Frugal Friday 416

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- A few weeks ago, during a big rainstorm, we noticed a window leaking. Mark called our friend Phil who works on windows and thankfully he was able to come over and fix it for us! This was a HUGE blessing as an initial search showed a huge delay on both new windows and people working on repairing windows. We are grateful for Phil's friendship and this gift.

- This year Annabeth has been borrowing a bike from her friend Audrey. Her family had an extra that was the right size so we borrowed vs buying. The back tire kept going flat so Andrew fixed it after dinner last week. Thank you to the Evans family for letting us borrow the bike and for fixing it for the rest of the year! 

- We changed some travel plans and cancelled a hotel. Despite the fact that we were not going for months, they had already charged my card ($189!) and it said it could take up to 10 days to process a refund. Ten days later, no refund so I messaged and called over and over. FINALLY I got the refund issued. I am confident that if I had not been so persistent they would have never refunded the money. Always check your accounts!

- We made our first grocery trip in two weeks. We have really done a great job eating down our stock which was great because we have quite a bit of company over the next few days so we had to make a pretty big grocery haul. As always, I earned cashback through Ibotta. Not already saving with Ibotta? Join Here. 

- Last Friday night we took Annabeth to see Simone Biles' Gold Over America Tour. This was her BIG birthday gift. We totally lucked out and due to show changes they moved our seats closer to the show! Mark did splurge and purchased three souvenirs for Annabeth. Her birthday wishlist was short this year and this experience/gifts were a huge hit with her! 

When I was 9, my parents took me to see the Magnificent Seven (1996 Olympic Team) on

tour and I STILL remember that night! I was SO excited to gift this to Annabeth! 

Forever grateful for our Miracle Girl

2020 Olympic Team Leo!

Dream Big, Work Hard Annabeth! 

- The weather has finally cooled down for the season. I still had the kids' drawers/closets half shorts/short sleeves and half long pants/long sleeves. We took a morning and made the big switch. This is the first year where both kids needed almost all new sizes from last fall/winter. Thankfully we have a good stock of hand-me-downs and thrifted items. They won't have quite as many choices as they have had in the past but they certainly each have enough.

- Tuesday evening I had a friend in for a long chat. She had an order mix-up earlier this year and generously gifted Annabeth and me a new diamond art project. Annabeth happily worked on that during a rainy afternoon this week.

- Owen loves to paint. He worked on some rock painting projects this week.

- The kids enjoyed Halloween events this week. Owen had his cub scout Halloween party where he received a whole bucket of candy and won a prize for Best Costume. The kids both enjoyed Trunk or Treat while at dance this week. Each of them are allowed one bucket of candy, the rest we will donate. 

We are looking forward to a weekend with family in town! 

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 415

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Saturday we had some friends over to celebrate Annabeth's 10th birthday. She chose a Harry Potter theme. I spent just $10 on decorations and the rest were Harry Potter items from around the house. We did the party from 2-4 so we just served snack foods. Annabeth and I made Fairy Snack Mix, HP Wand Breadsticks, Chocolate Frogs, and sorting house cupcakes (hidden M&Ms to show the color of your house) with Butterbeer buttercream cupcakes. We had a great time making all of it together!

SO thankful for 10 years with our Miracle Girl!

- Sunday we had lunch at Mark's moms' house. She provided bread and sandwich meat. Mark and his brother Luke picked up sides like salads, fruit, and chips. We had a great afternoon with the kids' cousins and the boys got a bunch of yardwork done for his mom.

- Kristi sent us home with lunchmeat to last the next few weeks. This was a great help for our grocery budget! This also made me feel better when somehow I ruined our bag of potatoes. I ordered them on pickup at the end of last week but somehow they got wet :( and thus moldy. I couldn't save them and had to throw them away. 

- The week of Brian's funeral, several friends gifted the kids little snacks. Our neighbors gave the kids little bags of cereal which the kids ended up not enjoying. After realizing that they were not going to eat them, we donated the rest to a Free Little Pantry. 

- After one busy day, we gifted ourselves the gift of delivery pizza. We had a credit so it was just $10 with the tip.

- Mark is serving a term on the Boys and Girls Club Board. They have a big event coming up in November and we volunteered to donate two baskets for the raffle. We are donating $500 in beautiful Usborne and Kane Miller books - a Bedtime Storybook Basket and A Year in Books Basket. We are so thankful for our many blessings and know that all we have is really God's and thus we will continue serving His people.

- We overbought filling for the gift baskets. Mark returned the two extra bags to Hobby Lobby. This returned $3.50 to our bank account. I know people waste so much money buying items that they never use or that they think "I should return that" but never do. I always return any items that we won't or can't use and know those little amounts add up.  

- Last night we had some friends over to dinner. After dinner, we enjoyed sitting out front and letting the kids ride bikes and play. We served corn dogs, veggies, fruit, and homemade cookies - nothing fancy just simple food, fast clean-up, but lots of fun.

We are looking forward to a busy weekend with an event that I have been waiting since June for!

Happy Savings to All!  

Frugal Friday 414

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- I worked my Usborne Books & More business. Now that we're into the fall I am back into parties and fundraisers - let me know if you'd like to talk about earning cash and/or free books!

- We saved a great deal on our grocery order as we were fed by our Trinity Church Family nearly all of last week. We did make a grocery pick up for some birthday meals for Annabeth to share with family and friends.

- Last Sunday, we had Luke, Kristi, and the kids over for a birthday lunch for Luke and Annabeth. Luke let Annabeth pick the menu and she chose Bagel Bites, fruit, veggies, and then I made Luke Captain Rodney Dip. Mark and Annabeth made a chocolate cheesecake for dessert. 

- Mark was off Monday for the holiday so he ran some errands with Annabeth and they ended out the weekend by making two New York Style Cheesecakes. I LOVE when great food comes out of my kitchen that I didn't have to make! 

- I cashed in two Shutterfly freebie offers. We will be giving the items as Christmas gifts. Saved: $40+

- Zulily had a great deal on something we needed but unfortunately when it arrived it was the wrong size. Since it was their mistake, they gave me store credit to cover my shipping, shipped my refund back to them for free, and refunded my order. While I would have liked my original item, I really appreciate that Zulily always has fantastic customer service. 

- Over the summer, I won some kitchen items and candy at Baby Showers. I held onto them without really knowing why. This week a friend, who is a teacher, asked for new kitchen items for her classroom and the kids' dance studio asked for candy donations. I was able to make donations without spending any extra money. 

- My parents brought up two dried gourds from their garden. Instead of buying/carving pumpkins this year the kids painted the gourds. Owen made a ghost/pumpkin combination and Annabeth turned hers into Princess Tiana. 

- We had a very low key week back to school and getting into our new normal after Brian's passing. I tried very much to get back into a routine this week while still leaving plenty of time for cuddles, conversations, and tears. THANK YOU to everyone who called, texted, and messaged this week! Thank you especially to the friends who kept checking in even when we said "We're doing fine." We love you for knowing us well enough to know that asking for help is so difficult for us. 

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 413: A Reflection on a Life Well Lived

 Happy Frugal Friday.

Our Frugal Friday looks different today because last Friday changed our lives. After a short battle with covid, Mark's dad, Brian, was called Home. 

I am thankful for the swiftness, for the lack of pain and suffering, and for the place at THE party that Brian was able to claim on Friday. 

For the rest of us, I am so deeply saddened by the loss of him.

This week for us has been navigating a path of kindness, patience, and understanding as the kids have asked so many questions. Our children have lost great grandparents, friends' parents, and even a family dog but never a person so close, that they loved so dearly. 

Early last Friday, we drove home from Indianapolis, just the kids and me, as the sun rose. The farm fields were bathed in a beautiful orange light. Owen said, "How did God make a day so beautiful?" Just hours later, Brian entered the Life Eternal. 

How God? How did You create a day so beautiful? A day so sad yet filled with rejoicing for a life well lived.

I thank and praise the Lord that Brian was raised in a family that valued time together, hard work, and the Lord. I am thankful that he met and married the love of his life. I am thankful that they had, and raised, three boys who all love the Lord and serve Him with gladness. I am thankful that Brian served his family, his church, and the Mexico missions with such quiet kindness. I am thankful that my children sat with him, heard his stories, and that he shared his orange slice candy with them.

I am sad for us here but also so deeply certain that last Friday Brian met Jesus face-to-face and He said "Well done, my good and faithful one." 

Owen and PawPaw

on the first night of Tigers. 

Frugal Friday 412

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- In May we created a new behavioral chart in our house. The kids earn a tally mark for complete obedience. When they earn 30 tally marks they get to draw a prize from a basket. Most of the prizes are free - choose which library we visit this week, pick a park to play at, go on a walk with Mom, etc. This week Owen earned the prize "Choose all of our dinners for the week" We had: homemade pizza, taco night, spaghetti and meatballs, breakfast for dinner, and candy pizza as a special dessert.

Owen's Candy Pizza

Chocolate chip/M&M cookie, white chocolate chip frosting, and 

KitKat. M&M, and chocolate covered pretzel toppings

(Not Anna Safe)

- Saturday morning Mark and Owen had a breakfast date and country drive. Annabeth and I headed to the Franklin Fall Festival. She performed with her SDA friends and we enjoyed cheering for everyone. 

- Saturday afternoon we helped with some set-up at Style for the dancewear sale. We took over three costumes and helped organize the ones that were already there. We hope this sale will be a great way for dance families to earn some money back from expensive dance wear and costumes.

- Mark volunteered Saturday and Sunday at a youth Scouting event. He enjoyed the one night camp out while the kids and I had tacos and movie night. They chose "Cheaper by the Dozen" (again)

- Sunday the kids sang at all three services at church. By the time we were done at church, Mark was home and had made a big brunch for us.

- Sunday evening we dropped off nearly 1,000 items at the Here We Grow Again Indy South Sale. It was a ton of work but with all four of us working we set everything in under 90 minutes!

- Tuesday evening we had Owen's Pack Meeting. Owen has earned his Bobcat as well as five Tiger electives. We are very proud of the work he has put into Tigers this year. 

- Wednesday we shopped the HWGA Sale. We went in looking for just two items for each kid. We didn't find three of them so we purchased just one item - a Halloween costume for Annabeth. Each of the kids took a small amount of their own money and each chose to spend some of it small toys. They saved the rest of their money for something else for the future. 

- We changed some upcoming travel plans. We are skipping a cute, boutique hotel and staying in a nice chain one instead. While I love cute places hotel prices are currently through the roof and this change saves us $50+ We would much rather put that money towards an experience for the kids vs a cute place to stay

We are looking forward to a great weekend filled with outdoor adventures, family visiting, and lots of birthday fun!

Happy Savings to All!