Frugal Friday 407

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- I spent Thursday thru Saturday in St. Joseph, MI with my best friend. We haven't gotten away together since 2012 so it was VERY much overdue! We spent 10+ hours on the beach, shopped, ate great food, and enjoyed life together! We split the hotel, gas, and food so the trip was very affordable for both of us. I took a cash budget for food/shopping and came home well under budget. 

- Mark and Owen enjoyed three days together. They took a spontaneous trip to the Albanese Candy Factory and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. They also went to Back to School Night for our new co-op. 

- Mark had been pricing sleeping bags for Owen and found that the cheapest one for the quality/weight he was wanting was at least $150. He bought the materials online, borrowed his mom's sewing machine, and he and Owen made their own for just $70 in materials. I am seriously so impressed as they even did a drawstring and zipper! 

- Sunday we enjoyed lunch at Mark's parents' house. Owen very much enjoyed having Nana and PawPaw all to himself! 

- Sunday evening we did a big pre-sale cleanout of Owen's room. He parted ways with several large items that he's outgrown and that we've replaced with older kid versions of them - namely a suitcase and sleeping bag. We also sorted his toys and shoes. I listed many items online. Made: $30

- Mark took that same time Sunday night to clean out his stuff in our room. He cleared a whole dresser which we passed on. He also bagged up many items for trash and to donate. Our room looks huge now!

- I purchased some dance wear from a friend. I LOVE finding good deals on dance items for our kids. Thanks Stacy!

- Owen and I really enjoyed a nice, quiet week together. He loved having the school day to himself and we had so many great read-alouds and chats. Wednesday we had his best bud over to play for the day and they had a great time playing with trucks in the mud. Last night, we did go out to dinner and got him a $5 craft at Hobby Lobby to finish off his week with just Mama and Daddy.

Today we are driving to pick up Annabeth! We left her with my parents LAST Wednesday and while we know that she's had the best time, we cannot wait to have her back!

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Thursday!

 Surprise! We're a day early this week - Happy Frugal Thursday!

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

- Last Friday we cashed out our last summer reading coupons. We all went bowling and used the coupons for free games so we just paid for shoes. It was a great way to spend a couple of family hours.

- Saturday we enjoyed a slow morning with Mark working and the kids/Oscar/myself took on a long morning walk. We stopped to talk to lots of neighbors/friends and enjoyed watching the ducks at the pond. In the afternoon, we went to Mark's parents' house to visit with the St Louis Rileys and all went to church together at Trinity. We skipped dinner out and had dinner at home.

- Sunday afternoon I picked up my nieces and nephew (ages 11 and 9) for an afternoon out with Auntie Amy. We had the BEST time hiking and river stomping. When they were toddlers/babies I used to babysit them on Wednesdays but in years since it's been hard to find time just me and them. I really enjoyed hearing what they had to share with me and looking for treasures in nature. We met up with the rest of the family at Luke's for family dinner. L&C provided pizzas and salads and we brought fruit and more salad. The cousins all had a great time just being together.

- Monday the kids and I escaped to Lakeview for the day. Earlier this month, Dave had posted that they were looking for volunteers due to staffing shortages. We cleaned all 12 cabins on main camp, did all of the windows (in and out) in the dining hall, and swept all of the porches. The kids put in a solid 3 hours of work before I let them escape to tether ball and the tire playground while I finished up. We saw so much wildlife and it was such a treat to have camp all to ourselves! 

- Mark borrowed him mom's sewing machine for a BIG project that he's working on. While that's still in the works, he did sew several patches/badges onto Scout Uniforms this week. He also repurposed two bandannas into a pillow for Owen. They are cool cloth maps of Spring Mill State Park. Once Owen had a pillow, Annabeth needed to make one too. They found some affordable fabric at Walmart and made her a great pillow too.

- Yesterday my parents treated us to lunch at Mother Bear's Pizza in Bloomington. We sent off Annabeth for a 7+ days down south. She has been looking forward to this alllll summer! 

One of the things we've been looking for more and more is the opportunity to really volunteer and serve with the kids. They are old enough to really help and/or stay out of things while we work. This week it was such an honor to have them work alongside John Dobrinski at camp. John, and his wife Karen, taught Mark and myself SO many skills over the years. We are blessed to have had them guide us in lifeskills, practical skills, and most of all in faith. John and Karen are by far some of the most humble servants I have ever known and it was such a wonderful gift to have my kids learn from him as well. 

Frugal Friday is a day early this week as I prepare for a great adventure! Details to come!

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 406

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Saturday I stayed home all.day.long. It was GLORIOUS! We have been running non-stop since the end of June and I really just needed to take a step back and breathe. I did do many chores in the morning but in the afternoon I enjoyed a great book and short nap.

- Mark took Saturday as date-days with the kids. He took Annabeth out on a hike on a walking trail in town, took Owen to run errands one-on-one, and then they all baked a pineapple upside down cake from scratch. They did a great job and loved it!

- Sunday after church we had a birthday party in Greenwood. Instead of driving all the way home, we stopped and walked/played at a park for a while. The kids then enjoyed their friend's 5th birthday party. They had a great time swimming and meeting Spiderman/SpiderGwen. Annabeth also had her first night of MYF on Sunday so after the party we stayed in Greenwood and played at the library until dinner at church. The kids really enjoyed extra time playing with their church friends and we are looking forward to Annabeth's years in MYF.

Super Annabeth with Spider Gwen. Thank you Schwanders for the fun!

- Monday night I took Annabeth to dance class and got both kids registered for the new season. I made a quick trip to the library and enjoyed a quiet reading session in the car while I waited for her to finish. That was a great recharge for me!

- I mentioned the kids went to a birthday party last weekend and were also invited to two more in the weeks to come. What did we gift the kids? Usborne and Kane Miller books of course! :) 

- I tagged our clothing items for the fall kids sale. I have more to do but I quickly got 45 items tagged over the weekend,

- Inspired by my best friend, I did a massive closet and dresser cleanout. In the end I parted ways with 25 clothing items/shoes. I will offer to my mama/sister before we donate. We all three trade clothes around and it's great to have three closets! 

- I found some awesome Zulily deals for Christmas gifts. When the boxes came, we got three free razor samples. Thanks Zulily! 

- This week instead of taking turns reading aloud, we've been listening to a book on tape. The kids are LOVING it! We've been coloring/drawing during that time and many, many art projects have been finished. We got the tape from the library and it's been a great mix-up for our read aloud hours. 

- For just a few more days, Usborne Books & More is offering a $10 kit! It's truly an amazing opportunity to start your own business for just $10! Let me know if you have any questions or if you'd like more information. 

We are looking forward to a busy weekend. We have some family coming in town and we'll be visiting Mark's childhood church as his brother will be giving the sermon this week. Please pray for Matthew as he continues his studies at seminary and prepares for full-time ministry within the next year.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and happy savings to all! 

Frugal Friday 405

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Mark had training and worked overtime this week. He's worked 100+ hours in the past two weeks. We miss him!

- I worked my Usborne Books & More business. 

- I sold some leotards online. Made: $30 with those sales. 

- Saturday afternoon we had a family day. We splurged and saw a matinee movie "Jungle Cruise" which was fantastic. We did not purchase snacks or drinks at the movies but we did have dinner out at Jockamo's Pizza. We had enough leftovers for two meals. 

- Sunday evening we attended a special Back to School prayer/worship service at FCHS. It was a great event and our children's first exposure to praise band style music. 

- I did our grocery shopping with WalMart pick up and we spent just under $65 for the week. (PSA: This is our family's budget. Could we afford to spend more? Yes. We CHOOSE to coupon, shop sales, eat our stock, etc. When we were first married, our grocery/household item budget was $125/month We paid off nearly $30,000 in student loan debt because of good, frugal habits. We continue to live below our means as we work on paying off our house.)

- Here were our dinners for the week (sharing because people often ask and/or message to tell me how unhealthy we must eat to do it cheaply) Pork Loin/Veggies/Homemade Bread, Homemade General Tso's Chicken with Rice and Spring Rolls, Keto Buffalo Chicken Bake, Grilled Chicken Alfredo over Zucchini Zoodles, Veggie "Meatballs" over High Protein/Fiber Pasta, and Hamburgers with Veggies. 

- My Top 5 suggestions for reducing your grocery bill this week: 1. Shop your pantry/fridge/freezer first and make as many meals as you can from what you have. 2. Plan meatless meals. 3. Don't make meat the star of the show - I serve smaller portion of meats and no one complains as we have plenty of fruits and veggies. 4. Check out coupons, sales, deals, and earn cashback with apps like Ibotta. 5. Use a grocery pick up and stick to your budget OR take cash to the store and track as you pick-up items in the aisles. STOP when you get to your budget. 

- We've been helping an elderly neighbor with her household chores. Their family kindly brought us coffee cake and veggies from their garden. This made great additions to our lunches for the week.

- Wednesday afternoon, I did our final clothing/shoe sort for the fall kids' sale. I have been able to sell a great deal of items online and have donated quite a bit. I hung the 40ish remaining items for the sale that afternoon.

- Wednesday evening we enjoyed a free night at the pool with the kids' dance studio. They enjoyed a long evening swim with friends. 

-  Yesterday, we spent about 3.5 hours at Apple Works. Some dear friends invited us to join them for blackberry picking and play. I spent $11 on blackberries and the kids had a great time picking! They played in the maze and barn happily for hours with their friends and some little barn cats.

Few things are better than fresh produce, warm from the sun, 

straight of the plant.

It was their first time picking and they loved it!

- Last night, my first Express Tagger dropped off her sale items. I think I will have two more this sale as well. 

For years now, Mark and I have made our family motto "Say Yes and Show Up" and we live with the intent purpose to show up for others while being a light for Jesus. This week was hard and heavy for me. Like real, real hard. Wednesday night I knew we needed a day "off" on Thursday and right as I sat down to plan my friend Andrea asked me about the blackberry picking. I said "Yes" and we had the best morning out. The kid "magic" happened and all six played happily together for hours and she and I had great, encouraging conversation. Then, last night's tagger was a recent addition to my list. My boss had asked if I could take her so I agreed. She showed up with her items and we had the longest, best talk. She's a Jesus Loving, Fire-Wife, Homeschool Mama who spoke so many hard truths to me. She was able to express nearly everything I had been praying over this week. God really used her to say "I see you, people see you. You're going to get through this." 

I hope that in your week you found the encouragement that you needed. If not, I'll be praying that it comes your way!

Happy Savings to All!