Homeschool group. We simply found plastic toys, put them in a Pyrex pan with water, and froze overnight Thursday. Then Friday, Annabeth enjoyed using tools and water to chip away and melt the ice to get each of the toys out. It was about two hours of fun for free! We used the excess water to water our flowers that day so we did not have to use an extra water from the faucet for that task.

Spooning water onto her duck-filled ice block. 

She loved getting to have her swimsuit out and on already this year! 

- We spent Saturday putting Owen's room together. By reusing furniture from our families we did not have to buy any furniture for his nursery. We also repurposed quite a few supplies and decorations we had on hand to decorate the walls. We did spent about $40 on extra supplies and some adventure signs (50% off) from Hobby Lobby. We really wanted Owen to have a special room that was designed just for him and we were so happy to be able to accomplish that goal for under $50.

- We over bought paint supplies for Owen's room. We returned the unused cans to Hobby Lobby for a full refund.

- Mark worked two evenings at a part time job.

- We gave homemade Mother's Day and Graduation cards over the weekend.

- After Luke and Cassidy's graduation party we went home with a bag of salad mix. It made two meals for me and is one of my current favorite things to eat.

- We were able to save $10 on Owen's diaper bag by combining a store sale and a 15% off remaining registry item coupon. We paid less than $30 for a very nice, backpack style diaper bag. We still have our one from Annabeth but it was an over-the-shoulder one that was difficult to carry especially in the beginning when I wore her all the time. We also were thinking that with two, I will want to be able to chase with two free hands.

- While looking through our bank accounts, Mark found that we had unclaimed rewards points from our debit cards. We thought the program had ended a long time ago but we were able to cash in points for $14 which we added to our savings account.

- Mark cut his hair at home. I cut Annabeth's hair at home as well.

- I signed up for Ebates I have seen the commercials about people earning back money from what they purchase online but always assumed there would be some kind of monthly fee. Finally, I looked into it and found that it is FREE! I do not do a great deal of shopping online but I was pleasantly surprised to see that both thredUP and Amazon offer cash back through purchases. I earn money on each of those sites by selling clothes (thredUP) and by taking online surveys (Amazon). I like that I can now earn extra cash back on the purchases I make on those sites using credit I have earned.

- Our sister-in-law and nephew sent us a HUGE box of clothes for Owen. Once Owen has outgrown these items, I will sell them for her and send her the profit just as I do with the hand-me-downs that Kati and Elli send for Annabeth. It is a wonderful cycle for all of us!

Annabeth had alot of fun opening Owen's box from Nate.

She was so cute and kept pulling items out, saying, "I remember when 

Nate weared this as a baby!" 

- We purchased some gift cards for graduations and birthdays this week. We bought the ones we could at Kroger because they offer 4x fuel points on gift card purchases. This will help us save money when we buy gas next time.

- Mark bought a large bag of cutie oranges at Walmart and they were turning mushy much faster than we were eating them so Annabeth and I took half of them to share at Homeschool Group. I was glad to see the kids enjoy them instead of them going to waste.

We had a great week and enjoyed some cooler weather! We are looking forward to: the city pool opening May 16, Annabeth's last day of preschool, our 6th wedding anniversary, and the arrival of Owen.
Keep checking back in for updates! :)

Happy Savings to All!

"Buy Used and Save the Difference"